A BAND which formed in 2015 and came to Hexham two years ago will be back on Thursday, September 9.

Cats in Space are a classic rock band in the mould of Queen or Supertramp and they challenge doubters to be proven wrong.

Greg Hart, founder of Cats in Space, said: "When we told people what we were going to do back in 2015, they said 'you're crazy!  It'll never work'.  They didn't think that we could replicate the sound and they didn't think the sound would sell.

"In fact, it went nuts, people loved it.  People were saying “we’ve been waiting for a band like this since the ‘70s.

"Originally, we didn’t have any plans to play live, but after the album went massive people were asking when they would be able to see us live.

"It just trundled along and we’re on album five now with a few tours under our belt."

They came to Hexham two years ago, after a fan contacted the venue and told them to book the band, and had a successful night.

"Last time we played Hexham, it was a really good night.  We did really well and said we’d rather come back.  I’d rather go there again than Newcastle.

"The venue is the perfect size, where you get a connection with the crowd because it's not too big but it still hasa  good capacity."

They are hoping to be one of the first bands on the touring circuit but aren't sure if that's a blessing or a curse.

"We don't know if we're luky or unlucky.  We've postponed this twice now and last year we picked September thinking it will be well over by then.  In fact, we're going to be the first band back touring and the first in most of these venues.

"We're not sure if there's a wave of people waiting to go out or if people are still a bit worried.

"All we’re trying to say is ‘we’ve all come out of Covid and lockdown, people are nervy, we’re just saying come out, have a good time, support the theatres and remember what it used to be like."

Having all been in previous bands, some since the 1970s and '80s, they set out on a mission to make music which they enjoyed playing rather than what they thought would be commercially successful.

"You’ll see one of the best rock bands in the country, without a shadow of a doubt.  Everything we do is live, most people now when they play it’s all on a track and when people hear our vocal harmonies they think it’s on track.  Actually it's not.

"Damien Edwards is the best singer I’ve ever had the fortune to play with, Jeff Brown is a lead singer in his own right, I can do this high harmony voice so it all works really well together.

"Come and see us, we don’t take ourselves too seriously."