BLACKBURN band The Illicits will be launching their debut single by playing a special home town gig on Saturday.

The indie four-piece will be headlining a three-band show at the Cellar Bar at which the 7-inch version of the song Smoke Me Away will be available for the first time.

The band - George Richards on vocals, Brad Hayes on guitar, bassist Joe Mitchell and drummer Matt Cottam - recorded the single at the White Bear Studios in Chorley.

“We can’t wait to get the single out there,” said Matt. “It’s limited to 500 copies but we will also be putting out on digital platforms too.

“We just want people to come along and hear us - that’s the only way you can build up a following.”

Matt joined the band a few months ago. He’d previously been the guitarist in another Blackburn band The Lebrels.

“Brad messaged me asking if I knew anyone who played drums as he was looking for someone for The Illicits,” said Matt. “I’d got a bit fed up playing guitar so I said I could do it and it’s worked really well.”

The four band members have a shared love of the same bands which has influenced their sound.

“We all like the Stone Roses, Oasis and Joy Division,” said Matt. “I particularly like REM so when someone compared our sound to a quite heavy REM I was delighted.”

Songwriting is a shared task in the band.

“It works as a democracy really,” said Matt. “It’s very much a collective approach in that someone may have an initial idea and then we’ll all play around with it until it’s something we all like.”

Saturday’s Cellar Bar gig marks the start of a series of gigs which Matt hopes will take the band on to the next level.

“I’d love to get a proper tour sorted sooner rather than later,” he said. “We have all got full time jobs but we love gigging. In spite of work we try to get together for at least six hours a week to rehearse and write.”

That songwriting has paid off with the band’s live set featuring nine originals plus covers from the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Oasis.

“We do want to get to the stage where we have more than enough originals songs for a complete live set,” said Matt.

The Illicits, who have played at Sunbird Records in Darwen, have a series of dates in Manchester lined up. They will be playing the Pier Hut as part of a promotion by Scruff of the Neck on Saturday, March 3 and tickets for that show will be available at the Cellar Bar event. They will also be playing the Zombie Shack on March 30 and Night and Day on April 21.

The band will be returning to Blackburn on June 30 when they will support the highly-rated Twisted Wheel, again at the Cellar Bar.

For Saturday’s single launch, the other bands in the line-up are Electric Dinosaur and Submariners.

“It’s £3 on the door which isn’t bad for three bands,” said Matt. “We’d just like to invite people to come down, have a great night and have a listen. Hopefully they’ll like what they hear and buy the single.”

The Illicits plus Electric Dinosaur and Submariners Cellar Bar, Blackburn, Saturday, February 10