THE Wessex boy hasn't half done bad.

As a packed audience re-joined the gospel Frank Turner, Meonstoke's finest punk-pop songwriter, once again, the sweaty, excitable audience readied themselves for the inevitable - an evening of sky raised fists, chants towards this county's favourite son and self-appreciation.

But as Turner admits to the raucous crowd that greets him for what was his 2,163 show in just over 20 years, it's "the billionth time" he's played in the "the big lights he used to dream of playing" in Southampton.

So why do they return? Not just in their hundreds, but in their thousands.

It's because in each and every Turner song and experience, a world is created where it's acceptable to not want to be accepted.

Each track played throughout his near two-hour set sounded as though it was the first time it had ever been heard; each filled with an energy and aggression that was present when the 36-year-old troubadour crafted it in the first place.

'Recovery' - a fruitful reminder to forlorn lovers of just how long, and how intoxicating, it can take to find the light after a break-up - and soul-searcher 'The Road', which dissects the perils of sitting still for too long to a fiery chorus of shouting and dancing.

It's for those sound-bites they come-back in their droves.

Reminders of why this man earned his place in the city's heart came in new tracks including the anti-racism 'Make America Great Again' and smoother 'Be More Kind'. Both stylistically the same, but demonstrating that Turner, over time, has warmed and follows a melodically different path to the one we found him on when he first started out as a recording artists in 2006.

But with the evening meandering towards its finish with 'Wessex Boy' - a nod to his life growing up in the streets of Winchester - 'Glory Hallelujah' and fan's favourite 'Ballad of Me and My Friends', there was still time for a last wave of nostalgia with 'I Still Believe' and 'I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous'.

It was all here.

And that's why every time our hero returns to these shores we come back.

But even if you're next show in the city is number 2,164, it still won't be soon enough Mr Turner.

Turner was supported by the Arkells, a well-oiled alternative pop machine from Ontario, Canada. The five piece are ready made for these shores.

They combine delicious Willie Moon-quenched electronics with towering chorus lines which keep the songs rolling on.

Their ability to entice an audience, a notoriously difficult Southampton audience at that, to dance was impressive, but not more so than the disco-fuelled 'People's Champ'.