IT WAS a cold evening, but that didn’t affect the party that was happening inside the Newport Centre as Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott performed.

In Newport for their only Welsh show, it was a guaranteed sell-out.

Opening the evening was Philadelphian singer Son Little whose rock-blues sound captivated those watching.

But the biggest cheers were for the main act who opened with The Lord Is a White Con from their latest album Crooked Calypso which was released in July.

Best known for their work with Beautiful South and Heaton’s work with The Housemartins, the pair have a huge back catalogue to choose from.

They sang Five Get Over Excited and the beautiful Rotterdam as the stage lit up with a disco ball effect.

Before singing The Beautiful South’s I'll Sail This Ship Alone Heaton said the song strained his voice, but there was no evidence of it as he belted out high notes. The band has to wait for the cheers and applause to subside before they launched into She Got The Garden.

The Beautiful South’s Perfect 10 sounded as good live as the day it was released and the party moved up a notch during Good As Gold as the audience sang Carry On Regardless and canons fired out gold paper.

There were streamers, bubbles that just added to the spectacle of the show.

The evening ended with two encores, even those seated were dancing. It was a night that will be talked about for years to come.