IF you thought being in a band was all glamour and swanky hotels, then you should talk to Mojo Fury. The Belfast rockers have spent the last few months well and truly putting in the miles in order to get themselves known by as many people as possible.

However, far from being ferried from venue to venue in some plush limousine, they have been living out of the back of a van.

“It seems like a very primitive way to live,” says guitarist James Lyttle. “We wake up in a strange place each morning, cook some breakfast – usually porridge or cous cous – on the stove then move on to the gig. It forces you to give up simple things like showering and your own personal space, but we wouldn’t change a thing.”

Despite the close proximity, Lyttle says there have been few dramas.

“I think when you are all focused on the same thing, you just have to find ways to work together and know when to take a step back,” he says. “It can be tough at times, but not as tough as sitting in an office all day, every day with people you don’t get along with.”

In the past year, the band has secured a recording deal and have been gaining rave reviews for their live sets.

“Things have been amazing in the past year,” says Lyttle. “A sense of realisation I suppose. We secured a management deal with Northern Music which has helped us tour constantly, while releasing a couple of singles.”

Likened to the Queens of the Stone Age and Pulled Apart By Horses, Lyttle feels their music is far from formulaic.

“We like to challenge the listener. For us, the most exciting music is stuff that makes you think and doesn’t follow a generic formula,” he says. “We hope to show people, especially younger kids, that there’s more to music than ‘N-Dubz, Black Eyed Peas’ etc.

“We are hoping our album is understood how it’s meant to be and that we can take our live show to places we’ve only ever dreamt of.”

Like many bands in the first flush of youth, playing live is where it’s at.

“The internet helps to keep fans updated,” said Lyttle. “But when it comes to winning over new fans, you just have to get out and tour constantly.

Being on the road is the most fun part of being in a band and you can connect with people on a more personal level which I believe is invaluable.”

That connection will be self-evident when Mojo Fury take to the stage at Newcastle’s intimate setting of The Cluny.

“Small, cramped venues can be the most fun to play,” said Lyttle. “If you have the connection with the crowd then I don’t think it matters what size the venue is.”

So what of the future, can we expect to see Mojo Fury’s name up in lights in the not too distant future?

“It would be nice to be on our own headline tours,” said Lyttle. “Hopefully, we’ll have another album out by then too. It would be good if we didn’t have to eat cous cous again.”