You would expect a band with more than 20 years experience to know what they are doing with a festival crowd.

Ipswich Star: Placebo on stage. Picture: PAUL JOHN BAYFIELDPlacebo on stage. Picture: PAUL JOHN BAYFIELD (Image: PAUL JOHN BAYFIELD)

Placebo delivered a thumping headline performance on the BBC 6 Music Stage with catchy pop-rock songs from throughout their career.

The band seems to have two settings, searingly quick or slow apocalyptic pounding. While the hits from their early-2000s hay day, including Pure Morning, Special Needs and Song to Say Goodbye, brought the most energy from the crowd but newer tracks held their own in the set.

Front man Brian Molko, although somewhat calmer on stage than he once was, can still captivate an audience and the songs seem to have grown up with him.

The performance came to a crescendo with the blistering Bitter End followed by the band's breakout 1997 hit Nancy Boy. Placebo returned to the stage to complete a masterful set with their epic cover of Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill.

Ipswich Star: The band got a great reception. Picture: PAUL JOHN BAYFIELDThe band got a great reception. Picture: PAUL JOHN BAYFIELD (Image: PAUL JOHN BAYFIELD)