A funny kind of yellow

Status Quo live on The One Show last night. Special.

On days like these

When it comes to 'heroes' in the film realm, for me, Michael Caine is right up there. Unfortunately, I'd found out a tad too late about his A Night Out With career-retrospective at the Royal Albert Hall (announced on Chris Evans' Radio 2 show which I rarely listen to in the morning). But not to worry, two choir seats were procured easily enough, safe in the knowledge I'd either get the back of Sir Michael's head, or that of his interrogator for the night, Jonathan Ross. On the plus side, there would be a face-on view of the London Symphony Orchestra doing their soundtrack-y duties and having sat almost on top of the stage on a few occasions previously it really is a pretty good vantage point all being said. Even better, the day before the show, it was announced that Quincy Jones ... Quincy Jones! ...would be conducting a couple of tunes from The Italian Job.

Tempting as it was to head to the rear of the RAH and re-enact the fight scene from The Ipcress File on its hallowed steps, half-an-hour before the show saw the great man himself arrive. Whilst his slightly unsteady gait reflected his 81 years, once he'd planted himself in front of presenter Brenda Emanus for a live-to-camera interview, hands firmly in pocket, the sharp-suited octogenarian in front of us was most assuredly the Michael Caine. Still as cool as. Interview done, and with his wife Shakira watching at the door, he happily posed for photos for fans.

Inside, screens helpfully magnified the action for those with awkward seating positions. Two chairs and a small table to the left of the stage indicated where the interview would take place. Once the lights dimmed a box opposite revealed the familiar figures of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, arguing amongst themselves about who could do the best Michael Caine impression. A man behind them sat impassive with a programme in front of his face. A few minutes into the mock shenanigans, Michael Caine revealed himself, comically responding with dialogue appropriated from Get Carter. "Did you kill Alf Roberts?" one of the duelling pair called out to riotous applause.

Jonathan Ross did a great job guiding the interview through pivotal moments in Caine's career, with plenty of room for tangential flights of fancy (of which there were many) on both sides. In response to a question about how over-awed younger actors must be his company, and whether his working style channels 'tension' or 'relaxation', Caine confirmed it to be the latter - the important of aspect of film-making, for him, is ensuring that he and his co-actors enjoy the process and 'have a laugh'. Entertaining asides littered the air - the £1 million proceeds of a below-par role allowing him to buy his mum a house; his mother's reaction to the lack of washing lines in LA; the bravery of a Man Who Would Be King stuntman; flat-sharing with Terence Stamp and John Barry and witnessing the latter's 'eureka' moment composing 'Goldfinger'; the irony of his being unable to drive during the making of The Italian Job; his latter-day collaboration with director Christopher Nolan, who had refused to leave his house until Caine had read his Batman script in full. Danny Baker, sat in the box alongside Coogan and Brydon, was clearly enjoying all this as much as the rest of us as his hearty guffaws could be heard loudly from where we were sitting.

The conversation paused at intervals to allow the LSO to perform a selection of themes from Caine movies old and more recent, with accompanying visuals. The lack of swivel chairs for Caine and Ross became a running joke, as both shifted positions awkwardly a dozen or more times to watch the action behind them. An actual cimbalom on The Ipcress File? Unfortunately not. A keyboard approximated its eery strings just below us with such accuracy it would have been impossible to tell from the far reaches of the arena. Joss Stone was surprisingly restrained fronting Alfie, (which could be put down to nerves if her Twitter feed was anything to go by). Lance Ellington, a singer from Strictly Come Dancing, was wonderful performing 'On Days Like These', conducted masterfully by none other than Quincy Jones. Perhaps best of all was the meditative 'Time', from Inception, composed by Hans Zimmer and played in tandem with him via the big screen. In all I enjoyed the music I was least familiar perhaps more that the more well-known themes such as Zulu and The Man Who Would Be King. And the opportunity to clap along to 'The Self-Preservation Society' with Caine and its composer (who, they remind us, share identical birthdays, right down to the hour) does not come around in anyone's lifetime too often. A victorious five minutes at the end of an unexpectedly moving evening.

As he left the stage a slighly startled Caine was collared by an enterprising fan in replica Zulu costume, insisting Caine oblige him with a selfie. He did so ever-so-reluctantly; but, as the photo below attests, Jonathan Ross clearly found the whole episode hilarious.