BY his own admission, Sunday night was Tom Odell’s first time performing at a swimming pool, but he told a packed-out Oasis Leisure Centre that he hopes it won’t be his last.

The singer-songwriter who stormed his way to become the BRITs Critics’ Choice in 2013 – seemingly from absolutely nowhere – was on top form as he belted out tune after tune - although from the comfort of the stage in the sports hall, rather than actually on poolside. He almost seemed disappointed he hadn’t sampled the pool’s wave machine earlier in the day, but he admitted he had taken in a game of squash.

Those who braved the November chill to queue snakelike around the Oasis for doors opening were treated to a support set from Johnny Lloyd - the former frontman of much loved indie outfit Tribes. He performed tracks from his new solo EP Dreamland before Rag N Bone Man filled the hall with his own booming tones.

With the hall packed to bursting point by now, Odell didn’t keep fans waiting and burst onto the stage with a flurry and three back-to-back performances, each of which could have been worthy of being his final number.

It’s hard to believe that it is almost two years to the day that Odell officially launched Christmas when he provided the vocals for John Lewis’s impossibly cute penguin Christmas advert.

But now with a brand new album - Wrong Crowd - he has taken his haunting sound on tour right around the country, and has been selling out concert halls up and down the land.

He’s the man whose fingers manage to achieve incredible things on a baby grand piano while simultaneously sustaining an impossibly high note without so much as a last minute inhale. Whenever the lights went down between tracks, someone, somewhere in the audience could be heard screaming their love for Tom, who worked the crowd well – even jumping up on the piano to cheers at two points during the evening.

He pulled out an impressive set list, including favourites such as Wrong Crowd and I Know, before ending the main performance with the chart-topping Another Love.

Those hoping to avoid carpark chaos made a beeline for the exit, which was a foolish mistake, as Odell then returned to the stage for quite possibly the longest encore known to man, pulling five tracks out of the bag before eventually calling it a night. Although sadly there wasn’t a John Lewis penguin in sight.