Pacing from left to right with jagged hand movements illustrating every passionate point, Gordon Brown delivered one of the most important and most impressive speeches of his political career.
Come September 17 there was only one person Better Together wanted front and centre and it was the former Prime Minister.
Not the inhibitor of No. 10, not the leader of their campaign, but the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP who rose Lazarus-like to bring his political career back to life.
In gripping the No campaign by the scruff of the neck and delivering a series of barnstorming defences of the United Kingdom, along with the timetable currently being stuck to for devolving more powers to Holyrood, Brown has been credited in many quarters with “saving the Union”.
His intervention means the son of the Manse will bow out from Westminster on a high rather than as a failed Prime Minister.
The 63-year-old has had a remarkable career but it has certainly not all been positive. A fearsome reputation for economic competency and debating vigour “the clunking fist” at the despatch box was left in tatters following what was seen as a disastrous time a Prime Minister.
After fighting for so long to get the chance to run the country it at times seemed he was horribly uncomfortable under the incredible scrutiny of leadership.
He had some major achievements. Introducing the minimum wage, keeping Britain out of the euro, a commitment to tackling poverty both at home and abroad, and for 55% of the population’s point of view the referendum interventions. Let’s not forget his and wife Sarah’s global education push with Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl shot by the Taliban.
However, he also had his fair number of disasters. The gold sell-off, the 10p tax U-turn, the snap election U-turn, the “bigoted woman” comment. Of course, there was also the financial crisis and ridiculed claims that he “saved the world”.
Divisive, even within his own party, he has been a powerful figure in politics for the past three decades. His legacy will be felt, for better or worse, for much longer.