Who’s up for a right old knees up at Fat Sam’s on Saturday night?
That great Irish band, the Saw Doctors, are back in town on yet another tour of the UK, which brings them back to Dundee.
It’s a place they’ve played before and for lead singer Leo Moran, the city holds some fond memories.
“Fat Sam’s is great, we’ve done that a few times and I remember the hottest gig we ever played, that was in The Doghouse, I think I sweated off about a stone in weight that night.”
The rock and roller-coaster history of The Saw Doctors defies logical explanation until you remember that, in the end, perseverance gets rewarded.
The very definition of journeymen rockers, Ireland’s favourite folk rockers have blazed back phoenix-like from almost two decades of unsung glory.
That resurrection occurred two years ago when, out of the blue and thanks to a TV puppet show, their cover of The Sugababes’ About You Now rocketed to number one in Ireland, restoring them to their rightful place as that nation’s best-loved good-time band.
Their appeal spans the generations, with a completely new, young audience thronging to their gigs, fired up by the success of About You Now.
“I suppose we’re a bit like an old dress,” Leo laughed. “If you keep it long enough, it’s bound to come back into fashion.”
And back they are, as their recent tours have showed, with thousands turning up to dance the nights away at gigs all over Ireland, Europe, America, Australia and now Scotland.
“Just like Ireland, the Scottish crowds really love us, they’re always up for a party and we’re really looking forward to doing the Wickerman Festival this year, and we’d love to do Belladrum again, that was really nice.”
Leo and the lads are also looking forward to releasing their brand new album, which he says should be out in June or July. Advance tickets are £20 plus booking fee from Groucho’s or www.ticketweb.com. Doors open around 8pm.