The bar erupts into yet more cheers, with some cat calls of ‘go Alex’ as the karaoke compère hands me the mic.

‘Off you go, bab. Sing the pain away.’

Thanking him, I turn towards the blue screen as the title of the song appears in stark white letters. I can feel myself trembling slightly, my breathing laboured, as I wait for the on-screen lyrics to count me in. What a difference it makes to have the reassuring hug of a couple of gin and tonics. It almost makes me wish I’d breached my two-drink limit in preparation.

‘Amazing song choice,’ someone shouts from across the bar, which eases my nerves ever so slightly.

I flash a grateful smile in the direction of the voice as the room falls silent in anticipation. The light, emotive intro plays and I start to sing the opening lines. There’s very little by way of instrumental accompaniment, which always make me think I’m off tune at first. But as the track builds to its full volume and tempo, and the punters in the bar clap to the beat encouragingly, I begin to relax. I power my way through the first verse and chorus, feeling less exposed, the music and emotion consuming me like a tidal wave.

I dare a glance around the room and find myself spurred on by approving grins and whoops. This fuels me to take it up a level, which seems to please my audience even more, and I become so lost in the song, it’s almost over before I’ve had a chance to really experience it. The whole bar sings with me as I reach the song’s climax, in an explosion of power and intensity. Then as I complete the soulful lyrics, the music fades out and I’m left standing, alone and exposed, once again. But not for long. The bar erupts into a swarm of cheers, of applause and foot-stamping. My audience is clearly happy with my performance – which is an enormous relief.

I give an awkward bow, thrust the mic back into the karaoke compère’s hand and rush back to my seat, eyes to the ground, nodding thanks to the positive comments being directed at me as I go. I reach our table and slide into my seat, my face hot and flustered from all the attention.

‘That was incredible.’ Sasha grabs me into a vice-like hug. ‘You totally nailed it. See, you don’t need alcohol. You’re a complete natural.’

‘Am I?’ I screw up my face. ‘Pretty sure I was visibly shaking at the start.’

‘Didn’t look like that at all. You seemed so confident. No one will have picked up on it. How’s your leg though? I really felt for you there.’

‘My leg?’ I’m momentarily confused. ‘Oh, my thigh. It’s… gosh, I’d almost forgotten about that. It’s still throbbing, but you know, I didn’t feel any pain at all while I was singing. Don’t know if it was the adrenaline, or just that I was so into the song. Must be a natural painkiller.’