This was a night of songs for lovers of songs for lovers; a night to cosy up with your special person. A night filled with tunes that could resonate with everyone in the room because it was Valentine’s Day and all of these numbers fall under the category of “our song”.

The selection (a setlist completely revamped from last year’s performance) was just perfect, with songs straight out of the American songbook, from Cole Porter, the most heavily featured, to Marks and Simons, Bart Howard, and Irving Gordon.

Simone Craddock has a Blossom Dearie-styled voice, with a range that seems to have no limit, hitting those highs like a swallow and unravelling a strong pure baritone at the drop of a hat. She’s a playful character, with a bubbly personality, charming the audience with her friendly and funny banter, and that playfulness is also inherent in her singing style as she performed the tunes truly to the melody but with added twists and turns. The special moment for me, though, was when she added some smoke, with a languid, bluesy, interpretation of The Nearness Of You.

Craddock’s musical foil this evening was the slick-fingered Aaron Deacon, who provided a lively accompaniment to support the songs. He held down some toe-tapping rhythms and fluidly switched from tasty lead lines and supporting chords without missing a beat, a highlight being his superbly imaginative solo break on My Baby Just Cares For Me. A spot-on partnership that saw each of them dancing around each other’s musical moves and supporting each other strongly.

And as the glow of the candles sparkled in the eyes of your loved one and Craddock serenaded you on a bed of lush acoustic guitar chords, you could very well have found yourself “flying to the moon and playing among the stars”.

Corny? You bet. An absolute delight? Without question. Can’t wait till next year’s show.