MARK Burgess wrote from his kaleidoscopic experiences of the world and always played by his own rules.

“Experience gives you ammunition, and I always made my own way in life,” he said.

“But what The Chameleons gave me was that complete freedom to do what I want, when I want, and where I want and that’s such a precious thing to have in life.

“Chameleons Vox means the voice of the Chameleons. And that’s me.”

On Friday Burgess is back on home turf, with Chameleons Vox headlining a two-day residency at Manchester Academy as part of the venue’s 25 years anniversary celebration.

“It is going to be a lot fun. We’ll be playing our 1986 compilation, The Fan and the Bellows and Early Recordings’ tomorrow, as well as some songs that we have rarely performed before.

“Saturday night will be a Jukebox Jack, with the crowd picking three choices of their favourite songs and we’ll do them.

“Manchester shows are always special and as this is likely to be our last show in the city for quite some time, we want to make it a very special one.”

The Chameleons may not have enjoyed the same level of commercial success as some of their peers but the band’s valuable legacy survives and remains an influential one.

They were altogether different, their psychedelia took a modern twist and Burgess provided the solid bedrock.

And although The Chameleons reformed in 2000, it didn’t last.

Eventually, Burgess and John Lever reconnected under the name Chameleons Vox, but following the departure of the drummer, Burgess now carried the legacy of the band.

“As you get older you get a little less extreme and intense, and I knew the popularity of the band was still growing through being in touch with the fan base on line.

“But maybe we should have just come back, done a few shows and left it at that.”

These days, Chameleons Vox features Burgess, and long-time collaborators Yves Altana on drums and guitarists Neil Dwerryhouse and Chris Oliver.

“We did a world tour this year, including a week in South America.

“We played in Lima in Peru, and all these kids were down the front mouthing our lyrics. There was people in tears, a very humbling experience.

“That’s what I see as success, when folk on another continent, so far away from home, lock into your music. I just find that amazing.

“I came into The Chameleons as a punk and while I don’t bleach my hair anymore that punk attitude has stayed with me.

“I didn’t want to get into a band to be Bono.”

Chameleons Vox: Home is Where The Heart Is, Manchester Academy Friday, December 18 and Saturday, December 19 with support from Oscar’s Drum.