AS Fightstar emerged on stage, they received an amazing reception from the sold-out crowd jampacked with teenagers. If I didn’t know any better I’d say they have been in rock ’n’ roll forever.

Front man Charlie Simpson, the former Busted vocalist, jumped the massive gap from pop to rock-metal in 2005 when he decided to move onto his new band, Fightstar.

At the birth of the band people were very critical of his transition from pop to rock.

However, once hearing the music, they’ve been praising and supporting him ever since.

With a storming drum and cymbal opening, the diehard fans are already rocking. As a showman, Simpson’s skills are undoubted, as he lurches from chorus to beat down, commanding the crowd to “tear the place apart” as the whole room explodes around him.

He frequently engages in conversation with the crowd between songs, mostly promoting their new album, Be Human.

The crowd goes even wilder as the older material is rolled out. Tracks such as Build an Army and Lost Like Tears in Rain sit confidently next to newer material.

Unfortunately, the band wasn’t able to show their true genius as songwriters, as the stage wasn’t big enough for a grand piano to play classic single Floods.

Encore Deathcar had the crowd screaming back every word to a sweaty looking but satisfied Charlie Simpson.

Although a lot has been made of the band’s difficult birth, Fightstar have gradually become accepted into the rock world.

Sophie Stratford