USHER HALL, EDINBURGH, MARCH 16

EMELI Sande’s eagerly-anticipated return to the big stage was a night of mixed emotions.

Outside the Usher Hall, up to 200 angry and upset fans were refused entry having unknowingly bought stolen tickets. The police were called in to deal with the situation.

Inside, a sell-out crowd were buzzing. Wearing an oversized trenchcoat, hair a fuzz of strawberryblonde, Sande opened the show sat on a chessboard-style stage set.

“Thank you so much for being here. I don’t take it for granted at all,” she said, taken aback by the hero’s welcome she received.

Easing her way into the set, songs from new album Long Live the Angels came like frozen prayers – soulful hymns with the odd Africaninspired ditty in between.

The 30-year-old sang about believing in miracles, unconditional friendship, and made an ode to freedom along the way. She never stopped smiling the entire night.

Behind her, meanwhile, projected images of clouds, raindrops and safari deserts provided a visual interpretation to newbies such as Breathing Underwater and Garden.

The more familiar tunes – Clown, Next To Me – were welcomed like old friends.

If love is measured is in applause, then the reception to encore Read All About It suggests she’s Scotland’s Queen of Soul.