IT'S a long time ago but I clearly can't have lied much when I was 17. It certainly wasn’t raining on me as I walked through Leeds city centre to the O2 Academy for a much anticipated evening with Glaswegian indie band Travis last Saturday. Instead, there was only evening sunshine to match my sunny mood.

This would, I hoped, be a straightforward, no-nonsense rendition of good guitar music: those great singalong Travis songs from the late Nineties and early Noughties, which twice led to them being named best band at the Brit Awards. And I was not disappointed.

There were some decent newer numbers – including the excellent 3 Miles High, released earlier this year - but they also played all those classic songs, packed full of melody and catchy choruses that had the packed audience singing along: Sing, Turn, Driftwood, Flowers In The Window, where frontman Fran Healy sang solo with an acoustic guitar.

Of course they did the song they are best known for: Why Does It Always Rain On Me? That’s the one that shot the band to front page prominence when they sang it at Glastonbury in 1999 and, within seconds of the opening line, it started raining.

Healy told the Leeds audience the band would be back at Glastonbury this year but "hidden away", rather than on the main stage. He hoped wryly that they wouldn’t be billed to play at the same time as Adele. Having been reminded how good Travis are as a live act, I wouldn't disagree.