Richard Hawley's failure to win the Mercury music prize might just be the making of him. His nomination for the sublime Coles Corner turned him into the name on everyone's lips, especially when Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner accepted the gong, saying: "Call 999, Richard Hawley's been robbed!" Hawley won a new audience that night.

And they are all here tonight. "What I want to know," drawls Hawley, "is where the fuck did you lot come from? Last time I looked, we were playing pubs in Runcorn." Hawley's fame has been steadily growing since he stopped being a bit player in bands such as the Longpigs and Pulp, and released his eponymously titled first album in 2000. His latest, Lady's Bridge, sees him accepting his star status and playing to his strengths - down-to-earth swoon-fests, fun-loving rockabilly and seductive crooning.

Hawley appears in thick specs and a shiny silver suit, his hair greased and teased into a small quiff. After wooing the crowd with the soft heartbeat of Valentine, Hawley's banter, as popular with fans as his songs, begins. He baits the crowd, cracks corny jokes and handles hecklers with old-fashioned, northern club charm. But a nasty rebuke to one fan goes too far, and even the cascading loveliness of Lady's Bridge doesn't soothe the sting, even for Hawley. "I can't help myself," he says, apologising. From then on it's a game of catch-up for the self-confessed "gobshite", but Tonight the Streets Are Ours and Born Under a Bad Sign help get the feel-good mood back on track, along with plenty of platitudes. "You've changed my view of the human race. I love you," he tells the magnanimous, wildly enthusiastic, audience. But if Hawley is going to win the mainstream crowd his music deserves, he needs to be more Buddy Holly and less Bernard Manning.

· At Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool (0151-709 3789), tomorrow. Then touring.