Michael Bublé in Hove – how the supreme showman blew us all away on a beautiful day

Towards the end of the show, surveying the crowds and soaking up the atmosphere, Michael Bublé observed: “This isn’t normal, is it. It’s magical.”

And he was absolutely right.

It takes a showman of monumental presence and charisma to work us all in the way that he did. Except work really isn’t the word. It suggests effort. With Bublé the charm just flows.

The truly lovely thing with Michael Bublé is that you get the feeling that his act is simply to be Michael Bublé, brilliant and irresistible, but also chatty and somehow ordinary and, best of all, hugely likeable.

Bublé thanked us all for waiting through the pandemic years to actually get to use our tickets; he also saluted all those watching him for free from their balconies.

And he even offered a word of consolation for all the chaps dragged there tonight by their partners. His is the music of love, he promised. It’s “baby-making music”, he teased. The rewards will come later. Or as he quaintly put it, “I am putting the air in your tyres” for a great ride when you get home.

But it was a great ride in the moment too.

In between the chat, the anecdotes and the laughs, boy, what songs – a superb hour and a half or so of great numbers delivered with that great voice, all backed up by a wonderful on-stage orchestra.

Haven't Met You Yet was to die for; Cry Me A River was so rich and powerful; Home was beautiful; and he even offered a fabulous Elvis tribute, ending the night with Always on My Mind. Magic indeed.

Nights like these are what memories are made of, and these are going to be precious memories indeed.

Michael Bublé is the ultimate crowd-pleaser – but not in any superficial sense. The song selection, the delivery, the expression, the everything all add up in every way to a massive talent – and a talent all the more to be cherished for the fact that he comes across as such a decent guy.

Bublé was up and down the walkway into the crowd endlessly; several times he got into the crowd; he even wandered off with someone’s phone for a while. Just how much are they going to cherish the video he took.

It was an extraordinary night with an extraordinary performer.