Once again the warm, welcoming, intimate Pocklington Arts Centre had amazed locals with the booking of Del Amitri frontman Justin Currie. Who says “nothing ever happens” in Pock?

Initially the casually-dressed figure came out with a disarming vulnerability and then he unleashed the velvet rasp of a voice perfectly through The Last To Know, to the crowd’s welcoming applause.

He looked no older than the album sleeves of 20 years ago with trademark sideburns still in place.

The knowledgeable and partisan crowd hung on his every word in Pocklington’s cosy 180-seater living room .

Just Like A Man was a surprising triumph held only by his acoustic guitar as his feet danced around the pedals with ease. He mocked himself as being a dreadful story- teller as he moved on to keyboards – clearly he is a piano owner as opposed to a player as he struggled as if swimming at the wrong end of the pool.

His phenomenal vocals luckily got him out of jail with Still In Love, a song that would have Chris Martin whimpering in a corner.

His falsetto is faultless, the texture of his voice is a young Rod Stewart sanded down and dipped in dark chocolate. This is an unlearned gift. He asked for suggestions and ventured into favourites like Surface Of The Moon and Driving With The Brakes On, involving an ipod as a right-hand man. Clearly a foil on stage playing piano would have made him look and feel less vulnerable and cut down on the numerous stops, starts and errors.

He was clearly having a bad night at the office. His bacon was saved with an amazing piece of lyrical execution of No, Surrender – a song with a dissertation’s- worth of witty, caustic lyrics – the audience rewarded him before he ended with Be My Downfall and Nothing Ever Happens.