Nobody invests "ooh-ooh" with quite the yearning of Richard Ashcroft, whose trademark sound hung in the air for much of this comeback gig. If you had accidentally stumbled in, you would have known from the oohs who was playing, and the venue was crammed enough that shorter fans had to go by voice recognition anyway.

Ashcroft's first solo show in several years was a momentous return for a figure described by Chris Martin as "the best singer in the world". That was at Live8, when Ashcroft joined Coldplay on stage. That show jogged millions of memories about his contribution to British songwriting; tonight, 300 more people were wowed at what was easily one of the gigs of the year.

Since leaving the Verve in 1999, Ashcroft has released one successful and one critically panned album, and the fate of the latter seems to have given him a newfound humility. It compelled him to give fans what they wanted to hear: all the Verve and solo hits, and only a sprinkling of next month's new album, Keys to the World. But then, what else would he have done? It would have been unthinkable to omit Sonnet, Lucky Man, The Drugs Don't Work and a reworked-with-added-funk Bitter Sweet Symphony - solid-gold classics that, in the 1990s, put Britpop in touch with a feminine side it hadn't known it had.

Physically still the essence of shaggy-haired Britpop Male, Ashcroft seemed barely to have aged. His voice, though, had new resonance and purpose, which, combined with a tense charisma, suggested he will be hard to ignore next year. The surging next single, Break the Night with Colour, and equally anthemic album track Music is Power proved that he has the songs to back it up. As an encore of Bitter Sweet Symphony trembled to a halt, it seemed clear that his time is coming around again.

· Richard Ashcroft supports Coldplay at Earl's Court Exhibition Centre, London SW5, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Box office: 020 7373 8141.