Goldie & The Heritage Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall

"They said it was too fast. They said it would never last." Goldie's telling a packed Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre what music sceptics said about drum 'n' bass and jungle when the Metalheadz boss' debut album 'Timeless' was released back in 1995. Judging by the buzz in the air as he's about to perform the album with the 20-plus-strong Heritage Orchestra, conducted by Jules Buckley, they must be feeling very silly if they're in the building tonight.

There may be a few people sitting behind us who are a little confused at what's about to begin ("is he a drummer?"), but give it ten minutes, once the solo guitar-heavy 'Sea Of Tears' has introduced the performance, and we can forgive them as they're up on their feet with the proper d'n'b and jungle heads who clearly didn't just blag free tickets through work.

Everyone's up, filing into the aisles, by the time 'Angel' comes around, Goldie jumping around the stage like a kid at Christmas amid the flashing white lights and ceiling of lasers. It's a fitting follow-up to a tune of that title that Goldie's next move is to carry out a marriage proposal for one confident fella. The lucky lady in question doesn't show her face for a few shaky minutes, but the "yes" eventually arrives.

Vocalist Cleveland Watkiss comes out for a rendition of the gentle 'Adrift', putting the string-playing orchestra members in the spotlight, with Goldie pointing his heart-shaped hands to the sky, showing exactly what this album, and tonight, means to him.

It's not until the epic strings of 'Inner City Life/Pressure/Jah' creep in, with Espa on vocals, that we see him in full flow, though. Doing his best impression of J.K Simmons' character in nerve-wrecking film Whiplash (although he's not the villain here), he makes his way round to most instrumentalists; ferocious, hyperactive man-management skills in full throttle, but coaxing a smile out of each and everyone instead of scaring them shitless. Even without him, though, the drummers would still be impersonating Usain Bolt on the athletics track, only with their drum sticks. Goldie's shrieks of "jah" reverberate around the hall, before a rapturous, deafening applause give him the bow-out he deserves.

What was that about this music never lasting?