AFTER an absence of nearly 10 years, punk and new wave ‘supergroup’ Dead Men Walking return to East Lancashire with a new line-up and a new collection of songs.

Founder Kirk Brandon, of Theatre of Hate and Spear of Destiny remains the driving force behind the collection of musicians who made such an impact with their music in the late Seventies and early Eighties.

Previous incarnations of Dead Men Walking have included the likes of Slim Jim Phantom from the Stray Cats, the Sex Pistols Glen Matlock and Mike Peters of the Alarm.

For the show in Blackburn next Friday, Kirk will be joined by Jake Burns, frontman of Stiff Little Fingers and the Ruts rhythm section of drummer Dave Ruffy and bassist Segs Jennings.

“I just felt that we did something that was really great with Dead Men Walking,” said Kirk. “We had some fantastic shows and everybody loved it and then we just completely dropped the ball. There were extenuating reasons for that but I just felt it is such really good fun to do we should go out on the road again.”

East Lancashire was one of Dead Men Walking’s favourite stomping grounds. The band even recorded a live album at Darwen Library Theatre.

“I love that place,” said Kirk, “it was a brilliant there.”

Kirk admits that the new version of Dead Men Walking will be different to the band’s last incarnation.

“For the first two versions of the band, we did the shows sitting down,” he said, “but the third was standing up and more in your face.

“Now we’re back to sitting down again which I think is a really good format.”

The semi-acoustic nature of the show allows band members to revisit some of their best known songs and present them in a different way.

“For me, it makes you question what you are saying and why you are doing things which I think is a good way of approaching a show,” said Kirk. “It’s not just trotting out the tunes and then go home.

“We all study each other’s stuff to see what we might be able to add or even if we can drop out of it, which can sometimes be the most effective thing to do.

“In the process of doing that you really listen to the lyrics and get to evaluate the songs.”

Kirk promises that Dead Men Walking shows will remain a fun affair.

“We play the songs and tell the stories about what was happening when we wrote them,” he said.

“Jake will be approaching SLF songs in a totally different way as he hasn’t got to shout over a rock band; Segs and Dave have got a new album so they may do a couple of songs from that plus all the unusual Ruts favourites.

“It’s a really good format that people really enjoy. It’s not like a rock gig with people jostling you. It’s nice for people to be able to come out and enjoy songs which mean something to them.”

Dead Men Walking, King George’s Hall, Blackburn, Friday, December 9. Details from 0844 847 1664