The Lancashire Hotpots

February 2009


THEY revisit the musical comedy that was prevalent in the folk clubs during the 60s and 70s. You get the idea from the song titles: Chav, The Girl From Bargain Booze, eBay 'Eck, Bogoff, Chippy Tea, I Heart YouTube and I Met A Girl On MySpace.
They are The Lancashire Hotpots and after enjoying word-of-mouth success on MySpace, ended up with plays on Radio 1 and MTV and a tour last year with Paddy McGuinness.
"It's the most fun you can have and be paid," says Bernard Thresher, who is joined in the Hotpots by Dickie Ticker, Bob Wriggles and Willie Eckerslike
"Are you suggesting they are not our real names?"
He adds: "It's about time we had something that, instead of being about stupid haircuts and looking dead serious in arty videos, it's about having a laugh and a bit of a pint."
Not they haven't tried that already. Three of the Hotpots were in a rave band, playing guitars, synths and an electronic drum kit.
"We played warehouses at six in the morning. It was a right laugh but after a while you get tired of thinking that actually no-one is listening. Because they're off their heads and don't know what their own name is. People who come to the gigs don't know their own names either but it's because they're a bit old."
The eureka moment came to Dickie, he says.
"He was sat on the toilet and the idea dropped if you will. The first song, I Met A Girl On MySpace, was uploaded on to their own MySpace page and so it began.
They recently released a second album Pot Sounds – the title and sleeve a pun on the Beach Boys' classic Pet Sounds.
The Lancashire Hotpots, who return to the Rescue Rooms tomorrow after a gig as part of the Dot To Dot Festival, greet each audience with a shout of "Owdoo cockers." But are they as broad with their accents by day?
"Well I live in the West Midlands now so if I talked that broad all the time no-one would know what I was saying. It's nice to get in the full swing of things of an evening."
By day, three of the band are college lecturers. Bernard is a fork lift truck driver now living in Coventry.
All are in their 20s and 30s. The gigs have been attracting a broad range of ages, he says.
"We get a lot of people, who are of an older age, who turn up to a gig and say 'Is there anywhere to sit down?'"
They've yet to meet any stars on their travels though he's proud of a story that Paddy McGuinness told him.
"He was compering a concert at the O2 Arena and he was with Shaun Ryder, The Kaiser Chiefs and The Feeling at the side of the stage while The View were playing. And they were all singing Chippy Tea. I thought, that's a belter that. I'm taking that with me."