THE coal mining industry might be the most obvious subject for a fascinating evening's entertainment but The Pitmen Poets will soon soon change your mind, writes, JOHN ANSON.

The group features four of the country's leading folk performers and their show - which comes to Keswick and Lancaster next week - celebrates the songs and stories from the heyday of the coal mining era in their native north east.

The Pitmen Poets are former Lindisfarne frontman Billy Mitchell, award-winning singer Jez Lowe, leading north east musician and singer Benny Graham and Bob Fox, twice nominated for the best folk singer at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

"It is very much a universal story," said Bob. "Our show is not saying we should open all the pits and bring them back again, it's really a celebration of what life used to be like and how good it was as well as how bad it was.

"A lot of people don't realise how good it was. There was lots of comradeship and the communities were fantastic.

"The material is from the north east but we go to great pains in the show to explain what it all means and so we make a connection with people who worked in similar industries in other parts of the country."

At the heart of the show are songs from Tommy Armstrong, a miner from County Durham in the late 1800s: "Tommy was the original Pitman Poet," said Bob. "He wrote loads and loads of songs about the local community. His songs were about disasters and strikes but also about the characters and the funny things in the community as well.

"His serious songs were picked up by the academics and he was labelled the first radical working class songwriter."

All four members of The Pitmen Poets have a close connection to mining communities.

"We are all the first generation in our respective families not to have been involved in the coal industry," continued Bob.

"The show is very entertaining, it's not a serious documentary. Inevitably it has to cover some of the important things that happened and you can't just skim over them but it's not doom and gloom and it's not heavily political."

Bob promises plenty of laughs and anecdotes as well as songs and music.

Next Tuesday and Wednesday's shows are part of The Pitmen Poets third tour.

"It's going to be the biggest tour we've done so far," said Bob.

Originally Bob was asked to put together a group for a one-off performance in London back in 2011 but the show proved so popular, it has spawned a series of lives dates and a live album.

"We are rehearsing a second album which is going to be called More Black Diamonds and will feature songs that never made it into the first show," he explained.

"There are piles and piles of material. It is hard to know what to leave out. When we do the show live it's two separate hour-long sets more or less and even then it's not long enough to tell the story properly.

"I think for the new tour we will have to introduce some of the new songs but mainly it will be the original show which we know works so well."

One of the attractions for heading back out on tour for all four members is the great relationship they have both on and off stage.

"I've worked with Billy on a few duo tours and before that I worked with Benny," he said. "Jez and I worked on the BBC Radio 2 ballads and we have all been aware of each other for ever really. We all respect each others’ work so it's been great to get together on this."

One thing which has prevented The Pitmen Poets from being more prolific has been Bob's involvement in the hit musical Warhorse. He has twice played the role of the Songman in the West End.

"They've asked me to go back into the show when it tours in September and that will take us through to 2019," he added.

"It's the perfect role for me as it's a folk singer and that's what I am. I don't have to do much acting. I just go on and be myself. It's great fun."

The Pitmen Poets play Keswick's Theatre by the Lake on Tuesday, February 7 (box office, 017687-74411) and the Grand Theatre, Lancaster, on Wednesday, February 8 (box office, 01524-64695).