★★★★

RONAN Keating was King of the Road as far as the Brighton Centre crowd was concerned.

That is, King of the Middle of the Road. The fans lapped up an easy-listening mix of pop and country as Keating triumphantly wound up the British end of his tour. One of the best moments came in a powerful performance of the fine Tracy Chapman hit Baby Can I Hold You Tonight with young Cypriot support act Nikolas Metaxas.

At 39, Keating’s voice seems to have acquired greater range and depth, and numbers like Wasted Life and Breathe highlighted this well. Keating looked like he was enjoying himself rather than slogging through another tour.

When You Say Nothing At All got the crowd singing with its lilting rhythm and romantic lyrics, but the reflective co-written numbers from the new album Time Of My Life were equally appreciated by the audience in a quieter way. Life Is A Rollercoaster lit up the end of the show, but Keating’s own life seems to be very much on an even keel.