Chad Kroeger

Nickelback stunned London's The O2 with an energetic greatest hits set last night (October 1).

The Canadian rockers treated fans to barnstorming renditions of their back catalog as part of their 'Here & Now' European tour.

They got things off to a spectacular start with heavy hit 'This Means War' before flying straight into 'Something in Your Mouth'.

The group - made up of singer and guitarist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger and drummer Daniel Adair - encouraged fans to enjoy their night with a few alcoholic beverages prior to launching into 'Bottoms Up', and later admitted they have ''missed London''.

While Chad has shed his customary long blonde locks, his imaginative wit remains, as he proved by cracking a number of jokes throughout the set.

Referring to the band's latest tour dates in France, Sweden and Germany, he told the crowd: ''It's nice not to have to remember what language to speak in. Last time I checked you guys invented English.''

The group rolled back the years as they flew into their 2002 hit 'Too Bad' and brought former 'American Idol' contestant Chris Daughtry - who supported the band with his group Daughtry earlier in the night - back on stage to sing a stripped back version of 'Rockstar'.

Chad then regained control of the microphone for fan favourite 'Someday' before suggesting the crowd play a ''mass drinking game'' and downing a shot with Ryan.

He said: ''It's drinky drinky time. We should have a mass drinking game. Every time we play a song about sex or a bad relationship or drinking then you should drink. You would be smashed halfway through the set, though!''

Nickelback completed their set with 'Lullaby', 'When We Stand Together' and classic singalong tune 'How Your Remind Me' - which topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2001.

However, the group were in no hurry to leave the arena and got the crowd back to their feet as they came back to round off their performance in superb style with an encore consisting of 'Gotta Be Somebody' and 'Burn It to the Ground'.

© Bang Showbiz