Boy band. Two words which when combined strike fear and loathing into the hearts of self-ascribed “real music fans� everywhere. After all, it’s only lapped up by us girlies when we’re young, at that certain time when our hormones somehow affect our hearing so that any bunch of boys showing a vague semblance of cuteness have talent enough to make us think, “The Beatles who?�, right? Yet many seem to forget it’s not such a new, or disposable, phenomenon – hello, Motown anybody?

It’s no secret that Robbie Williams came to fame via such a gaggle of pretty boys - a certain Take That - and it’s also no secret that he departed their clutches on less than amicable terms. Moving on well and truly he’s wisely never tried to deny his past, in fact probably the best example of his sense of humour about it all came in a solo live performance of their mega-hit ballad Back For Good a couple of years ago. It started off all good and proper like, but then the thrash metal chorus kicked in...

Sadly, that absolute gem is absent from this performance, a made for TV thing filmed at the heart of British cinema, Pinewood Studios, however there’s still much to impress. Coming across much like a hyperactive cross between Benny Hill, David Cassidy and Dean Martin raised on an overabundance of Viz and LoadedEscapology.

Melding the hits with the new, everything from pop to swing to indie-lite is covered, with the odd foray into Jim Steinman-like OTT pomposity along the way for good measure – all either performed “in the round� on a rather tiny disc-like stage, or via the odd pre-recorded bit intercut here and there. Add the 80 dancers and 60 musos and one thing’s for sure - this most certainly ain’t no hastily thrown together little impromptu thing.

Sure he may have gone down like a lead Kylie in the States, but that’s no indictment upon his talent. This boy’s a born performer who really shines in this movie-length presentation.

Track listing…

For a music release, this 1.78:1, 16:9-enhanced presentation is quite a joy to behold, with nothing notable in the way of visual gremlins inhibiting proceedings. It’s not as super-slick as the latest Hollywood offering, but should have any fans of Mr Williams quite satisfied.

Meanwhile, the nicely mixed Dolby Digital 5.1 track – an unexpected treat from a release which saw its origins as a television show - will have all who behold it swaying along in no time. All that should come from the front most certainly does, whilst the rears are utilised subtly for musical ambience (and not so subtly at times when the audience pipe up), while the subwoofwoof offers up some suitable laidback thump when called upon. And if you want that truly televisual experience, you can always knock the extra 3.1 speakers on the head and plump for the Dolby Digital stereo mix that’s included, although it does come out a trifle thin when compared with its beefier counterpart.

A reasonable collection of extras has been assembled, perhaps to make up for the utterly craptastic cardboard foldout cover thing which should last all of five minutes if anybody intends playing with this more than about once… These start with a booklet of piccies glued into said cover, followed by two bonus tracks in the form of alternate takes of two songs included in the main show (Feel and Nan’s Song), plus another two just for good measure (How Peculiar and The Revolution). A behind the scenes doco entitled What a Performance is next, which is pretty much 23 minutes of the usual rehearsal, setup and smoke being blown up peoples’ rectums, all held together by the ‘man of the people’ himself. A gallery featuring ten colour snaps plus ten black and white follows, and things are wrapped up by an absolute bastard of a memory game that’s simply entitled Lights, which when completed three times in a row delivers a spot of informal backstage Sweet Home Alabama from a very pale, very non-Southern lad called Robbie.

If you’re after a spot of worshipping at the temple of light entertainment then this extravaganza from that right cheeky little bugger of a Williams boy offers up just the ticket.