THE Lancashire Hotpots are to make a long-awaited return to Colne Muni on Saturday - and they are out to have a party.

The purveyors of classic comic songs such as Chippy Tea and Egg, Sausage, Chips and Beans will begin their summer tour at the Muni.

“Everyone knows times is hard and not everyone has got the capability to go to some of the bigger venues we go to,” said singer Bernard Thresher, “so it’s always good to stretch our legs and go back visiting places that we haven’t been back to for a long time like Colne.”

The Singa-longa-knees up jamboree show will showcase songs from the Hotpots new album of the same name.

“It’s catchy title which really rolls off the tongue doesn’t it?” said Bernard.

“It’s all new material. Sometimes we have found ourselves going down a cul-de-sac of misery and not being able to find reverse but with this album we have actively tried to find things to be positive about.”

The Hotpots have made a career out of having a laugh - I suggest that as they tour they are missionaries of happiness spreading joy as they go.

“You know we have been looking for a name for the winter tour, so you may well have just given it to us,” laughed Bernard. “But it’s true - over the years we have not had a great deal of people coming and saying that they had an unpleasurable time at one of our shows.

“If people are still willing to buy tickets and listen and laugh then we’ll keep doing it.”

Bernard is particularly chipper ahead of Saturday’s show having recently taken part in the London Marathon. He finished in four hours 26 minutes and raised money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

“I’m at the peak of physical fitness and raring to go,” he laughed. “It’s not often I feel this way being in a band like the Hotpots and the diet that comes long with it!

“Touring is going to be a piece of a cake after the marathon. The difficulty isn’t the physical nature of the tour it’s just being with the lads!

“After all these years we have all got our own little ways but we are still enjoying it, that’s the main thing.”

With a string of hit albums behind them, Bernard admits that as the group’s main singer, it can be hard remembering all the songs.

“Oh, I never surprise myself with how many I forget,” he joked. “I used to have a few bits of paper on the floor just with the first line of certain songs on them but now I’ve got a full book – I’ve gone. Next it will be reading glasses on stage!”

The Colne show marks the start of a typically busy summer for the Hotpots who have a series of high-profile festival dates lined up.

They will be headlining at Darwen Live at the end of the month and also at the Beat-Herder Festival in the Ribble Valley and Kendal Calling in July.

One thing’s for certain, the live shows are set to be a huge amount of fun for band and audiences alike.

“We understand that we have written a few sing along classics anyway but we have actively tried to create something more of that scene – the old stand-up Joanna in the corner of the pub; that post war spirit,” said Bernard. “Life’s rubbish so let’s just get on with it and have a bit of fun while we’re doing it.”

The Lancashire Hotpots, Colne Muni, Saturday, May 12. Details from 01282 661234 or www.themuni.co.uk