All The Old Dude

In 30 years as the king of rock David Bowie has seen plenty of Changes.

But in a spellbinding appearance at Glastonbury he went back to his roots - returning to the hair and clothes style in which he launched his remarkable career all those years ago.

His look has undergone umpteen transformations, from the long golden locks when he burst on to the scene in 1970 to the spiky Ziggy Stardust crop and back again. But his ability to keep an audience enthralled remains the same.

His bill-topping performance in front of a crowd of 100,000 was a masterclass in superstardom.

Keeping such a large number of pop fans - many cold and exhausted after three days of excess - rapt for more than two hours takes a special kind of magnetism.

It seems the 53-year-old Starman's Golden Years are far from over.

While many other rockers of his age have shuffled off and become embarrassing caricatures of their former selves, Bowie appears to have found a secret cure for ageing.

His constant quest for the new, whether on record or on his pioneering internet site, has won him a third generation of fans.

He's had many pretenders to his crown as the Godfather of Cool. But even those in the crowd young enough to be his grandchildren could identify an original, a one-off.

Despite having played countless gigs Bowie admitted he was "nervous as a kitten" before Sunday's performance.

He knew many a pop gladiator has been slain on the fields of Glastonbury, victims of an audience notoriously difficult to please and quick to give the thumbs down.

Preparations weren't helped a battle against laryngitis, and rumours swirled around all weekend that he would be forced to pull out.

Then he was forced to hastily restructure a planned three-hour set after being told the organisers would be fined pounds 20,000 a minute if he overran the local curfew.

But as darkness fell across the Somerset valley and hundreds of camp fires flickered in the chilly night air, there was an expectancy that Bowie was about to deliver what festival veterans call a "Glastonbury moment". They were not disappointed.

The introductory bars of a typically eccentric show opener, the 1975 ballad Wild Is The Wind, induced a roar like rolling thunder - and he'd not even left the wings.

Then Bowie, who wrote Mott The Hoople hit All The Young Dudes, emerged stage left, looking like a long-haired English dandy with an Alexander McQueen-designed brocade frock coat - echoing his 1970 look.

No space-ships, no magic tricks, no explosions. Just ambling on with a languid swagger, a pop Sinatra with Elvis moves. Another tidal wave of applause washed through the crowd and Bowie's grin as he grabbed the mike was evidence his nerves had calmed.

Crucially the larynx was in working order.

With barely a pause for breath his band kicked into China Girl, then Changes - a song he unveiled at his first Glastonbury appearance in 1971. Then came Stay, Life On Mars, Absolute Beginners and Ashes to Ashes among others. The roll call of classic songs went on and on.

Bowie, just weeks away from fatherhood second time around with his supermodel wife Iman, plundered his back catalogue with relish.

He bobbed and bounced like a lithe prize-fighter, pointing and waving at delighted fans.

Other big name acts watched open-mouthed. By the time he did an encore it had turned into a walkover.

If he'd sung the telephone directory the crowd would have screamed for more.

When he finally sauntered off, Bowie glanced back over his shoulder. He looked pleased with himself. Still here, still doing the business.