Derbyshire haunted house gig for Apollo Junction

The daring members of Britpop-inspired Apollo Junction will perform at Gresley Hall near Swadlincote on November 19.

While they have played huge events that include opening The Isle of Wight Festival, performing at The Piece Hall in Halifax, supporting The Kaiser Chiefs on tour and entertaining more than 50,000 people last year, Apollo Junction like to mix these more conventional shows with places that bands just don’t play. They've taken a coachload of fans to the highest venue in the British Isles – Tan Hill, played in a shed to 30 fans which sold out in three minutes and performed their guitar-driven music in a brewery.

Now they’re off to what is reputed to be one of the most haunted buildings in the country – Gresley Hall where they will be playing a full band, stripped-back set at their first show in Derbyshire.

Frontman Jamie Williamson said: “We’ve never done anything like this before, it’s fair to say that we’re all very intrigued about it and how playing a live show will go down in such strange surroundings.”

Drummer Johnny Thornton said: “I doubt there’s a band in the country that have played in a haunted house. This is what we love to do….things that are different.” Guitarist Matt Wilson added: “We like to play unusual places and this ticks all the boxes.”

Keyboard player Sam Potter said: “I’ve heard of Gresley Hall, it was on a tv show I watched about spooky happenings, I never expected to be going to play there with the band but it does seem like a terrifyingly good idea.”

However, bassist Ben Hope had a different take on the prospect before he was cajoled into tackling the challenge. He said: “I don’t want to do it...the band are making me. I don’t like scary movies. I’m not a fan of ghost stories. If the fans want us to do it then I’ll do it. But I think everyone involved is crazy.”

Apollo Junction’s new single, Perfect Plan, was used to soundtrack the Rugby World Cup game, England v Greece, on BBC One. It’s the first single to be released from the band’s third studio album.

The West Yorkshire group’s previous album, All In, peaked at number 15 in the UK charts and number 3 in the Alternative Music Charts and sold more than 1,200 copies on vinyl in the first week of release. Apollo Junction’s label, Shed Load Records, is based in a garage in Leeds.

Tickets cost £13 for the gig at Gresley Hall, available from www.eventbrite.com