If they weren't so modest, Snow Patrol might reasonably have expected to be crowned band of the year.

They have, after all, got the biggest-selling album of 2006 - Eyes Open has shifted 1.3 million in the UK - and Chasing Cars was a hit single in the US.

After a decade's slog as part of the Scottish indie scene, the group have certainly paid their dues.

But by general consensus, the music critics put newcomers Arctic Monkeys at the top of the end-of-year polls while Snow Patrol were largely ignored.

The first of two nights at Wembley was a huge celebration for their fans, though, and Belfast-born singer Gary Lightbody seemed content with that.

Like Coldplay before the celebrity kicked in, Snow Patrol don't even try to be fashionable - and last night they were avowedly gawky.

"I'm not the coolest man in the world even at the best of times," admitted Lightbody-when he nearly fell over on stage.

After opening with a plodding Spitting Games, the singer also confessed to anxiety about their biggest London gig to date: "F***ing hell, are we nervous!"

But if songs such as Chocolate were lightweight, at least the sound was pounding through the venue. Lightbody's performance, however, suggested he has much to be modest about. His voice was decent enough, but the demure presence was not always convincing and even his guitar playing seemed overly polite. He kept thanking people too.

It was, at times, desultory stuff, as older material sat awkwardly alongside the hits, which didn't always have the necessary impact. But over 90 minutes the band just came out on top. This was in part due to the extraordinary support of their fans, who made a lot of noise for admirers of unassuming indie-rock, and also because Lightbody never gave up on his songs.

Chasing Cars appeared midway through the set and soon had the crowd singing it by themselves. By this point, Lightbody was transformed into a frontman you could believe in. His duet with a female vocalist on Set The Fire To The Third Bar was an intense heartbreak anthem, while Make This Go On Forever was simply epic.

As well as throwing various shapes, Lightbody was by now whipping around the stage, smacking his guitar. But the enduring image is of a good-humoured, polite pop star who hasn't got carried away by success. Nicest band of the year, then - no contest.