A NIGHT of break-up and drama from two of our keenest observers.

Teddy is the son of the great Richard Thompson, and like his father he has a lacerating eye for human weakness – particularly his own.

When he played here three years ago, Thompson was outgrowing his country and western influences. Now very much his own songwriter, Thompson was showcasing material to follow his successful Piece Of What You Need album.

After that (relatively) happy record, Bella can only be described as a break-up record (although 90 per cent of Thompson’s songs mine this particularly vein).

While it is the laziest of rock journalism to complain that newer material isn’t as strong as the old, sadly this was probably true.

Played in its entirety, Bella’s songs have the same confident directness and sure melodic touch, but were not as well-served by the conventional rock arrangements. Earlier songs, like the standout Separate Ways, were better stripped down.

Thompson’s challenge, like that of his father, is that the dark heart and edginess underpinning the songs, which give them so much personality, are also unlikely to be palatable to feel-good X-Factor audiences.

In some respects, David Ford has similar issues.

A very different songwriter, Ford’s material is a litany of complaint against the machinery of the modern world. If Michael Douglas’s angry character in Falling Down could sing, he would do David Ford covers.

Ever watchable, Thompson is an intense performer who seems to enjoy challenging the audience’s expectations.

It was hard to tell whether his loose cover of Abba’s Super Trouper as an encore was a joke, but it proved an unexpected happy high to round off an uneven performance.