FOR my brother-in-law this was his eleventh James concert, having been part of the student scene of Manchester in the 80s and 90s and his respect for the group had always interested me.

So when Manchester heard the announcement for this, the latest concert, the heart of the city skipped a beat and the tickets were sold out in an hour.

The James following attracts young and old and this was reflected with parents accompanied by children taking their seats.

The evening began with a puzzling pipe and drum band cutting through the crowd and onto the stage whilst playing a version of Come Home'.

My worries were soon over however, when the huge black curtain of the stage dramatically fell from top to bottom revealing the band playing as if they'd never been away. James were back and the packed arena went berserk.

Front man, Timothy Booth was in full pelt with his unique dancing looking as if shaken by and invisible hand. His style is to be experienced, an inevitable part of a James gig and it has many forms from the slow wiry and sinuous movement to a full speed shake always in perfect time to the music.

Tall lean and evidently very fit, Booth's resonating high notes made the hall tingle. Comfortable with a full vocal range his distinct and powerful voice stood the test of the two-hour set.

There was an excellent selection of music from the band's early beginnings to ones written on the road. The new material was well received and included a stonking track, 'Chameleon' that sent the fans into a frenzy. 'Upside Down' was so fresh that a lyric sheet was produced and sung from which endeared Tim more to the fans.

Then followed old favourites, 'Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)', 'She's a Star' and the iconic 'Sit Down' to name a few.

Visually the stage set included some nifty psychedelic movie graphics projected behind the set, including opening flowers, flying through space, underwater and even foetal development,

Despite the scale of the arena and the mass of humanity, James made Saturday's performance an intimate one is if they had been friends for a long time.

Crowd pleaser Tim wandered into the fans at one stage where he was grabbed, adored and kissed as he sang. Back to the safety of the stage, he stood gazing and smiling at the audience. At the end of the second encore Tim seemed reluctant to go.

Something tells me they'll be back in Manchester very soon.