Star rating: ****

David Gray's career has reached the inevitable "greatest hits" stage and a packed Carling Academy was proof that there is considerable popular enthusiasm for the idea. Neatly solving the problem of who to take as asupport act, he did the job himself, playing a solo acoustic slot before the main event. As is so often the case, some of the best known songs were rejuvenated by being stripped back to basics. Babylon, his breakthrough, multi-million seller from 1999, was beautifully done. This Year's Love, also from the White Ladder album, finished this segment of the show to a forest of video phones.

It wasn't just the songs which had been given a fresh lease of life. Gray split his band after the last tour, retaining only bassist Rob Malone from that line-up.

Opening with his new single You're the World to Me, Gray bounced through a history of his output to date. Sail Away from White Ladder, Be Mine from A New Day at Midnight and the truly excellent Slow Motion from Life in Slow Motion were given a real boost by a band going all out to prove themselves.