SOLITARY Man was his first smash hit.

But last night there was no danger of Neil Diamond being alone as his army of fans poured into The Rose Bowl in West End to pay homage to the legendary American singer and songwriter.

A stage was built to welcome one of the world's greatest artists. The gates opened at 5.30pm to allow for Diamond mania to sweep the stadium and the countdown to begin for the huge concert.

It was worth waiting as the 67-year-old superstar stepped into the sun-baked amphitheatre to deafening applause.

Hampshire was one of the select locations to be honoured by the Diamond magic. From here he moves onto the Cardiff Millennium stadium, The 02 and Wembley Arenas before returning home for a six-night run in New York.

With his name firmly cemented in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, he has sold more than 150 million records around the globe.

His songs have been recorded by Elvis Presley, Barbara Streisland and Johnny Cash.

Diamond treated the Rose Bowl faithful to a diamond- studded songbook which has included classics like Sweet Caroline, Cracklin' Rosie, Song Sung Blue and Cherry and Cherry.

He dipped into his new album, Home Before Dark, which last month soared to number one in the UK and US charts. It was a first for the veteran master musician who thought he had achieved everything in his showbiz career.

The singer gave the crowd a big "Hello Southampton"

greeting and then launched in to all the old favourites.

It quickly became a Neil Diamond sing-along as he raced across the stage leading the chorus as the night was filled with the chants of Sweet Caroline and I'm a Believer.

It was the party of all parties.