I immediately know I’ve done the right thing rejoining the band. Emmanuel is right. This kind of happiness can only be good for me – the world’s healthiest drug. With my nerves fully in check, I begin to scan the audience, making eye contact here and there, smiling and connecting with our fan base.

Doing so, I spot familiar faces – lots of them. My gaze lands firstly on Matt, Sasha and Emmanuel in the front row, dancing around like idiots. Just near them, I spot my team members from work. My eyes lock with Dhruv’s. He’s bouncing on the spot, grinning and mouthing ‘You are insane’. But the biggest shock of all comes when I spot my mother, my sister and John on the far right-hand side. I’m so astonished, I miss a beat and turn to Sammy with an apologetic look. He simply grins back at me, shaking his head in a gesture of ‘forget it’. It’s clear he’s perfectly aware why I’ve faltered.

As I continue to sing my heart out, I look back towards my family. It’s like I’ve entered some kind of parallel universe. How on earth did they end up here? Carol’s doing a good enough job of trying to fit in, and John’s clearly enjoying the music, dancing like an embarrassing dad. But my mother looks like she’s been brought here with a gun to her back. Her stuffiness gives her the air of a French poodle living among a family of warthogs. Only the crazy mix of feelings I’m experiencing from having spotted the two of them – stunned surprise, delight and a touch of resentment – stops me from bursting into fits of laughter right there on the stage. As I watch them, Carol looks up and gives me an uncertain wave, then nudges my mother, who herself gives an awkward nod, and was that just the hint of a smile?

We continue with a mix of original tracks and covers back to back until Sammy gives me a nod that he’s going to say something at the end of the current song. Once I’ve wrapped up the final lines of ‘Sex on Fire’, I step back from the microphone to give Sammy centre stage. He stands there, arms stretched high in the air, as the crowd goes wild with applause.

‘Isn’t she incredible?’ he calls into the mic, and raucous cheering reverberates round the auditorium. ‘Oh yeah, she’s incredible. What Alex doesn’t know is that her final track of tonight is one that she herself wrote. It’s a bit different to our usual stuff, but we’re sure you’re going to love it. It’s called “Take a Moment” and Alex was inspired to write it when she was battling with her own illness.’

A loud supportive cheer bursts from the crowd as bubbling nerves erupt in my stomach. What’s Sammy doing? We haven’t even rehearsed it, other than that one night when we sang together in the bar after my first gig – but that doesn’t count. Does he even remember how it goes?