"THE songs are a portal to the past" explains Idlewild lead singer Roddy Woomble as we talk about the upcoming Stourbridge 25 year anniversary tour date.

It has been a quarter of a century since the cult Scottish group launched onto the rock and indie scene landing eight top 30 singles and six top 30 albums.

The 25th anniversary tour is actually taking place in the band's 26th year after the pandemic forced a postponement but there was never any question of it not going ahead.

"We thought it was still important to celebrate.

"Everyone was expecting things to change but I think people are willing to celebrate the band and the songs.

"And it will be a great experience if you haven't been to a gig before."

It's the first time Idlewild has played in Stourbridge and the only Midlands date of the tour for the band which had hits with When I Argue I See Shapes, Roseability and You Held the World in Your Arms.

The fact the band has been around for more than 25 years may come as a shock for some fans surprised at how quickly time flies.

"I think it is also a really positive thing because our songs are 25 years old and in that context it's an awful long time but in positive terms they have soundtracked people's lives.

"The songs are a portal to the past which you can put on and be immediately taken back to another place in time.

"Alot of people make a connection with the band and this kind of gig is more of a celebration.

"It's not like we have got a new album to promote, we are going to play songs from the whole back catalogue."

The 25th anniversary tour will be a chance for the band to go through their various eras and is the first time the band has played since 2019.

Roddy has done a solo tour in clubs and small theatres but he says it will be interesting to get back to it all.

"I don't know what to expect and that's quite exciting."

Over the quarter of a century that Idlewild has been around they have seen the move from "analogue to digital" in terms of the music industry.

"Things have changed massively in our band's lifetime.

"When we started in the mid-1990s the internet existed but people had no access to it.

"We just played live and saved up to make a demo tape.

"It was all about playing live - I didn't have an email address until I was 22 or a smartphone until I was 30.

"We didn't get a band website until the early 2000s when the band had been around for about five years.

"Going from analogue to digital has been a part of the band's career.

"What's been constant since the start though is that we are a live band.

"That's the staple thing through our whole career and there is something kind of nice about that.

"Some things change and other things stay the same but we have always been a live band."

Idlewild will be at Stourbridge Town Hall on Saturday, November 13 with tickets available online at www.boroughhalls.co.uk or by calling the box office on (01384) 812812.