"TONIGHT Matthew, we're going to be..."

If you squinted a bit you would swear they were the real thing.

Stairway to Zeppelin strutted on to the smoke-filled stage with an air of self-assurance, and quite rightly so.

Although it took a song or two for them to get warmed up (in which case I wish they'd left Misty Mountain Hop 'til later), once they found their rock and roll feet the sound was amazing, slightly deafening, but damned good!

Robert 'Planet' had the vocal range of the man himself, done great justice in Since I've Been Lovin' You (or The Kendal Blues as it was renamed for one night only).

He also had the moves, the holding of the mic lead in one hand and the microphone hanging limply in the other, he had the tight jeans and he certainly had the bulge that left nothing to the imagination.

But that hair....I'm afraid the wig was more akin to Tina Turner on a bad hair day than curlylocks himself.

Kashmir showed off to perfection the incredible guitar work of Jimmy 'Beige', which often makes me wonder why, when these musicians have such talent, they end up in tribute bands.

Still, at least his hair was real.

John 'Tom' Jones and 'Monty Dick' (complete with bowler hat), laid down a good solid base for a set list that read like a Led Zeppelin greatest hits album: Good Times, Bad Times; Nobody's Fault But Mine; Heartbreaker; Black Dog; Communication Breakdown; The Song Remains The Same and the inevitable Stairway To Heaven.

And it came as no surprise that they encored with Whole Lotta Love and Rock and Roll.

I don't normally rate tribute bands - I like songs to come from the soul, not someone else's back catalogue - however, Stairway to Zeppelin paid fine tribute to the legendary rockers and have succeeded in stamping out my scepticism.

The hair was dodgy but it's true what they say, appearances can be deceptive.

LMc