JUST when you thought Mike Rutherford’s Genesis side project was finished, here comes a new generation of Mike & The Mechanics tunes to slide effortlessly down the ear canal.

The death of Paul Young and the departure of Paul Carrack seemed to signal an end to the band, but British R&B soulster Roachford and Canadian singer Tim Howar have been drafted in to give them a new lease of life.

The title track from new album The Road may have kicked proceedings off, but this was all about the hits and showing how the two new frontmen could bring something different.

Howar’s musical theatre background offered power and passion on All I Need Is A Miracle and the celebratory closer Word Of Mouth, while Roachford matched and even outshone Carrack’s soulful, bluesy treatment of favourites like The Living Years and Nobody Knows.

As the professorial Rutherford and his accomplished band unfussily drove the music along, Howar energetically warmed up the crowd, bouncing around the stage as his vocal partner preferred a more sedentary role behind the keyboards, sparking to life with his own hits Only To Be With You and Cuddly Toy.

There was even a double shot of Genesis, with Follow You, Follow Me and a spiky I Can’t Dance offering more proof that there might be a decent amount of life left in this band.