Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Devon band The Rumble Strips may have upped sticks and moved to London - but they haven't forgotten their roots.

The four-piece from Tavistock have been tipped for the top, but their feet remain firmly on the ground - which is good news for their local fans, who this summer got the chance to see them in their 'Taste of Devon' tour.

The tour included a date at their home town venue, Tavistock Wharf.

The Rumble Strips are Charlie Waller (lead singer, guitarist and main songwriter); Tom Gorbutt on saxophone and bass; Matthew Wheeler on drums and Henry Clark on keyboards and trumpet.

The Rumble Strips performing at Tavistock Wharf

After releasing several EPs, The Rumble Strips have put together their first album, Girls and Weather, which was released on 17 September 2007.

The first single from it, Girls and Boys in Love, was released on 3 September - and it's hugely infectious.

The track features heavily in Simon Pegg's new film Run Fat Boy Run, which is directed by former Friends star David Schwimmer.

Charlie, 27, took time out on the Taste of Devon tour to speak to Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Devon about how things have taken off for the band in 2007.

And he said it was great to be able to do a 'local' tour.

"It's nice to come back and play in front of all your friends and relatives," he said. "I don't think I ever saw any big bands at Tavistock Wharf. The only times I ever came to the Wharf was to play live.

Charlie moved to London in the late 1990s: "It's what I always wanted to do. I went to art school there - it wasn't all about music.

All they need now is some water

"And then the band formed organically. I knew Tom, Matthew and Henry at school and they all ended up in London. Tom and I started writing songs and it went from there."

The band's big break came in 2006, when they were signed by Island Records. It led them to LA, to record their debut album with famous producer Tony Hoffer (Beck, The Kooks, The Fratellis).

"It wasn't exactly fun," said Charlie. "It was quite a lot of hard work, and LA seems to shut really early! There wasn't a lot for us to do."

The result of the recording sessions is Girls and Weather. You can spot a few musical influences in the Strips' songs - the most notable one being Dexys Midnight Runners.

"Yeah, that's been said before! Personally, Adam and the Ants were my main musical influence when I was growing up," said Charlie.

They've recorded a highly Dexys-influenced version of Thin Lizzy's The Boys Are Back in Town. Charlie explained: "Our tour manager is a big Thin Lizzy fan and we wanted to do a cover version so we did this one.

"It was a really good song to do, it lent itself to brass."

The band are being tipped for big things, but the lads are ignoring all the hype: "Those sort of things things have always been written about us so we take it with a pinch of salt."

Of course, living in London has helped the band get where they are today. But they have made most of their music videos in Devon - and this is where they still call 'home.'

"All our families still live down here so we keep coming back," said Charlie. "To be honest, I was glad to get out of Devon nine years ago - but this is always going to be our home."

You can listen to the track, Girls and Boys in Love by clicking onto the audio link.