In the civil rights history of America the role of singer and actor Paul Robeson is often overlooked.

So I salute Tayo Aluko for putting this right in such an articulate, thorough and entertaining way.

Robeson was a truly remarkable man. His father began life as a slave in the American south, escaped to the north and became a preacher who taught his son to respect all men regardless of colour or creed.

An intriguing little aside was that the Negro spiritual Steal Away, was an escape plan code among the slaves.

Mr Aluko led us through Paul’s struggles and triumphs as a gifted athlete, a prizewinning law student, his rise to world fame as both singer and actor, supported and managed by his wife Essie.

He didn’t paint him as a saint or omit Robeson’s many infidelities.

We shared the pain of his cruel persecution by his own his own countrymen, especially in the era of Senator Joe McCarthy’s ‘Reds under the Bed’ paranoia in the 1940s and 50s, for speaking out for the rights of the working man and the oppressed black citizens.

Mr Aluko could almost match Robeson’s power as an orator, but as a baritone – albeit a very good one - he couldn’t come near the vibrant and unforgettable bass of his alter ego in this one-man show.

But no matter; he wisely kept the singing to appropriate extracts and concentrated on the intriguing life story of a real freedom fighter.