To make the leap from playing the Portland Arms to the Corn Exchange in less than 18 months is pretty good going in anyone s book. But those who attended the Editors gig at the Portland in 2005 will not be surprised by the band s rapid rise from obscurit

To make the leap from playing the Portland Arms to the Corn Exchange in less than 18 months is pretty good going in anyone's book.

But those who attended the Editors gig at the Portland in 2005 will not be surprised by the band's rapid rise from obscurity.

The Birmingham-based quartet did not disappoint a sell-out crowd at the Corn Exchange, putting in a compelling performance packed with equal measures of euphoria and menace.

Kicking off with the title track from their second album The End Has A Start, Editors soon had the crowd jumping to Blood, Bones, and the relentless Bullets.

Front man Tom Smith swapped his guitar for the piano on several occasions to good effect, belting out a brilliant version of the angst-ridden When Anger Shows, followed by an edgy rendition of Racing Rats.

New track Banging Heads looks set to become an immediate hit, while perhaps the best crowd reception was reserved for old favourite All Sparks.

Smith oozes charisma, and his rich, eerie voice is made for the ­stadiums he and his bandmates will surely be gracing in the near future.

A frantic encore, including the epic Smokers Outside Hospital Doors and Fingers in the Factories brought the curtain down on a ­fantastic gig.

Editors are a truly wonderful live act, and if they continue to produce music of such high quality, who knows how far they can go?

Matthew Gooding