Live music group, Lightyear is reforming and heading back to their home town of Derby to kick off their 20th anniversary tour.

The unique punk music group, who in the past have curiously used Morris dancing and fire breathing to liven up crowds in their act, will be making two performances at the Hairy Dog, in Becket Street, Derby, in October.

Anybody interested should act quickly, as tickets for the second show, on Friday, October 20, has already sold out, but there are still availabilities for the performance on Thursday, October 19.

The tour will include a further eight shows across the country, including stops in London, Glasgow and Southampton, all taking place throughout October.

Chas Palmer-Williams, who is the lead vocalist of Lightyear has said each and every member of the group is excited for the shows.

The eight members of Lightyear
The eight members of Lightyear

He said: "We have toured around the UK and Europe, but this is now our 20th anniversary. Derby is our home town show, if you like and we're excited. It's going to be a special show, it's a new, different set and new material.

"Too many people nowadays seem to do similar things, some shows you go to seem to be working to a script that’s been written and stick to it religiously during a show.

"We've built pretty much our own community over the years, people going back to the 90s, who have followed us, are now coming with their children. It's really helping to cross that generation gap, which can be difficult to do."

When questioned about the unique features of their shows, such as breathing fire and Morris dancing, Chas continued to say that he is not complete sure how they became a regular fixture of their shows.

He said: "I'm not really sure how we started with all the Morris dancing and the fire breathing and we even have a pantomime horse costume. Normally, the Morris dancing comes out when a song drops, we'll then start to do a very poor version of a Morris dance.

"But we have had to stop all of the fire because of safety and things like that. I remember once looking down at our trumpet player, who had a line of fire equipment lined up and thought that this really is not a good idea, I'm sure it wasn't safe."

The Hairy Dog, on Becket Street in Derby will be hosting two shows in October
The Hairy Dog, on Becket Street in Derby will be hosting two shows in October

Regularly rated as one of the best live shows in the country, a combination of stage diving, brass sections, as well as the afore mentioned Morris dancing and fire breathing, to go with the music will surely make for a very memorable evening.

Chas continued to explain that the band will be filming and producing their own documentary about the 20 years that they have been playing, particularly about the earlier, less glorified years.

He said: "We actually couldn't announce this before, but we can now. We are making a 20th anniversary documentary video. Showing what we have done throughout the 90s, when the punk scene really wasn't ever covered that much, if at all.

"Even though there was all of these sell-out, brilliant shows, there wasn't much ever actually reported. If it was British pop or something similar, there would have been plenty of coverage. The funny thing is now that people who came from the punk scene have now gone into the wider music industry, they're everywhere now.

"So, we're raising money at the show, and on an online crowd funder called PledgeMusic. Two of our guys from Lightyear are video experts, so they should really come in handy."

For more information about the shows, and for ordering your tickets, visit the band's website online at https://www.lightyearband.com/shows

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