It always amuses me when I tell friends or colleagues I am going to watch a band called Show Of Hands.

I am usually greeted with a quizzical shoulder shake... followed by a request to hum one of their hits.

Then I inform them that SOH, Steve Knightly, Phil Beer and Miranda Sykes, sell out venues all over the UK, including the Albert Hall on more than one occasion.

And the West Country duo-turned-trio proved me right again when they played to a sell-out crowd at Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall Theatre.

SOH have built up a massive following across the country for one simple reason: they are great musicians.

And they produce intelligent, relevant and thought-provoking music which aren’t just great sing-alongs - they are also topical and pertinent.

It’s like Question Time...the musical!

When they belted out Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed with the caustic line: “You’re on your yacht...we’re on our knees” most of us thought about Sir Philip Green.

And when Steve sang Crooked Man with his “crooked smile” Blairite politicians came to mind.

Steve, Phil and Miranda also reminded us that economic migration is nothing new with a fabulous rendition of fans’ favourite, Cousin Jack about West Country miners who travelled all over the world looking for a better life.

There was also a poignant tribute to the late Leonard Cohen with Suzanne and a haunting version of Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time.

Phil, a master with guitar or violin, gave a great cover of Richard Schindell’s Best Western and Miranda delighted the audience with a song written by her mother.

Individually, the three are fabulous...together they are pure magic.

And opening for the trio was the much under-rated Megan Henwood with her haunting White Lies, Chemicals and her tribute to her uncle, Painkiller.