Former My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way entitled his debut solo album Hesitant Alien – but there was nothing hesitant about his performance at Manchester Ritz.

From the first song of this crowd-pleasing concert he was confident, assured and – strange for the former duke of doom – almost exuberant.

The setting was very different from the MCR heyday when arenas were transformed into graveyards for the epic Black Parade tour.

This time we had a massive backdrop of a fluffy pink chimp and a backing band stylishly sporting smart white shirts and ties.

So has Way jettisoned MCR’s emo-pleasing preoccupation with death and decay in favour of fun and frivolity?

Not really, he still has a heart for the dark and deadly serious, but the songs are as much rock ‘n’ roll as hard rock, and there’s a playfulness to both to his catchy tune-writing and his likeable stage persona.

For the set-list of his short UK tour Way has drawn heavily on his debut solo album – a set of strong songs that work really well live – rather than My Chemical Romance standards.

And far from minding the omission of their favourite songs, the crowd ecstatically greeted the new material with constant cheers and arm-waving.

David Knights