Gavin Munro, then the frontman of country rock band Southpaw, left his 73-year-old victim partially blinded after kicking him in the head.

Munro and his band had headlined the Gig on the Green music festival in the village of Pitcairngreen, near Perth, shortly before he attacked pensioner Kevin Murphy.

Mr Murphy, who helped organise the charity event, had invited Munro to join him and a group of friends to celebrate the end of the festival.

Munro – who had downed more than a bottle of spirits during the day – stunned onlookers by attacking his host and leaving him in a pool of blood.

He eventually had to be dragged off by several local residents and yesterday he admitted carrying out the assault in Pitcairngreen on August 11, 2008.

Sheriff Michael Fletcher told Munro that a prison sentence would usually be imposed for an offence that involved kicking someone in the head.

However, after hearing that the singer had funds available from a recent house sale, the sheriff ordered him to pay £12,000 compensation to his victim.

He also ordered Munro, who quit the band in the wake of the incident, to carry out the maximum period of 300 hours community service.

Munro, 42, of Perth, admitted assaulting Kevin Murphy on The Green at Pitcairngreen in Perthshire on 11 August last year. He admitted kicking the pensioner on the head to his severe injury and permanent impairment.

Southpaw’s debut album, Buffalo Mansions, was released last autumn and won positive reviews in the national press, with tracks being played on Radio 2.