THE BIC Windsor Hall was packed and spilling out of the doors as the Kaiser Chiefs finally returned to Bournemouth this weekend two years after their last storming show.

It could not have been more eagerly awaited by fans after their performance on the beach last summer as part of the Bournemouth Air show Night Air Concert had to be abandoned literally moments before the band were set to step onstage due to an unusually high tide .

Fortunately the Leeds five-piece gave us a night to remember for all the right reasons on Friday with a spectacular show crammed full of crowd-pleasing tracks.

It started somewhat tongue-in-cheek with the band all crammed onto a tiny stage within the stage- far too small for the usually ultra-active front man Ricky Wilson to even wiggle a toe, with silver curtain of tinsel making up the backdrop and as they performed under a handful of mini disco lights.

The show opener ‘Stay Together’ a song about monogamy and the title track of the latest album also kept things reined in, and then as they moved on to an earlier hit ‘Everything is Average’ heads and bodies started to bob and the touch paper lit.

“We’re here…we are finally here!” exclaimed Ricky as the mini set transformed into a far more epic production complete with big colourful video projections and they launched into ‘Every Day I Love You Less and Less’ .

It seems incredible that the Kaiser Chiefs have not had a top 30 single in almost a decade for every song delighted the crowd. Likewise, it is difficult to pigeon-hole this exceptional band – punk-pop, Indie maybe, with a gift for a catchy hook.

Inevitably ‘Ruby’ was the rabble-rousing pleaser that took the atmosphere to the limit as did ‘I predict a Riot’ and ‘Oh My God’ – the band’s debut single of 13 years ago that incites everyone to punch their fists in the air and sing along defiantly, swept along by a mood of rebellion and political undertone.

Some of the new material is more dance/synth pop – more Coldplay even, and comes from a slightly more romantic perspective and the singles Parachute and Hole in My Sole were stunning.

Like many I am so relieved that charismatic, energetic frontman Ricky – a former judge on the BBC singing competition show The Voice, has not been permanently enticed away from the band by TV work. One wonders how he managed to sit still through all those TV shows when you watch him work a live crowd. Repeatedly jumping off stage, singing on top of monitors, climbing up scaffolding …I cannot think of an artist who does any more to interact and engage with his fans bringing such intimacy to such a large room. This was a master class in how to hold an audience in the palm of your hand for two solid hours and leave them yelling for more.

The band have been touring for 15 years now and they look unlikely to run out of steam any time soon.