The call of one the world’s great performers - coupled with one the world’s great cities – was far too strong for two Gino- starved Brits. With Mr Vannelli’s reluctance to bring his huge hair to his huge British following, our mission was clear.

Paradiso, set in the heart of Amsterdam, proved to be the perfect setting for a night to remember, on a date that Londoners will tragically not be allowed to forget. The converted church is magnificent, and it’s easy to see why this venue has been coveted by the eclectic hierarchy of world music over the years.

Having arrived at the venue our expectations were raised as high as the Paradiso roof. The stage was set for an eleven piece band – including a string section. As the lights dimmed on the fabulous stained glass windows behind the stage the band arrived – followed by their leader. The band, the crowd - the night- belonged to one man.

Gino sailed through a string of old and new songs, starting with ‘Wild Horses’. After a few knob-twiddling adjustments the sound was pretty damn good. We were struggling to hear the classy (and not physically unattractive) female string section for a majority of the night, but it’s a small gripe.

The next couple of songs were blasts from a glorious ‘power ballad’ past. ‘Living inside myself’ was followed by mid tempo reworking of ‘Wheels of Life’, which felt like someone restoring your old classic convertible into a slick new modern equivalent.

The voice of the man throughout the night was incredibly dynamic and rich, yet he does it with such apparent ease, which - as a singer too – I find extremely annoying!

As ‘Black Cars’ smoothly breezed past I wondered how Gino could generate such calm power. Like a general leading his troops he initiated tempos for each song, conducted intros and outros, and commanded them to solo on his signal. For their part, the band knew their place, and each of them performed magnificently crafted solos under General Vannelli’s painfully intense interrogations.

The crowd also felt duty bound to fall in line. As the band prepared to bring in ‘Jolie Coeur’ Gino raised his hands to appeal for absolute silence. You got the feeling that he’d wait as long as he felt necessary to achieve it! We knew our place too.

Tasteful versions of ‘Personna non Grata’ and ‘Alive by Science’ flashed by before the exquisite ‘Canto’ descended into our laps like a delicate feather. I’d not heard Gino’s classical escapade before, but if this is anything to go by then I may have to drop my ‘not my cuppa tea’ stance – and get out the best china for a brew-up! Shame on my shallow self!

Before we knew it we were back to an old classic – with a twist. ‘People Gotta Move’ was given an outrageous make over, and was followed by the emotive ‘Hurts to be in Love’ which proved to be the calm before the storm.

As the band launched into ‘Brother to Brother’ the already super charged atmosphere leaped to dangerously high levels. No, Amsterdam - it’s not the sound of Ajax winning the European Champions League. It’s the sound of a few hundred people shrieking in long-time-goal-achieving bliss, in the presence of Gino Vanelli’s ‘Brother to Brother’ – live! It was as it should be – a phenomenal piece, played phenomenally well. The outro reprise certainly got the hairs on the back of the neck dancing foolishly about.

As the crowd regained their collective beers, breath and bearings the General and his troops wandered off stage for a debriefing. Convention - coupled with the ‘string platoon’ still holding fort ‘stage left’– dictated that it would be a swift victorious return.

‘I Just Wanna Stop’ was the obvious choice of encore, and was received with obvious delight by the audience who now sang along like they were auditioning on mass for Gino’s conspicuously absent backing vocal group.

The night was brought to a close by the original pop version of ‘People Gotta Move.’ Gino made no apology for playing the same song twice, and we didn’t expect him to. It would have been nice to hear ‘Santa Rosa’ or ‘Where Am I Going’, but maybe they’re for another day.

The man and his band left the stage for the last time, and the crowd floated out of the Paradiso front door to spread the news to the good people of Amsterdam. The city is very pretty and friendly, and certainly somewhere I’d like to revisit. I’m sure Gino will include Amsterdam on his world tour - pencilled in for next year. For now I guess it’s ‘mission accomplished’, and let’s hope Mr Vannelli and accompanying famed follicles take in the UK as part of that tour.

Finally, a few words of thanks - firstly to the group of Dutch gentlemen who provided us with beer throughout the gig. We owe you several! Thanks to the dutch lad who tried to sell me his girlfriend – I’ll get back to you! Thanks to Jimmie for a wicked few days. ( Nice drunken vocal performance of ‘Play that Funky Music’ in that Amsterdam bar mate!) Also thanks to Gino for taking the time out for a chat with us after the gig. It was a pleasure to meet you. Good luck with the new album.