With his Italian background and tousled good looks, you would expect plenty of passion from Jack Savoretti and his music.

There was plenty on offer both from the pocket-sized singer and his adoring female fans when he revelled in the seaside booking at Margate’s Winter Gardens on Tuesday.

Such is the Anglo-Italian’s popularity, the venue, which opened in 1911 and has changed little since I was a cub reporter in the town many moons ago, was packed solid for a “school night”.

Now in his early 30s, Savoretti may seem late to the party as far as success goes, but there are good reasons for the delay - the main one being his stubborn refusal to be pulled in a certain direction creatively by his record company.

He spent several years in the pop wilderness as a result and almost gave up on the career he so obviously loves.

I became a fan after hearing his singles on the radio and fourth album Written In Scars, which made buying his latest offering, Sleep No More, a resounding no-brainer.

After being warmed up nicely by impressive new “alternative Indie” singer Joseph J Jones from London’s East End, Savoretti walked onto the stage in a swirl of smoke whistling a tune that wouldn’t have been out of place in a spaghetti western.

He and his tight four-piece cosmopolitan band soon picked up momentum, wrapping his distinctive gravelly vocals around self-penned songs, including the title track from his latest album, When We Were Lovers and the latest single I’m Yours.

He revels in fatherhood - he’s married to actress Jemma Powell - and life-is-good bonhomie, but is patently aware of being a purveyor of sad songs. Having been chided about it by a friend, he announced he had written a happy one - somewhat ironically called Helpless.

Swapping guitars constantly Savoretti was able to rock it up Bryan Adams style on songs such as Start Living In The Moment and cool things down on folksy Lullaby Loving.

Bathed in a pyramid of bright light, his solo acoustic set showed off his effortless voice, often becoming a melodic growl, to great effect.

Many of the other favourites including Tight Rope, The Other Side of Love and Catapult, were tossed into the mix to ensure we all went home elated.

No doubt fans would have been on their feet for the obligatory encore if it had not been for killjoy security staff barking out orders to stay seated so as not to spoil the view of others.

That didn’t prevent a standing ovation at the end of what it’s hoped will be the first of many appearances in the area.

He was alright, Jack - and so were we!