"LIVE Aid, Mandela concert, Wembley... Swindon on a Saturday night!"

Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr was counting off some of the band's achievements on his fingers, and the way they performed at the Oasis Leisure Centre on Saturday, you wouldn't question his sincerity. For the 2,000 fans packed into the sports hall-cum-concert venue, this Saturday night in Swindon was certainly one to remember.

The fact is, Kerr was telling us, this night nearly didn't happen. He'd been suffering from flu and a cancellation was a possibility. "Miss a Saturday night in Swindon?" he said, and then shook his head with a big grin.

This show certainly proved to be a tonic for the 55-year-old Scottish frontman, who belted out songs and bounded around the stage like it was 1984 again. And the audience of mostly 50-somethings made sure he didn't do it alone.

The Oasis is undergoing some major changes at the moment, and it has all proved rather controversial for what is an iconic Swindon landmark. But there is no doubting it makes a great concert venue - Paul Weller was there in March, UB40 are lined up for October, and on Saturday it was Simple Minds, the heavyweight rockers who swept through the stadiums of the world in the late 80s and early 90s, but this evening were happy to play something smaller and more intimate.

And sadly for someone who had been busy setting out hundreds of seats during the day, everyone in the audience was on their feet and jigging about from the opening bar of the first song. "Sitting down at a Simple Minds concert?" asked a bemused Kerr. "That's like going to a party in Glasgow wearing underwear - it doesn't happen."

So we were as sweaty and knackered as Kerr by the end of the near two and a half hour set - but it was worth it.

This tour - it started in Lisbon in February and ends in Ipswich tonight(MON) - is promoting last year's album, the appropriately titled Big Music and there were tracks performed from that. But there was plenty of old stuff too, some going way back - The American, Love Song, Glittering Prize - and there were crowd pleasers too: after a stuttering start, Someone Somewhere In Summertime was one of the highlights of the evening, Don't You Forget About Me whipped everyone into a frenzy, and after a ground-shaking rendition of Waterfront, someone had better make sure the Oasis' famous dome is still attached. They even had the cheek to do a cover of The Doors' Riders On The Storm.

With the hall shimmering with heat and energy, the evening could only end with one of the band's best loved numbers, Alive And Kicking, which everyone joined in with.

Alive and kicking - sums up a Saturday night in Swindon perfectly.