BILLY Mitchell and Ray Laidlaw are touring the UK this year with The Lindisfarne Story, celebrating the history and music of the much beloved folk-rock band.

Officially formed in 1968, Lindisfarne quickly gained a reputation for putting on exceptional live performances and went on to produce many popular and beloved albums, including the biggest-selling album of 1972, Fog On The Tyne.

The Lindisfarne Story began, unsurprisingly, with the humble beginnings of the band in North Shields, as told by Mitchell and Laidlaw. The two old Geordies were natural raconteurs and funny to boot, giving the audience a humorous, informative and very personal insight into the formation and subsequent adventures of the band.

Archive footage and photographs were woven skilfully into the narrative, often giving the crowd something to chuckle at between anecdotes.

While the focus was very much on the history of the band, Mitchell and Laidlaw also delivered fan favourites such as Lady Eleanor, Fog On The Tyne and We Can Swing Together, along with favourites of their own from other bands

Their acoustic performances were strong and lively. However, the frequent use of Mitchell’s iPod was less enthralling and seemed to be little more than filler, especially at one point where they played a song for us that we had already heard live earlier that night.

Once you can adjust your expectations from "live music show" to "documentary", The Lindisfarne Story was fun and engaging and really quite entertaining. The band’s stories were funny and touching, especially their recollections of those members who have unfortunately passed on, and it was very clear that Mitchell and Laidlaw remember it all very fondly, as did the fans who gave them a standing ovation as they left the stage.