Darren Lorking admits he was wrong write the Kaiser Chiefs off and enjoyed a ‘rock show’ performance at Newmarket Nights.

I felt sure that Ricky Wilson’s stint as a judge on The Voice had burnt his bridges with those of us who were fizzing with enthusiasm for the Kaiser Chiefs when they first sang about ‘Employment’ in 2005.

There won’t be room now for the biting social satire of ‘Yours Truly, Angry Mob’, I thought. Even my mum is a fan of ‘lovely Ricky from The Voice’ now.

But I was wrong to write him, and the band, off so quickly.

At their Newmarket Nights gig tonight, they opened with ‘Yours Truly, Angry Mob’ and set the tone for a night.

There was plenty for the TV fans of 2015 with a set that included old crowd favourites such as ‘I Predict a Riot’ and the anthemic ‘Ruby’ and Ricky worked the crowd like the consummate showman that he is.

He acknowledged the incongruous setting but Everything is Average Nowadays got even the most reluctant bouncing while the response to ‘Every day I love you less and less’ had Ricky declaring, “I think we can call this a rock show!”

It was.

But I’m not sure everyone quite got it.

The new electro ‘Falling awake’ endangered enthusiasm and the man in front of me being able to chat on his phone wasn’t a great sign. It was also the best dressed moshpit I have ever seen and there wasn’t even any proper moshing for Riot. (No riot? Oh Newmarket!)

But the familiar cover of Pinball Wizard really should have been more appreciated than it was and those who left during ‘Coming Home’ missed a great sight - the hard core waving and singing loudly into the Suffolk air, cheering and hollering at all the right moments.

A rock show indeed.

At the end, Ricky seemed unconvinced when he asked, ‘Has everyone had a great time?’

I can’t speak for the others, but I had.