TORRENTIAL rain normally clears the streets of Bridlington but on Wednesday night 3,600 liked to be beside the seaside to see a man whose material defies demographics and pigeon holes.

People were crammed uncomfortably into the venue like sardines which sadly took the edge off the evening.

Nutini creates better albums each time he goes into the studio. showing his development as a writer and an artist. His new top seller. Caustic Love, has aspects of Portishead and Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black with its edgy use of horns.

He is not a Mr Saturday Night avoiding gimmicks, dancing and even interaction, but people weren’t there for his one liners.

His talent poured from every pore. His performance was effortless as he swaggered from vulnerable falsetto to Joe Cocker-esque power. His control was immaculatem showing tinges of Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Bob Marley.

His songs have the rare quality of sounding like old friends without being derivative, each one of them timeless. Clearly the aim in concert was to replicate the album’s production with the use of sequenced backing to compliment the mighty eight-piece line-up.

Highlights included Candy, worthy of a Bob Dylan songbook and the tour-de-force Peter Gunn arrangement of Funky Cigarette, but nothing impressed more than the epic anthem Iron Sky’, which enveloped you from the first note to the last – a song that would pass any old grey whistle test.

The night ended with Nutini plus guitar leading a singalong of Last Request. Roger Daltrey has described Nutini as "the real deal", and based on the songs he sang at Brid all 3,600 agreed.