RAISE a large glass of Malibu, complete with a slice of pineapple, and toast the amazing musical cocktail that is one Will Young.

Nigel Pickover

RAISE a large glass of Malibu, complete with a slice of pineapple, and toast the amazing musical cocktail that is one Will Young.

Pop Idol 2002 winner Will, 28, is a talisman to millions - and I watched as he showed all his singing prowess as he wowed a sell-out Ipswich crowd of more than 1,600 people.

Will sang and then chatted, teased and then joked, danced and then pranced, his was through a spellbinding 90-minute set, when he confessed of a distant love affair with the coconut liqueur that is Malibu.

He's left those days behind now - but in six years at the top has delivered some of the classic songs of the first part of the 21st century.

Let's celebrate the joys of songs like Friday's Child, when pop almost tilts into rock, Who Am I, Grace and You and I, numbers which had the crowd singing and dancing, some of them in tears of the awesome scale and pitch of the Young voice.

This is entertainment at its highest level - and Will is adored by is fans who come in all shapes, sizes and ages.

Some trail their hero across the country - one set of women have travelled from all parts of the country to watch every one of the 14 shows to date - will they ever get home?

My favourite on the night was the classic number one, Leave Right Now, which beat the delightful Changes by a short quaver.

With dozens of mobile phones capturing video moments - Will even filmed himself for someone on the front row - this was a night to store in the memory banks for a long time to come.

I don't know about Leave Right Now - it's more like Come Back Soon!

ON THE UP:

Support band Honey Ryder look to have a bright future with their acoustic pop, laced with a folksy flip. They turned in a splendid 35-minute set, warming up the audience for the main event.