THEY are a band made up chiefly of Cambridge University graduates. But without a music degree between them they are top of the class in the music business.

Grammy Award winners Clean Bandit who perform at Southampton’s first-ever Common People music festival on Sunday, May 24 have had a phenomenal 18 months.

They won the award for Best Dance Recording at this year’s Grammy Awards and in 2014 sold more singles than One Direction globally with more than 11 million sales!

Their tour of the UK and Ireland in March was a complete sell-out too.

Last year they enjoyed sell-out UK and US tours, performing alongside the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra for Radio 1, landed TV appearances on programmes such as the BBC Music Awards and featured on the Band Aid 30 single.

Band members Jack Patterson, Grace Chatto and Neil Amin-Smith met while studying at Jesus College, Cambridge.

At the time Neil was leading a string quartet together with Grace, who both attended Westminster School. The fourth member of the band is Luke Patterson, Jack’s brother.

It is small wonder they are known as ‘the poshest band in pop’!

As I prepared to call Neil, who plays violin, news had just broken that Clean Bandit have been nominated for two Ivor Novello Awards for dance track Rather Be.

They have been short-listed for ‘the most performed work prize’, alongside Sam Smith and George Ezra!

The award, which recognises the most-played song of last year, sees Smith’s Stay With Me challenge Ezra’s Budapest and Rather Be from Clean Bandit.

Rather Be, featuring Jess Glynne, and written by James Napier and Jack Patterson, is also up for best contemporary song.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony in London on May 21.

Neil admits it’s been a whirlwind 18 months that took them by surprise.

“The pace of life for us has been quite incredible. We signed a record deal two and a half years ago but since January 2014 it’s been quite a different life for us!

"That’s when Rather Be came out and we ended up chasing it around the world. It was a hit on every continent.

We did the big US tour – well, two tours, and Japan and we are going again this summer, as well as Australia later this year. We haven’t stopped.”

As undergraduates at Cambridge University Neil took his degree in history and economics, Grace studied Russian and Jack Patterson did architecture. So what had been the original career plan?

“I didn’t have one to be honest but I definitely didn’t plan this! It was a gradual process. For a very long time we definitely weren’t serious and just did it for fun.

“The turning point came when we made the video Motzart’s House. We released it and it took us to a much wider audience than ever before.”

So was he looking forward to playing Common People on May 24?

“Definitely! I love playing festivals and it’s my favourite part of the year." 

Clean Bandit have a new single Stronger and their debut album New Eyes is out now.