FOR a few crazy, almost ­surreal days, Teignmouth seemed to be the centre of the music universe.

The local boys who really, really made good came back to play their home town for the first time since becoming famous, and the place went berserk in the nicest possible way.

And for millions of young fans, the traditional old bucket and spade resort suddenly became 'cool'.

Muse brought a whole new meaning to 'seaside rock', as their two seafront gigs caught the imagination of residents, along with the national and international media.

There was a frenzy of all things Muse before, during and after the unique two concerts on the Den.

Radio 1 led the charge with constant hype in the days leading up to the shows. It broadcast live from the town, raved about the gigs afterwards, and all day Monday plugged the unprecedented five hours devoted to 'Teignmouth's finest' from 7pm to midnight.

The highlights went out across the globe, along with a stunning TV recording on the BBC red button, which brilliantly captured the performances, complete with the laser lights and stunning shots of the illuminated seafront from a circling ­helicopter.

Beeb Djs rated it one of their best live recordings yet, and Muse fans across the world were in ecstasy.

And – following the Teignmouth Post's exclusive breaking of the story of Muse's homecoming – national TV stations descended on the humble patch of greenery to report the build-up. The dailies despatched their finest music critics – not exactly renowned as respecters of reputations – for reviews. They were captivated by the whole concept, and the quality of music, as well.

Who would have thought The Seaside Rendezvous project would have taken off into the music stratosphere?

But, of course, it was a Muse masterstroke. It ticked all the boxes. They realised a long-held ambition to rock the Den, and it was the perfect warm-up for their all-conquering UK, European and American tour on the back of the eagerly-awaited new album, The Resistance.

It was a great 'thank you' to the loyal residents, boosted the economy of the area, cheered up most folk after a dreary summer, and put the global spotlight on little old Teignmouth.

Thousands poured in, there was instant cash in many business tills, and the long term benefits could be enormous, with fans who had hardly heard of the place liking what they saw and vowing to return.

The shows attracted a cross-section of fans, from toddlers on their dads' shoulders to pensioners.

There were only three weeks to organise and plan the whole thing, almost like a military operation. But tight deadlines can concentrate minds wonderfully, and all went like clockwork. The traffic mainly flowed freely, the Den was not a sea of mud, there was no wholesale pillaging by drug and drink fuelled yobs, and the police made only ten arrests, for relatively minor offences.

The predictions of chaos and meltdown by a few doom and gloom merchants came to nothing.

It was a piece of local history that will be talked about for decades. Many hope that the resounding success of A Seaside Rendezvous will lead to other big music gigs in the future.

Compared to the vast, but often soulless and dreary stadia that hold up to 100,000 and host most top-notch shows, the quaint Den, enclosed by the sea and a pier on one side, and by Victorian buildings on the other, was a total gem. If you were ticketless and couldn't get into the arena, you could certainly hear the band from the surrounding streets – a real concert for the people.

And the weather was kind. What's not to like?

Complaints were few, but one annoyed woman marched into our Teignmouth office to say a group of residents towards Eastcliff and the Dawlish Road was not at all happy.

'The noise was appalling, and a lot of people were upset. We did not want that row, and there was no escaping it,' was the gist of her displeasure.

She would not give her name, and disputed the complainants were in a minority. She suggested we should hold a referendum in our columns to ascertain how many residents were for or against the shows.

She also maintained the event took them by surprise.

When it was pointed out that full details of the shows had been prominently reported in all local newspapers for weeks, she retorted: 'Well if you are not Muse fans, you are not going to read it.'

That apart, there was almost universal praise, and a few more million people on the planet now know where Teignmouth is.