SOUTHAMPTON’S horror punk heroes Creeper will play a surprise Halloween Eve show at The Joiners on Monday.

The Kerrang! Award winners and Radio One favourites, whose debut album Eternity, in Your Arms was a top 20 smash last year, agreed to headline at short notice to help raise funds for roof repairs at the famous live music spot.

Billing themselves as The Midnight Kids for this intimate performance, the band will play for free, adding to the thousands of pounds raised by supporters after weather damage to the venue, which celebrates its 50th birthday in 2018.

It’s three years since Creeper first played The Joiners, but as frontman Will Gould explained, their connection there goes back much further than that: “Years before we signed our record deal or played internationally, The Joiners cultivated us. We’ve always felt lucky to have grown up with such a historic place in the city, but it wasn’t until we began touring that we realised it’s not only a great venue, but the best in the country.

“Everyone there has believed in us since we were teenagers, they gave us support slots, let us promote our own shows and have been a cornerstone for music in the south for longer than I’ve been alive.

“When we heard they needed money for repairs, it was our pleasure to help. It’s is not just fun to come home and play, it is a privilege. Tickets at joinerslive.co.uk

RICHARD DERBYSHIRE