It was like gatecrashing a private party. The exuberant audience were almost all Iraqis, clearly determined to revive the spirit of those good old days in pre-Saddam Baghdad. That was when Ilham al-Madfai and his band used to play under the palm trees where the Tigris river meets the canal that runs through Sadr El Ganat City, where now no music could survive against the noise of circling Black Hawks.

The man once dubbed the "Baghdad Beatle" has long been a celebrity across the Arab world, but this summer there is a major campaign to promote him to a British audience. He is booked to play both Glastonbury and Womad - and rightly so, for he is a rousing performer and one of the best singers in the Middle East.

But as he looked out at the men (and occasional girls) dancing hand in hand through the aisles at the Lyric, and at the waving Iraqi flags, he must have been mildly disappointed. Of course, it is crucial that Iraqis should find something to celebrate, but where were the new British fans? Iraq has clearly not yet registered on the world music radar, which is unfortunate, because these were stirring, accessible songs.

Al-Madfai perched on a stool, playing impressive acoustic guitar that showed off both his flamenco and Arabic influences. He was backed by a band that matched the stirring, zither-like qanoun, the nai (the Iraqi flute) and traditional hand drums against somewhat unnecessary conventional percussion and uninspired bass guitar.

At first the backing was a little heavy-handed, but al-Madfai is famous for judging the mood of a crowd. The rousing, if tragic, hit song Khuttar was followed by a dance piece featuring wailing desert flute and the romantic ballad Mali Chugul Bil Soug, performed first solo and then with the band.

It was a successful set, but he had only needed to address the crowd in Arabic, not English. The summer festivals will be an interesting challenge.