A season of live music at the Promenade Suite at the Villa Marina in Douglas began in style on Saturday night, when the UK indie pop rock band Space played to a sold out crowd.

Despite being a little late starting, due to a late arrival on the island, the band - fronted by the perpetually-smiling Tommy Scott and backed up by long-time keyboard player Franny Griffiths, bassist Phil Hartley and drummer Allan Jones - were on stunning form.

Surprisingly powerful and irresistible, the band tore through a set of songs taken from their latest album, alongside most of their most recognisable songs, which were mainstays of the UK charts during the days of Britpop in the mid-1990s.

Female of the Species and Avenging Angels had the crowd bounding along, as did Me and You vs the World and the punchy Killswitch, taken from their new album Give Me Your Future.

There was also a great version of their hit single The Ballad of Tom Jones, which saw local singer Steph Tomlinson take the part of Cerys Matthews for the night. She and Tommy - armed with a half-empty bottle of wine - made a great double act.

They finished the night off with their hit Neighbourhood, a song that most will be familiar with, whether you are a fan or not.

Thanks to the number of gigs Space have played here over recent years, they have a large number of fans, old and new, in the Isle of Man, and they responded in kind, dancing from the off and creating a welcoming atmosphere the group could feed off.

Support came from Chris Gray, who gave a good set of original songs and, despite a few technical gremlins at the start, got the crowd going nicely.

Space were great value, and put on a brilliant show. They didn’t spare on the light show or onstage graphics, and turned the Promenade Suite, which can be a difficult place in which to generate an atmosphere at the best of times, into a great, intimate-feeling venue.

There are to be regular monthly music nights at the Promenade Suite held throughout the summer, and more big names are expected to be announced soon.

If they are half as good as Space were on Saturday, music fans are in for a great summer at the Villa.