Pulp @ Wireless Festival, London

Pulp are great. It's an obvious sentiment, and not perhaps the stuff of great music journalism - but we've always known it, even if it was tucked away in the back of our minds for the last ten years while Jarvis Cocker became a subtly addictive radio voice and other bands came - and other bands went.

That they're great then, is fairly embedded in everybody's consciousnesses. The question last night was; how great were they going to be?

After their Glastonbury appearance, in which Pulp performed to a magically orchestrated sunset in a Tolkienesque valley, Hyde Park seemed like it would have to jump through a few hoops to become the 'Pulp Gig of the Summer'. Luckily for London however, last night's show was not an added bonus; there was only one band, and only one day devoted to them.

TV On The Radio were however, a great footnote; reminding you that the best bands make it look easy, they weaved slinky falsettos into the camouflage of quite complex pop, owing more to Prince than the oft-referenced Radiohead, while slotting in perfectly with an afternoon which was hotter than it looked.

It was harder to decipher Grace Jones, but also easier to love her; in 1985 the woman was snapping necks with her thighs in a James Bond movie, and she still looks equally bitchin'; her back muscles alone are a spectacle. That last night's music sounded like vodka-influenced karaoke was, weirdly, a bonus.

And so finally, a massive black curtain dropped to the floor to reveal four letters; PULP announced their return with 'Do You Remember The First Time?', while Jarvis made it clear that - actually - he did, sharing his memories of how a move from Sheffield to London provided the culture clash that propelled the band into superstardom.

The London references continued with the Trainspotting-soundtrack tune 'Mile End', but the highlights of the set were more populist; 'Pink Glove' sounded fantastic, but it also demonstrated that only 10% of the audience knew the lyrics to the material from His 'N Hers or earlier. 'Disco 2000' by contrast, prompted mass boogie.

Who can blame Pulp then, for ending with the unbeatably crowd-pleasing finale of 'Common People' and a shower of confetti? It was the last dance at the prom, and nobody was leaving early to beat the crowds.