UP-AND-COMING indie band The Sherlocks played a brilliant set to a sell-out crowd in Southampton on Saturday night.

The gig at The Joiners was a memorable milestone as it was the Sheffield band’s first southern show in their first truly nationwide tour.

Their catchy guitar tunes, drums and bass soon caught the imagination of the local crowd.

Dancing and even shoulder-surfing were soon in view as songs, including recent singles Live for the Moment and Escapade, played out.

The young band follow in the great tradition of guitar groups from the past, but have their own sound. That helped even unfamiliar songs become firm favourites of the Joiners crowd.

The tremendous Chasing Shadows, with its urgent guitar riffs and drums and powerful vocals, ended the show in style.

Earlier in the evening popular local band The Costellos played another formidable set.

Despite their name there is no mystery to why The Sherlocks are doing so well.

They have worked hard to build up a fan base in northern Britain and are now expanding across the rest of the country. It is a traditional approach which should mean they are around for the long haul.

Before the gig lead singer Kiaran Crook, drummer Brandon Crook, lead guitarist Josh Davidson and bass guitarist Andy Davidson spoke exclusively to the Daily Echo.

“The shows are going really well” said Kiaran. “This is our most extensive tour to date and the crowds are getting bigger each time we play.”

Brandon added: “We chose The Joiners as a result of its great history and there being a buzz about it on Twitter. We spoke to Patrick Muldowney, the owner, and we just knew it was a venue we had to play.”

The two sets of brothers know each other as result of the Crooks’ grandparents living next door to the Davidson family in Bolton upon Dearne. Kiaran, Brandon and Andy all played football together, but they soon realised they also had music in common and, together with Josh, soon formed The Sherlocks.

The lads fondly recall their first gig at the Sandhill Tavern, Great Houghton.

“We were paid £60 plus all the free drinks we wanted. It is fair to say we went overboard on that, even before we played,” they laughed.

After a lot of hard work, the band was asked by Tom Clarke of The Enemy to support them in several venues.

“They showed us the next level to some extent,” said Brandon, “but our biggest change of fortune has been the success of our two singles.”

“Escapade reaching number 45 in the official chart and number 3 in the iTunes alternative chart was beyond all our expectations,” added Josh.

Despite many offers the band has shied away from becoming a regular support act to bigger acts, preferring to headline across smaller venues.

“This is a tour that will never end,” said Kiaran. “We will keep adding dates. It is what we do.”

The Sherlocks say there was never a moment when they decided to go full-time.

“It just happened,” said Kiaran. “We were playing more and more gigs, writing our own songs and then all of a sudden we had a single in the charts.”

The band are managed by Brandon and Kiaran’s father Michael and, despite several offers, remain unsigned to a record label despite some reports to the contrary.

They play the legendary 100 Club in London in May.

They mainly listen to the great guitar groups of the past. Paul Weller is a hero for lead singer Kiaran.

There are no plans for an album this year. The band candidly admits that while they have lots of “cracking” songs, they want to become better known right across the country before releasing their debut compilation.

But that looks set to happen soon. The Sherlocks are one of the most exciting new bands around and based on this gig they have a huge future.