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It's a great way of not abusing your back catalogue, yet not ignoring it. Contrast that with Diana Ross who seemed to be throwing her back catalogue in because she felt people expected it, and seemed to be doing it through clenched teeth."The comparison that is often made with jazz is a difficult one Jazz is part of an older and wider culture An old jazzman in a smoke-filled room never looks stupid. Steve Harley, founder of Seventies band Cockney Rebel, and Ray Davies of The Kinks, one of the quintessential English singer-songwriters, now do shows with just one accompanying guitarist in which they intersperse their songs with personal histories in the form of witty and sometimes touching monologues.Bernard Doherty, one of the organisers of both the Q Awards and The Brits, says: "Ray Davies's show had great dignity. But in every case the return to the stage begs a key question: are the rhythms, posturings, lyrics and social history of rock'n'roll so closely associated with sex, aggression and attitude that a forty or fifty-something performer, male or female, is in danger of looking ridiculous on stage? Perhaps the answer to that is a question in itself: would it not be wrong to preclude artists from performing just because of their age - especially when the public so clearly demands to see them.Some veterans, though, have found a new way of presenting their songs, one that avoids a traditional rock show with its accompanying expectations of youthful attitude. But the real reason might lie in something else Townshend discussed with me: his awareness of the burgeoning Asian market, the coming demand for CDs in India and China which will mean new fortunes for the heroes of rock. As Daltrey said, the music has to be kept alive and in the public consciousness, however much the bones might ache.These Sixties comeback performers have been joined by Blondie from the Seventies and Boy George from the Eighties in delighting old audiences and occasionally winning new ones. Well, I won't do it."Evidently, Townshend has changed his mind.

Next week The Who return to where they grew up, Shepherds Bush in west London, to play The Empire. Perhaps Townshend wants to keep his singer happy, though such goodwill has not always been a feature of the band.Townshend is also riding high on the success of Lifehouse, the ambitious "play with music" that he has just had successfully premiered on BBC Radio 3. Roger Daltrey told me a few years ago that he hated it that the band were not playing live - as without that "the music dies". When I reported this to Pete Townshend, he shouted at me: "Roger wants me to get up with him and re-live our youth. When they're up there they can feel that they're still scallywags But they pace themselves now.

Even Keith, who doesn't exactly move about too much on stage is learning to pace himself."The return of The Who - arguably the greatest and highest-energy live band at their peak - is odder. What these bands have in common is that they honed the craft of performing in clubs before they became famous, something only a tiny minority of chart bands do now. McCartney, too, is likely to be announcing a new tour in the new year.For the Rolling Stones, pushing on is a matter of pride. "They love to put two fingers up to people who say they are past it," says an insider. "Nothing gave them greater pleasure than the recent Billboard table of the highest grossing tours of all time they are numbers one, two and three And they do love performing. They were some of her favourite numbers, as well as his.McCartney also believes that he and bands like The Stones and The Who still perform because they can. "Her mother was half Cherokee and the Red-Indian blood seems to give her a natural energy which means she doesn't worry about dieting or exercising." And the public still wants her.

Her promoters are to announce an extra date for her Wembley show next summer, shows that will guarantee her bank balance several hundreds of thousands of pounds.McCartney thanks his vegetarianism for keeping him fit enough to rock'n'roll That's not the only tribute to his late wife. Insiders know that last week's Cavern performance - like his latest album of rock'n'roll classics - is really just Paul singing Linda's juke-box. And she has an expensive lifestyle with houses in Switzerland and the south of France, a penchant for fashion shops and an extended family to support."Tina, at least, does not need a fitness regime "She has never seen the inside of a gym," said the friend. He also plays tennis every day.Sir Cliff, clearly, carries on performing for the greater good, but others cite a variety of less-altruistic reasons for remaining on the road One of the most unusual cases is Tina Turner. Just turned 60 with a stage act that involves enough dancing to tire out a 20-year-old, she collapses into her limousine at the end of a show."It's difficult for her," said an associate yesterday, "because she insists on her shows being high energy The reason she does it, frankly, is for the money.