Can you catch E.coli from sweat? If so, let’s hope nobody in the crush to get close to Adam Ant on Saturday night had been munching dodgy cucumbers for their tea.

The Duchess is always a down and dirty kind of venue but the combination of a hot day, overexcited and underintelligent 30-something guys and an irritated slew of middle-aged women who had come to see their teen dream, was a recipe for perspiration drench and ill-feeling.

But my goodness, it was worth it. Despite the avalanche of “zimmer frame” jokes that appeared on my facebook wall, Adam Ant is a fit and feisty 56-year-old who still has all the moves, the smouldering looks and the potent sexual charisma of his youth – just ask those middle-aged women.

Ant’s early work was panned by contemporary critics and he has always made it his mission to prove them wrong.

So he screamed, howled, swore, chanted and gyrated his way through most of the songs from first album Dirk Wears White Sox, plus other early, raw numbers including Lady, Beat My Guest and Christian D’Or.

The main hits were there too, such as Antmusic, Kings Of The Wild Frontier and Stand and Deliver – all causing the temperature in the Duchess to rise even higher.

But the clean-cut 80s pin-up image is long gone and Ant is back to his original “English eccentric”, outspoken, passionate, creative roots.

We must celebrate our true originals and with Adam Ant, the good and the mad are entwined, inseparable and wonderful.

- Jacey Lamerton