Review by William Hickey

Daily Express July 4 1977

Anywhere else they would all have yelled  "O Yeah" but in this setting it had to be a perfectly enunciated cry of "Oh Yes"

When the Big time British rock bands play, the cry from fans is "O yeah, O yeah."

But when Coney Island- born superstar Neil Diamond conquered ancient Woburn Abbey and had his personal standard rung up on the flagpole, his cry was subtly different.....

His rough, gritty voice amplified massively by a sound system which took 10 days and 60 men to set up, Diamond cried to the worshipful 55000; "Oh Yes!"

Their sea of arms waved in the sun, and their roar ruffled the leaves in the landscape gardens: "Oh, YES"

Oh, yes indeed

this was no ordinary pop concert the popocracy met the aristocracy

More than 20000 cars converged on Woburn Abbey, and the happening there quite outdid that exciting occasion 22 years previous when the Duke of Bedford staged the World Nudists' Convention

They bought mainly the well heeled and the affluent people - to remember when they used to be the beautiful people? to whom Diamond is the ultimate pop chic. They waved their arms , cried "Oh YES" and fed on Harrods hampers and chilled champagne.

Woburn's master Marquis of Tavistock  surveyed the scene with his wife Henrietta the bankers daughter  whose name is now synonymous with debutante

They wore matching black suits with " DIAMOND" written on them in yellow

The concert attracted a host of stars like Mick Jagger, jeanne Moreau, david frost, tony grieg and rival aristicrats like the Duke of Marlborough and Lord Montagu

And while the happy sounds filled the night through to the wee small hours there can be no sweeter sound than the gnashing of one's teeth.

In the words of Diamonds latest record.... "A Beautiful Noise"

The show opened with a medley from the corps of Drums of the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards, an unusual support act to be sure, but one bound to go down well in America where a film of the show is to be shown on TV

to  be completed