PULSE - music and more, with Simon Donohue

SEASIDE fun is more likely to involve fresh air and salt spray than modern day perils like pills and pints.

So Blackpool band Kato will be the ideal outfit to prove that youngsters can enjoy a 100 per cent natural high when they appear in East Lancashire on Wednesday, November 25.

The indie favourites have offered their services for a day-long event at King George's Hall, Blackburn, aimed at providing young people with reliable information on the perils of illegal drugs . . . without the preaching.

The event, entitled the East Lancashire Drugs Awareness Day, is the brainchild of Inspector Andy Pratt of Blackburn police.

He said: "Throughout the day we will have all sorts of things going on which will hopefully help educate young people about the dangers of drugs.

"The aim is to allow them to learn for themselves and hopefully go away with some useful information which might just help save their lives.

"But in the evening the emphasis will be entirely on showing people that they can have fun without the need for drugs and drink. "That's where Kato come in."

Other attractions will include stands, stalls, computer games and celebrity guests like Granada television presenter So Rahman. Indie band Kato have already attracted a faithful following on the Fylde coast and are glad of the opportunity to spread the word even further.

They formed in April 1996 when three school friends, Keith, Mick and Rick, locked themselves in a rehearsal room called Red Box and emerged four weeks later to record the debut single The 39 Steps.

They are still enjoying the local success of their latest single Seasider and the following which a number of festival appearances has provided, including three consecutive years at the Greenbelt Festival.

A spokesman for the band said they were delighted to support such a worthy cause - and meet new fans and friends.

He added: "Hopefully, the next 12 months are going to be Kato's year.

"With emerging interest from publishers and record companies, their national Christmas Party Tour and several high profile bookings for next year already in place, the world is about to discover that Kato's time has come."

Go and see Kato in action.

Who knows? You might learn something that will save your life.

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