BRITISH Sea Power head for home shores next week as they kick off their UK tour in, not London, not Manchester, but Barrow.

At first glance there may be little glamour to playing a shipping town perched at the end of the Furness peninsula but the band will be following in the footsteps of none other than 40s legend Gracie Fields.

BSP's appearance, next Thursday (Nov 17) will make them the first act to appear at the former shipyard canteen since the cinema and music hall star from Rochdale.

"The buzz that this event has created has been amazing and really shows that given the right type of acts, there is a real appetite for live music in the area," said Northern Riviera Productions manager Sam Hunt.

"Whilst we are only looking at probably having events once a month, we need to ensure that the calibre of acts is strong. As a result, I can confirm that we are already in negotiations with some other top quality acts with regard to future events, should this one be as successful as we hope it is going to be," added Mr Hunt.

According to Mr Hunt, the last known act to play the canteen in front of an audience was Gracie Fields, so for a local band to be given the opportunity to follow in Gracie Fields' footsteps is something of an event in itself.