THE spirit and sound of one of the most influential British bands of all time, The Kinks, is alive and well.

In the Sixties and Seventies, The Kinks led by songwriter-supreme Ray Davies, had 17 Top Twenty hits and spent no less than 215 weeks on the British charts – that's just over four years.

The band have not played live sine 1996 but the bands' catalogue of hits is in good hands through The Kast Off Kinks.

The band was formed initially to play at a fans' convention in 1994 and featured drummer Mick Avery, bassist John Dalton and keyboard player John Gosling along with singer/guitarist Dave Clark.

Over 20 years later another ex-Kinks band member has replaced John Gosling on keyboards and Jim Rodford shares bass duties with John Dalton.

John, now 72, said: "I had a 50th birthday party and a lot of musicians were there including Mick Avory – who I'd always got on with – was there with Dave Clarke and we got talking. They had just been to a Kinks' convention and I suggested that we should put a band together to play at the next one.

"So we did. We did about half an hour at the convention."

With Dave Clarke taking on the vocal duties of both Ray Davies and his brother Dave, the Kast Off Kinks now cover the original band's extensive back catalogue.

"We could do about three and a half hours now," said John. "We've got a good thing going now."

John first joined The Kinks in 1966 when the band's bassist Pete Quaife broke his leg.

"I didn't know if I was coming or going." he said. "I auditioned one Thursday afternoon and in the evening I was with them on Top of the Pops – I didn't know any of their numbers then."

"That weekend, we played a couple of concerts so I had to learn the songs in a day."

Quaife returned to the band later in the year but when he left in 1969 the band contacted John again.

"When I went back to the band the American ban had been lifted (The Kinks were banned from the States after an on-stage 'disagreement' between the Davies brothers) and we were in America a lot," he said.

"It was really good fun and we had some really good laughs. Despite what the papers said, it wasn't all about Ray and Dave fighting."

John finally left the Kinks in 1976.

"There were a number of reasons really," he said. "I didn't think I was getting paid enough, I had three young boys at the time. Also I was away from home a lot and although Ray called me a 'steadying influence', I missed home."

He actually returned from music for a while and only returned to playing after the tragic death of his son from leukaemia when he organised a charity concert .

Now he's enjoying life with the Kast Off Kinks.

"I do all the chat in the shows, and it's great to be back playing these great songs," he said.

"The main thing is that you have a good night listening to the music. You've gotta make people happy."

The Kast Off Kinks, Charter Theatre, Preston, Thursday, February 11, details from 01772 804444.