SOME comebacks focus on the old hits, unashamedly so in the case of York’s Shed Seven.

James always defied easy categorisation, and merely coming back when “we’re growing old” (to quote Destiny Calling) was never going to satiate Tim Booth, the front man originally from Clifford, near Boston Spa.

He first left the band in 2001, but returned in 2006, since when one full-scale album, Hey Ma, has been followed by two mini-albums this year, The Night Before and The Morning After: serious, meaty and muscular records that address Booth’s recovery from a liver illness and his complex relationship with his mother.

As good as a home-town gig for Booth, even if the band carries the Manchester branding, Tuesday’s show was a vindication of their return. Wow, they could leave out Born Of Frustration, She’s A Star, Just Like Fred Astaire, Destiny Calling, How Was It For You, and still they were magnificent, exhilarating, dark and uplifting all at once.

The vintage James line-up is playing better than ever, their musicianship finding every nuance in the likes of Stutter and Jam J, while the new material, outwardly less commercial, took its rightful place to reflect the ageing of band and audience alike.

The aforementioned big hitters may have been missing, but in their absence, Tomorrow, Laid, Sometimes and a sat-down Sit Down were glorious singalongs, the collective memories uniting euphorically, just as they do down the road at Elland Road.

The shaven-headed Booth remains utterly compelling, more relaxed than he once was, but still the arty poet as well as the drama queen, as he grows to look ever more like Ben Kingsley.

This night was better than nostalgia, and let’s hope there will be plenty more mornings after the night before still to come for a band whose place in British rock history rises ever higher with each passing year.