Let you entertain us? Any time, Robbie. Any time

It took all of 15 minutes to set up the portable stage and catwalk on which his band, and occasionally he, played, and the set itself lasted only about the same. But just before the Melbourne Cup was run Robbie Williams delivered a typically knockout set that is guaranteed to linger for years in the memory of those who were there to witness it.

No stranger to marquee events, Williams knows how to package up the hits and memories amassed over three decades in the business into a tight package made for the camera. But in no way did he shortchange the punters who were actually there at Flemington.

With his 10-strong band already on the hastily erected — and just as hastily dismantled afterwards — stage, he entered the Mounting Yard looking every bit the thoroughbred he is. Chin up, chest out, head back, resplendent in an eye-catching dark blue suit (heck, let’s call it silks), he strutted across the grass, lapping up the attention and adoration of the crowd.

He was somewhere off to the northern end of the yard when he began singing Feel. By the time he had made it to the stage, through a phalanx of white-clad dancers wielding yellow parasols, the band had already segued into Rock DJ, and we seemed to be getting Medley Williams, the condensed greatest hits showcase he served up at the MCG four years ago as he set the bar for AFL grand final entertainment.

As has been reported already in this masthead, VRC chief executive Kylie Rogers was instrumental in landing him for that gig. Perhaps she had whispered in his ear ahead of today that it would be nice to do something a little different this time round. Whatever the case, he gave us a more or less full-length rendition of his club banger, then sauntered off into the crowd again to lead a mass singalong to his ballad Angel, again delivered near-enough in toto.

He finished, of course, with Let Me Entertain You. I’m not sure if ending on that number is a contractual obligation, but it’s a promise on which he makes good pretty much every time he steps on a stage — and this was no different.

With the dancers waving gold flags and covering most of the Mounting Yard, Williams headed through the roses towards the rails. From where I was watching high in the Members Stand, he was invisible, but the wiser heads around me insisted he was at the finishing post. By a nose.

Flames spurted into the sky from behind the band, and enormous puffs of yellow and pink smoke erupted, and the pre-race Robbie Williams show was over. In another three hours, he’d be back to do a full set for the stayers. And all this, apparently, on 20 minutes’ sleep snatched during a 30-hour trip from his LA home.

Robbie Williams loves Melbourne. After all, it’s where he filmed the story of his life, the off-kilter and rather brilliant Better Man. He’s even got the keys to the city.

And Melbourne loves Robbie Williams, who will play a full concert at Marvel next week. Let you entertain us? Any time, Robbie. Any time.