With a recording career spanning 42 years it's fair to assume that Paul Weller probably agonises more than most about his choice of setlist.

His prolific output as a solo artist alone has yielded 14 studio albums since his eponymous debut in 1992, while as founding member of mod/punk revivalists the Jam and the soul-influenced Style Council he won a legion of fans throughout the 1970s and 80s.

Blessed with a songbook that embraces countless styles and genres, it's heartening then that the Modfather can still unify an intergenerational fanbase.

Thousands flocked to Cheshire's sprawling Delamere Forest on Saturday night for the 61-year-old's open air summer gig and he soon had them marching to his litany of tunes.

In his first show at the venue for five years, a suntanned Weller strode onstage in jeans and a green-glittered baseball jacket that belied his age.

He greets an expectant audience with a perfunctory "Evenin'", before launching into I'm Where I Should Be from 2015's Saturn's Pattern.

Flanked by lead guitarist Steve Cradock and bassist Andy Crofts, Weller quickly segues into My Ever Changing Moods before the stomping Long Time injects some energy into proceedings.

A rare outing for The Jam's Man in the Corner Shop prompts the first mass singalong of the evening, with it's 'la-la-la-la-la' refrain bringing unbridled joy to many of the Fred Perry-clad fifty-somethings watching on.

That buoyant mood is sustained with a breathless romp through From the Floorboards Up as Steve Pilgrim's insistent drumming comes to the fore.

The evening's support came from the lively Midlands-based Stone Foundation, whose brass section were also on hand to bolster Weller's ranks intermittently throughout the show.

A slowed-down Out of the Sinking then saw Weller embrace a softer, more reflective mood, while the ever-popular Wild Wood seems to have been written for such lush and verdant surroundings.

The timeless That's Entertainment prompts joyous chanting in the arena section, before a double helping from 1997's Heavy Soul comes courtesy of Mermaids and Brushed.

The early fervour of the crowd is tempered slightly as Weller takes to the piano, with the introspective Strange Museum and Can You Heal Us Holy Man bringing a lull to proceedings.

But by the time the plaintive opening keys to You Do Something To Me strike up, the crowd are back on side as loved-up couples embrace to its heartfelt sentiment.

The Style Council's jazz-tinged Have you Ever Had It Blue? heralds the final third of the show, while acoustic solo numbers including the sublime Hung Up and Friday Street provided the perfect ambience as the skies darkened.

A strutting Peacock Suit closed the show as the guitars of Weller and Craddock intertwine to menacing effect.

Punters are rewarded further with a six-song encore, with the lilting Broken Stones proving a highlight.

The punctuated stabs of Rickenbackers are unmistakable in a flawless Start, though a below-par cover of Curtis Mayfield's Move On Up lacks the breezy optimism of the original.

Weller and his five-piece band sign off on a high, though, as the anthemic Town Called Malice prompts dancing and joy unconfined on the arena floor.

Set against the bucolic splendour of Delamere, this was a triumph.

Woking's finest remains at the top of his game and, based on this evidence, he's still got a lot more to offer.

Forest Live is a major outdoor live music series held every summer by Forestry England in seven beautiful woodland arenas across the country.

Over 1.75 million people have attended a forest gig in the last eighteen years. Income generated from ticket sales helps to look after the nation’s forests sustainably, for people to enjoy and wildlife to thrive.