STRIDING on stage in trademark tight leather trousers, vest, oversized necklace and with a wide smile on his face, Russell Brand was welcomed to York with nothing short of adulation.

The Messiah Complex tour, which started last year and has played at venues around the world, has more than a little knowing irony about its title.

Soon after the cheers and his walk on track of Personal Jesus died down, Brand leapt off the stage and walked among the crowd where girls stepped into the aisle to take selfies with him, he complimented the crowd and greeted a pregnant woman. Had there been lepers in the crowd, you imagine they may have been cured.

Brand’s show focuses on “the pantheon of celebrity” and discusses his heroes – Jesus Christ, Che Guevara, Gandhi and Malcolm X – and how in a Godless world, we look to other people to fill the void however they will always be flawed. Brand related each, and not necessarily favourably, to himself.

The material was heavy with self deprecation, with Brand mocking his appearance on Newsnight and acting ability, which some have suggested involves “appearing as myself in films with a hat on”.

At points it felt Brand really had something to say but had to revert to his traditional material about drug abuse and sexual exploits to keep the crowd.

Serious points are punctuated with pelvic thrusts and sexual content, a lot of which can’t be repeated in a family newspaper, with a particularly crude scenario imagining David Cameron and George Osborne and ‘an Eton Mess’.

The show ended with talk of Brand’s sexual prowess and staying power and a punch line about the second coming. As if to make his point, as the lights come up Brand stayed on stage where a throng with camera phones gathered around below him.