IT was a welcome return for the king of boogie-woogie Jools Holland at the Villa Marina last night.

Jools and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra were as brilliant as usual with Jools making sure the band had a chance to shine.

Alison Moyet had been billed as the special guest and her appearance with the band - which was criminally short - was simply stunning.

Her voice was fantastic and although she only performed four songs she left a lasting impact.

Alison's hits Love Letters and Only You delighted the crowd while her version of the late, great John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom would surely have instantly won approval from the man himself.

She sounded great and looked great. It was the first time I had seen Alison sing since watching her in the musical Chicago in the West End some years ago when she blew everyone else off stage.

While I only expected Alison to perform a short set - Marc Almond did a similar thing a couple of years ago when he appeared with Jools at the Villa - there were perhaps expectations among other members of the crowd that she would have been on stage for longer.

Jools is a very good showman - in addition, of course, to being a supreme musician - and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra certainly know how to create a party atmosphere.

Drummer Gilson Lavis was superb and his solo was one of the best I have ever seen and deservedly won a fantastic ovation from the audience.

Ruby Turner was again a guest vocalist and she certainly belted out a handful of numbers in her own style.

So the king of boogie-woogie returned to the Island and once again, along with his musical army, he conquered.

Jools will be back in action at the Villa tonight when the special guest will be Dave Edmunds.

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Alison Moyet was the perfect guest at the Jools Holland concert last night (photo: John Gregory)