Beware the veteran rock star who opens his set with a clutch of singalong fan favourites. All too often he’s preparing his audience for something slightly unusual.

So it proved with former Kink Ray Davies’s visit; the majority of this most English of songwriter’s set focused on his long love affair with America, interspersing new songs inspired by the US with readings from new book Americana and several home movies.

The US was home to the music which inspired the young songwriter, but also the country The Kinks were banned from at the height of their fame, and where Davies was shot during a late night mugging.

The stories were accompanied by an extended video diary detailing Davies's Songwriter US tour only days after 9/11.

It felt a little like paying for an evening class only for the teacher to turn on a video partway through – interesting, but not quite what the audience had signed up for.

When the songs did come the classics received the biggest cheers – with the acoustic set up allowing room for the lyrics to breathe and the singer to add his own adlibs.

The newer material felt much more personal, but somehow detached from the audience - with Davies talking about his security men and the British Invasion bands rather than more universal themes.