Perhaps it’s no coincidence as Mike Skinner decides he’s had enough of being the Streets, two of his protégées have stormed the charts. Both Professor Green and tonight’s occupant of the O2 Academy, Example, were signed to Skinner’s short-lived record label five years ago, but both have had to wait till now to enjoy chart success.

Example, or Elliott Gleave to use his real name, has enjoyed a great 12 months. He’s had two top ten hits, his second album Won’t Go Quietly has shifted 60,000 copies in the UK and he’s played numerous sell-out gigs. Example is much less of a music boffin than Skinner and more of a crowd-pleaser, with no real subtlety to his tracks. Each one is built round a big, banging beat with a sugar rush chorus. The sold-out throng in the O2 tonight love every single one of them, with extra gusto reserved for singles Watch the Sun Come Up, Last Ones Standing and set closer, Kick Starts.

Gleave clearly has no great hankering for the Mercury Prize, as, with one glance at the merch stand, you know he’s acutely aware of exactly who his crowd is. With his souvenir football scarves and boldly emblazoned T-shirts, he knows his tunes aren’t going to be pored over in the way Skinner’s are. They’re written for geeing up football supporters before the game starts and to kick in at about half-one in sticky high street bars. Throwaway lyrics rest on top of direct and instantaneous refrains, each mechanically cranked up to deliver endorphin rushes on cue. There’s no pause for reflection, no soppy ballad or experimental middle — it’s all very steady.

Friday night is probably the ideal time to take in an Example live show. It’s full of energy, slick and designed to make a packed, sweaty crowd go mental at will. There’s no innovation or greatness at work, but that won’t bother Example if things keep going well.