Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr was taking a risk by crossing the indie-rock generation divide and becoming a member of noisy upstarts The Cribs. On stage, though, Marr and the three Jarman brothers from Wakefield were united in an unruly effort full of thunderous tunes, spiky guitars and occasional punkish drama involving one of the club’s security guards.

Marr had drawn some of his own, slightly older fans to this sold-out show, but The Cribs are one of our biggest young cult acts and famous faces in the audience included Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien and singer Ryan Jarman’s girlfriend Kate Nash, loyally dancing to the new songs.

The Cribs opened with the explosive We Were Aborted, which took a while to find its feet but soon revealed a bigger, harder sound supplemented by Marr’s guitar.

Ryan promised “loads and loads” of these new tunes, co-written with Marr, which were being previewed ahead of a new album later this year. But the 80-minute set still featured plenty of familiar material from their previous record, the excellent Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever.

The wonky, lo-fi I’m a Realist and the breathless Our Bovine Public set the tempo for a sweaty, energetic performance, with Ryan and bassist twin Gary pogoing and bawling their way through the set. Marr focused on his guitar but also provided backing vocals and a subtle star quality.

The Cribs seemed more focused than in their early days but Ryan has maintained a winning deadpan humour. “Did anyone see us on the Grammys?” he joked, suggesting they had won an award for “not being U2”.

The second half combined discordant moments with favourites such as Men’s Needs, prompting a few stage invasions. Many bands would play on as fans were dragged away but Ryan demanded one audience member was returned and pulled another on stage from the clutches of a security guard.

It ended with one high-spirited fan hugging Marr, who was trying to play the closing notes of The Wrong Way to Be. He could probably be earning millions on a Smiths reunion tour but his final triumphant leap in the air suggested it’s more fun on the road with The Cribs.