He asked if it was okay that it was just himself and a guitar.

That simple combination was most definitely enough to mesmerise Passenger’s sell-out gig last night.

He may have shot to global fame with smash hit Let Her Go last year but he most certainly hasn’t let fame change him.

Unassuming and still as humble as the days he busked in Southampton and Brighton, he kept crowds captivated throughout, cracking jokes and doing what he does best – telling stories.

Songs from his latest album Whispers featured heavily in his 90-minute set which included an opening of Rolling Stone, a toe-tapping version of 27 and a poignant Riding to New York which he said was written after a chance encounter in the street with a dying man and remarkably held the room in silence.

The standout moment was the final song before the encore, Scare Away the Dark, when there wasn’t a person in the packed crowd who didn’t join in with the chorus.

Passenger admitted that the last time he played at the city’s venue was when he supported Ed Sheeran three years ago and was so nervous, he messed up and had unashamedly lied to a 15-year-old at the bar claiming Simon and Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence as his own after a joke fell flat.

He no longer has to tell any fibs, Passenger has a repertoire of songs that will stand the test of time.