TOM Robinson has returned to live work after a relatively sedate period as a BBC 6 Music presenter.

This autumn, he’s touring in celebration of 40 years since his seminal 1977 debut single 2-4-6-8 Motorway and its accompanying 1978 album Power In The Darkness.

The original Tom Robinson Band has long since disbanded, the original members replaced by a trio of exceptional musicians who revived all the fire and fury of the original songs, playing the album in full. They were razor sharp.

The album is nothing if not incandescent, railing against injustice and the establishment, predicting a revolution at the end of the 1970s. Up Against The Wall is as potent as ever. For the title song, Robinson revised a spoken-word rant, despising the changes to the NHS and the way the establishment has hardly altered. Glad To Be Gay, a song once banned by the BBC, had the audience gleefully singing along.

Robinson, now 67, seemed to be struggling with the rigours of live performance. This was his seventh gig in as many days. His voice was rough and raspy and he found the exertion and heat hard to bear. "I’m too old for this," he admitted towards the end. Nevertheless, this was a reminder of his considerable talents and the power of music to act as a call to arms.

The closing song, the anthemic 2-4-6-8 Motorway, received a huge cheer from the over-50s crowd. Robinson offered to stick around at the end. "Come and tell me how I used to be great," he joked.