Tonight, controversial academic Jordan Peterson was due to take to the stage at London’s Eventim Apollo on his 12 Rules for Life tour, named after his bestselling book. Yet a last-minute cancellation left thousands of would-be attendees disappointed to miss a glimpse of the man who has become the voice of the young male masses: ‘was so looking forward to listening to you,’ wrote one fan on Twitter; ‘you will be missed’, added another.

Indeed at his book signing in October last year, I asked the young men in the queue outside why they had gathered en masse. Matthew Odell, a 19-year-old student, became visibly nervous as we inched towards the door. He was agitated. He couldn’t look at me, let alone talk.

As he approached Peterson, his face became redder and redder; stuttering, and struggling to articulate his thoughts. His eyes looked as though they were filling with tears.

The book had helped Odell through a horrible time when his family members were ill, he said; he spends an hour and a half a day watching Peterson’s videos, which include ‘Taking Responsibility for Your Life’ and ‘Take Aim, Even Badly.’

Michael Rae, another student in the queue, praised Peterson even more effusively, describing him as “just a breath of fresh air,” while speaking of the “masculinity crisis” threatening his peers. Both he and Odell talked suspiciously – and naively – about feminism’s encroaching dominance. “I can’t buy the idea that men are oppressing women,” Rae said.