Given the somewhat obsessive nature of Smiths’ fans, having The Smyths support Re-order didn’t really make sense.

The two tribute acts attracted a decent sized crowd of nostalgia-seeking 40-somethings and a handful of younger fans taking the opportunity to witness the next best thing to their indie heroes live.

But it was the songs of The Smiths that invoked the most excitement, with flouncing fans following the lyrics word for word and starting football style chants of “Morrissey, Morrissey, Morrisseeeey”.

Marr’s distinctively poppy riffs were plucked to perfection, while the Morrissey-for-the-night played homage to the 80s wordsmith in all his eccentric glory.

But the mood dampened when Re-Order took to the stage – the lack of presence and hit-and-miss-music New Order making them innately inferior to their fellow Manc revivers.

“Any requests?” the Bernard Sumner impersonator asked the unresponsive crowd. “Ah, you’re all Smiths fans, aren’t you?”