Returning to Brighton is always a bit of a no-brainer for eighties synth-pop survivors Erasure.

Their legion of adoring fans tend to sell out whichever venue they choose to play and singer Andy Bell clearly has a ball when he’s in town, as a packed Dome attested.

Support came in the form of technicolor dreamcoat-clad Welshman Rod Thomas (A.K.A Bright Light Bright Light), who was having a ball of his own touring with his “favourite band in the world”. Clearly that band were a major influence on his high-camp, house-infused efforts, though sadly, apart from the irrepressibly big Little Bit and An Open Heart, another key inspiration seemed to be the eighties blandness of the likes of Level 42 at their worst.

Still, this minor hiccup was forgiven as the headliners came on to the strains of the old Tales of the Unexpected theme and immediately broke into the classic Oh L’Amour, followed swiftly by the gentle Ship Of Fools, earning rapturous applause as Bell channelled his inner diva and multi-instrumentalist Vince Clarke carried out his “quiet bloke in the background” routine effortlessly.

Throughout, Bell’s ridiculously OTT stage presence was endearing, with quips about forgetting his trousers and how best to imitate Annie Lennox punctuating bouncy hit after hit from an impressive pure pop back-catalogue. Blue Savannah offered a sleek pause in proceedings whilst Sometimes was a necessary hit of nostalgia.

Some newer material fell relatively flat, aping that classic Erasure sound and failing, though the likes of Take Me Out Of Myself evoked Clarke’s former band, Yazoo, Bell’s vocals soulfully soaring over melancholy laments like Alison Moyet of old.

An irresistible late flurry of big-hitters in the form of 1986’s Stop!, Always and A Little Respect made for the memorable climax Bell cheekily promised earlier in the night.