REVIEW: The Lathums enjoy themselves as much as the audience as they headline sold-out Robin Park homecoming

But from the moment the Lathums - and especially frontman Alex Moore - took to the stage at Robin Park, we were essentially watching a kid whose birthdays and Christmases had all come at once.

'Thank you very, very much' has fast become one of Moore's trademarks - to the extent they were even selling official t-shirts inside the venue featuring the quote.

And that was very much the theme of the night as Moore and pals Scott Concepcion (lead guitar), Matty Murphy (bass) and Ryan Durrans (drums) lived out their dreams of playing their tunes in their hometown.

Oh, to the small matter of 11,500 people.

Put into context, that was more than attended Noel Gallagher's headline date 24 hours before.

And they were determined to enjoy their big night, playing for fully two hours - half an hour longer than the Oasis icon - as they showed exactly why their first two albums have both reached No.1 in the charts.

The contrast in on-stage presence between the acts – both headliners in their own right – could not have been more stark.

Gallagher knows how great he is, and has never been shy in telling everyone in earshot.

The Lathums, on the other hand, have no idea how great they are - and how even greater they are becoming by the album and the gig.

There's no airs and graces about them. Just banger after banger after banger, with unassuming chat in between by Moore, the unlikeliest rock star imaginable.

But it's this grounded, down-to-earth demeanour that underpins the whole thing, and which prevented a couple of early technical problems – seemingly with Concepcion’s guitar – rocking the boat.

The first issue saw Moore lead an impromptu sing-song of 'You Are My Sunshine' - a nod to the town's football team, with dozens of Latics shirts being sported in the crowd.

When it became apparent the problem hadn't gone away, Moore brought forward his acoustic numbers, which gave the techno bods enough breathing space to locate and put things right.

Had the same thing happened during Gallagher’s set, it perhaps may not have been so calmly handled.

Moore was also not shy in opening up to the crowd on a few occasions to reveal a little more about the songs and the band themselves.

"This is a song we wrote in Scott's box room, with the doors and windows shut, our little escape from it all," was the introduction to, obviously, 'The Great Escape'.

He also dedicated 'Struggle' to his dad...'who died when I was young, and who would have loved so much to be here, to see his little lad on stage in Wigan', along with ‘every other loved one no longer with us', while encouraging the audience to raise a drink to everyone else who couldn't be present.

There was a poignant moment when he invited on stage a very special guest - 'the reason I started playing music, I can't believe he's actually on the same stage - in the form of Jake Bugg.

The sight of Moore - who has been invited on stage in huge stadia to duet with the Killers, no less - was in genuine fan mode about one of his own support acts was a sight to behold, and the cover of Bugg's hit 'Simple As This' you felt will live with him for a long time.

Also called up to guest on guitar was drummer Durrans - 'yon mon who played guitar once and did all right', according to Moore - who will also surely never forget his big moment front of stage.

There was also a nice touch when the band encouraged people to support and donate to their 'Chance To See' fund, which gives young people creative opportunities in Wigan.

All too soon, it was approaching curfew, with the encore - consisting of 'The Redemption of Sonic Beauty', 'Fight On', 'I See Your Ghost' and 'Sad Face Baby' - ensuring a perfect climax to what will surely go down as a seminal gig in the 'Verve, Haigh Hall' bracket.

'Have fun...it's the only thing we've got left in this godforsaken world,' was Moore's parting message.

If everyone did that, the world would certainly be a better place.