THEY have played the Isle of Wight Festival, sung live in front of Lewis Hamilton and thousands of fans at the British Grand Prix and now The Dolls are about to show Lytham Festival why they are one of the most talked about groups around.

The all-girl group who embody the punk spirit have come a long way in a relatively short space of time and lead singer Nancy Doll admits that sometimes she has to pinch herself.

"This summer has been amazing for us already," she said. "I think we had around 10,000 people watching us at the Isle of Wight Festival and then performing at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone was incredible."

Reigning Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton was among those blown away by the girls energetic set full of classic punk covers done in The Dolls own style.

"He managed to catch a bit if our set and we had our picture taken with him," said Nancy. "He was very generous and said that he really enjoyed us.

"When you play something like those events you just look out onto this sea of faces. The energy you get from that is amazing.

"When I came off stage I was going round asking 'did that really happen?'. It was fantastic."

Nancy is a ball of energy fronting The Dolls and their electrifying live shows often take newcomers by surprise.

"I demand energy from the crowd," said Nancy. "When you come to see us you might as well accept that you are going to let yourself and start dancing."

The Dolls have already got a devoted band of fans who follow them from gig to gig and diehard punks have embraced both the spirit and musicianship of the band.

"I love it when you get an audience that challenges you," said Nancy. "I'll see someone staring at me as if to say 'go on then, impress me'. I'll have them down the front before they know it."

Classic punk and new wave songs ranging from the Sex Pistols to The Cult form the bulk of the band's set but now they are writing more original material too.

"We have gone from being just a covers band," said Nancy.

This weekend the band warm up for their Lytham Festival appearance with a date at Kendal Calling.

"We just want to get out there and show people what we are about," said Nancy.

The Dolls with Space and Ska Face play the Pavilions stage at Lytham Festival on Thursday. Details from lythamfestival.com