PAT McGarvey from The Coal Porters has certainly managed to get around.

Having lived in Basingstoke from 1987 until 1991, the banjo player and vocalist with the group was actually born in Belfast, and has also lived in London and Liverpool.

And the group he's now a member of began even further afield - in America - before setting up a base on this side of the Atlantic.

"When Sid Griffin, who started the group in LA, married an English girl and moved to London, he moved his group with him," said Pat.

"I joined in about 1993, when I was taking bass lessons in west London, and he called to get the name of some bass players.

"I was interested straight away - I was looking for any gig to get me out of the small band/little pub scene.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I was a little more ambitious than that, and I wanted to see the world."

After undergoing a number of line-up changes, The Coal Porters (pictured above) were at first a full-on electric folk-rock band touring the UK and Europe. Their albums Land of Hope and Crosby and Los London received grand reviews in publications like Mojo, Q, UnCut and New York City's Village Voice.

Acknowledged as a fine songwriter, a number of artistes, including Billy Bragg, have covered Sid's songs.

In 2002, he was presented with a lifetime achievement award at the Premio Ciampi Songwriters Conference in Italy.

But in 1999, there was a sea-change in his approach to music when Sid produced an album by Lindisfarne and found himself drawn to and inspired by the band's acoustic instrumentation.

So with himself on mandolin, Pat on banjo, Neil Robert Herd on flatpickin' guitar, Ivor Ottley on fiddle and Paul Sandy on double bass, the acoustic Coal Porters Bluegrass Band was born.

"We've done different things," says Pat. "It was a rock 'n' roll band when I joined and now it's bluegrass. I used to play the bass, but now I play the banjo.

"I still play bass in other bands, but it was weird at first. It's a pretty unfashionable instrument but the people who like it really love it.

"We now play Celtic hoolie tunes and folk songs reinterpreted from the last century, and since I've got a Celtic voice it suits them well.

"We get a great response from our audiences - it's a very entertaining show. We tell jokes and stories and have a great interaction with the audience. We don't just stand there looking at our feet."

He's been in the group for a long time and, apart from Sid, is now the only original member. Has it been annoying to have so many people join and leave over the years?

"There has been a revolving door of people. It's frustrating in some ways to be let down, but it's quite good for different influences and to change the sound of the band. People want to get married, life interferes.

"At this stage, all of us in the group are over 30 and enjoy each other's company - and have a good laugh."

Finally, what's the name all about then? I didn't hear him mention anything about the original Cole Porter or any of his music?

"It could be a long story, but basically there was a list of terrible names and that was the best of them!"

Fair enough.

The Coal Porters are appearing in The Forge at The Anvil this Thursday, beginning at 8pm.

Tickets, priced £12.50 (concessions £9.50), are available from the box office on 01256 844244.