THE Subways are festival favourites, so you might imagine playing in a small club in Darlington would hold little fear.

However, singer Billy Lunn says there will be as many nerves on Tuesday night as when performing in front of thousands at the likes of Glastonbury and the Carling Weekend.

“Both kinds of shows are very nerve-racking for different reasons,” said Lunn ahead of the gig which is being used to promote their forthcoming album Money and Celebrity.

“Festival crowds because they're so vast and important, and small shows because the people are so close that you can see the sweat falling from their brow and the whites of their eyes as they scream the lyrics. They can be so intense that it's violently passionate!”

Money and Celebrity was put together with the help of fans through the PledgeMusic scheme.

“We were so surprised by the amount of support that came out of the woodwork,” said Lunn of the process. “It just goes to show you that there are fans out there who do want to get actively involved in the record making process and that care about bands and music so much that they're willing to invest their hard-earned cash in allowing a record to be made.”

Plaudits have come thick and fast for The Subways, but Lunn said there was no way the band would be resting on its laurels.

“We still feel that we have a long way to go, and we're always trying to better ourselves with every song we write,” said Lunn. “There are still so many people who don't know who The Subways are, and we want to drag them to our shows because we consider our shows just one big party - so the more the merrier!

“The fact that people we respect praise us is still amazing for us. We still wake up every morning and say to ourselves 'we get to play in a band in this amazing city in this amazing country to amazing people!'. If anything we have more of a lust to get out there and play with every single day.”

The Subways appear at Inside Out, Beaumont Street, Darlington tomorrow. Show starts at 7.30pm, tickets are priced £10 in advance, £12 on the door. Ages 16 plus. Call 01325-381238.