Lads feel good enough ahead of Dodgy date

SMASHING Lads

SMASHING Lads guitarist Joe Whelan has been telling me how the brilliant lyrically-driven Saddleworth outfit are getting ready to put in an extra shift or two in the practise room ahead of their big support date for headliners Dodgy at the Uppermill Civic Hall on Saturday week.

The Lads, front-man Joe, bass/vocalist Mark Burke, keyboard player Pete Wood and drummer Keith Unwin, are fans of 1990s chart heroes Dodgy, and it's clear that all band members are relishing the prospect of getting stuck into the same bill on the 25th.

Joe said: "We're all really looking forward to it now. We haven't really been rehearsing that much for it to be honest.

"Our set is fairly well baked. We know the songs.

"Having said that, though, we'll put a few extra rehearsals in before the 25th.

"We've been focusing on fine tuning songs for our debut album.

"We start recording in March."

So there's another story which will undoubtedly feature on these pages shortly, but for now, what about Dodgy, the returning stars who produced 90s smash hits 'Good Enough' and 'Stayin out for the Summer'?

"We're all fans of the band," added Joe.

"A couple of us were at the gig in Werneth Park back in the 90s.

"We would still have been going to the gig at the Civic even if we hadn't been offered the support slot.

"We'll all be up at the front bouncing with everyone else."

Hopefully the punters will lap up an approximate half-hour set from the Smashing Lads too

"We don't really put on a 'show' if you know what I mean," Joe said when asked what the audience might expect from his band.

"Ours is more like the story of someone on the verge of a breakdown."

A few tickets for the big Dodgy gig - which also sees the Maitlands supporting as well as the Smashing Lads - are still available via www.skiddle.com or the dedicated event page on Facebook.