The world needs David McAlmont. Possessor of one of the finest voices that this country has ever known, the question on everyone’s lips as his soaring falsetto drifts dreamily over the Atlantic tidal currents crashing and ebbing from Bernard Butler’s guitar can only have been, “where have you been?” and “what took you so long?”.

In two days, McAlmont & Butler will release the most perfectly realised, bittersweet collection of epic soul of 2002. Neither the album or tonight’s show could have arrived at a better time. The perfect accompaniment to the hottest of August nights will turn summer’s dying breath to a fond sigh, as ‘Bring It Back’ provides the soundtrack to a thousand make ups and break ups, happening somewhere soon near you. You see, I have a confession to make. 1995 was the best summer of my life, and through every dew-eyed memory of first loves and perpetual losses, the voice of David McAlmont is omnipresent. I can’t think back without revisiting the rush of ‘Yes’, or the heart-wrenching strains of ‘You Do’. And when at last love finally came without loss, it turned out that she’d bought that record too. “I get emotional - when I think of it all” sings David on ‘Where RU Now’ - it’s impossible not to. Even without those memories, the sheer emotional gravity of being in the presence of a voice, which marries the self-assured, swaggering brilliance of Marvin Gaye with the fragility of Curtis Mayfield is enough to make a grown man cry, and tonight it undoubtedly did.

There is no doubt that the style, and indeed the quality, of Bernard Butler’s songwriting over the years has depended enormously on his collaborators, and after ‘Dog Man Star’ David McAlmont’s voice was the only thing with enough theatrical energy to compete with the former Suede guitarist’s aspirations. The new songs premiered tonight however, reveal more of a spirit of collaboration, and are all the better for it. The touching honesty of ‘Sunny Boy’, coupled with looser, funkier arrangements throughout are reminiscent of the progression of Marvin Gaye from the precise orchestration of ‘What’s Goin’ On’ to the naked soul-bearing of ‘Distant Lover’. Seven years ago people were hailing Butler’s partnership with McAlmont a bold and brilliant step, and tonight everyone surely realises that despite indifferent solo ventures this can only remain the case. This unlikely combination was simply too good to be put to rest. His renewed union with David McAlmont is Bernard Butler’s finest hour – you get the feeling that this time he realises it too - and for all our sakes, long may it last.

Aidan Larkin