Well, Joe Cocker’s still alive, although there were moments at Kirstenbosch when you wouldn’t have put money on it. 40-odd years in the music industry don’t combine for an elixir of youth, and Cocker’s wearing the evidence of life lived in extremis; and the strain of hitting big choruses and booming crescendos suggested Cocker was fringe cardiac arrest.

But there’s a good reason that a 64-year-old rocker kept a full house spellbound despite swirling drizzle at Kirstenbosch Gardens on Tuesday night: quite simply, the Englishman still has one of the most mesmerising voices in music.

A packed house not only shrugged off a cool, wet evening, but was on its collective feet after 20 minutes, picking up on a string of anthems that might not have been Cocker’s originally, but now carry his rough, husky stamp. The smoky, bluesy pitch that Cocker does like no other is still unmistakeable, his advancing years doing little to dull the edge of some of music’s more identifiable hits.

The Beatles — or Ringo Starr, more specifically — may have done ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ originally. But Cocker’s soulful, searing rendition cut through the night, taking it well beyond simple cover version. And that’s signature Cocker, songs borrowed from other artists, and given a new lease of life — Randy Newman’s ‘You Can Leave Your Hat On’ a prime example, getting the last of the seated fans up and dancing, and sparking a ‘Full Monty’ singalong at Kirstenbosch.

‘You Are So Beautiful’ got quieter support from the audience, one of Cocker’s numerous love songs, backed by some stirring vocals and saxophone; ‘What Becomes Of The Broken-Hearted’ was another beautiful, if maudlin number, shiver down the spine stuff (and not just because of the weather). Throw in the more upbeat ‘Tonight’ and ‘N’Oubliez Jamais’, bursts of energy to counter some mellower fare, and Cocker’s set was a snapshot of one of rock’s more enduring careers.

Having played the original Woodstock in 1969, Joe Cocker has quite a career behind him, and while air piano has replaced air guitar as onstage expression, and the look is more Italian restaurateur than rock star, a simple, polished performance from a man who clearly still loves what he does, suggests that advancing years have little chance of slowing him down. 7000-odd people, dancing in the rain on a Tuesday night in Cape Town, will be very happy that that’s the case.

Joe Cocker plays the Durban International Convention Centre on 28 February, and Carnival City Casino on 1 and 2 March. Bookings through Computicket.