Initially heralded as a more subtle, less blunt version of James Blunt, James Morrison’s career started with a bang in 2006 when his debut, Undiscovered, topped the UK chart.

Alas, this year’s follow-up Songs For You, Truths For Me under-performed. Suddenly, the Warwickshire 24-year-old who, for reasons far from clear, has started talking and dressing like David Essex, waistcoats and all, had some questions to answer.

The sensitive but adult and expertly crafted Undiscovered cannily cornered the school run market. Last night, the sold-out Empire was packed with enthusiastic women and, occasionally, their menfolk, blokey blokes with the haunted look of those dragged around the shops on FA Cup Final day.

Yet, the mums were right. Eventually. Initially, Morrison seemed ill-at-ease, subsumed by his overly diffident seven-piece band, handling the meaty The Only Night with kid gloves and caught in the dilemma of whether to be the housewives’ choice, a pop idol, a singer-songwriter of substance or this century’s Paul Young.

A third of the way through, Keisha Buchanan arrived to duet on Broken Strings. The Sugababe added star quality, knowing glamour and some desperately needed oomph. Job brilliantly done, she departed but Morrison was a new, frankly better, man and his band began to look engaged.

His sandpaper voice had a newly soulful timbre that rendered the ballads, especially Once When I Was Little, genuinely moving, while he wryly noted that the legions who choose You Give Me Something for their wedding might be advised to check its lyrics first.

He glided through David Bowie’s Changes without mishap but his spring-heeled, turbo-charged version of Stevie Wonder’s Uptight (Everything’s Alright) was eyebrow-raisingly funky and his own up-tempo material captured that spirit, hence the duelling pianos and the gospel-tinged call and response vocals of Precious Love. Call The Police was almost rocky.

Souped-up encore versions of Fix The World Up For You and Wonderful World sent everyone home happy and made us forget the shaky start. Almost. Last night Morrison had the answers to a few of those searching questions.