If Tom Jones and Robbie Williams could have a love child Daniel Bedingfield would be the end result. With knickers, thongs and even a rather large bra thrown on stage, Bedingfield excites his fans in a way that would make the Welsh legend proud. For much of his set he bounced around the stage like a rubber ball. During the opening song, the upbeat I Can’t Read You, he jumped off stage to reach his fans, making them scream with delight. The way he milked the crowd comes from the Robbie Williams school of showmanship. It rubbed off on the audience and had them jumping and shouting for more. When Bedingfield first appeared on the scene, with a single made in his bedroom, and I, like many other people thought, 'Wow.' Then he released If You're Not The One. I thought 'Oh no, he's going down the route of soppy ballads for teenage girls.' I quickly went off him, never went to see him and didn't buy his records. This gig quashed the stereotype and I realised I've missed out. The crowd at Thetford Forest was one of the most diverse I have seen at a concert - from kids only just old enough to be in primary school right through the spectrum to grandparents. Lucie Silvas Perhaps this helped explain Lucie Silvas' presence as the support act. The 24-year-old has struggled to launch a solo career despite penning songs for the likes of Rachel Stevens.  | | Lucie Silvas |
I'm amazed she has not surpassed artists such as Dido and Joss Stone. Her small stature hides a voice of remarkable talent and range. Her top 10 hit Breathe In got the crowd warmed up, but they cooled when she sung Forget Me Not, a slow, quiet piano solo. Surprisingly, many people took it as a cue to have a chat and weren't listening. She picked up the pace again to finish on a high, but she would do well to take lessons in stage presence from Bedingfield. Headline act The atmosphere was relaxed, with the picnic hampers and chairs cleared away before Bedingfield entered the stage as the crowd stood to attention for the main show. The real treat was the way he teased everyone, to keep us guessing as to what we would hear next. Between songs he performed beatbox routines. The band would slowly strike up, and then the surprise would arrive. One of which was a version of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. In between tracks from his two albums came other covers. His version of The Killers' track Somebody Told Me went down a storm. Live recording Another highlight came when a new number called Fire Eyes was recorded by the sound engineers at Bedingfield's request. He told the crowd he would include this live version on his next album. It will be interesting to see if he keeps his promise. Glow sticks, lighters and arms swayed in the air for If You're Not The One with Bedingfield proving that he can hit the high notes. He rode the crowd like an expert surfer riding a wave. After the slow love songs things picked up again with Complicated and again Bedingfield was on the barriers touching as many fans as he could. There was a reggae vibe as he mixed up a medley of Bob Marley hits including Exodus and No Woman, No Cry and did it justice.  | | These fans got into the gig spirit |
He then sandwiched a blend of The Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams and Technotronic's Pump Up The Jam into the middle of James Dean (I Wanna Know). Encore treat The encore was a mini-show in itself with two tracks from each album followed by the grand finale. And how else could Bedingfield end the show other than with the song that launched his career? The crowd had waited all night for Gotta Get Thru This and then got three versions. First reggae, then a remix and finally the original. I have something in common with Bedingfield. Prior to this show we were both forest gig virgins. I was expecting to be led gently through his catalogue. But we were taken on a ride to remember. Earlier he told BBC Look East he would definitely do a forest gig again. And so will I. Daniel Bedingfield and Lucie Silvas played Thetford Forest on Friday 15 July 2005. | 
