IT is funny how things turn out.

Take Gaz Roberts. It was only when the former Birchwood High pupil had decided to quit the music business that his songwriting career took off.

His band, Cheap Cuts, had built up a following in Warrington but he did not feel there was anywhere left for them to go.

"I felt there wasn’t a place for me anymore," said Gaz.

"There is so much in the music industry that is fake. You can see the marketing campaign running through it.

"It almost felt like an industry I didn’t want anything to do with anymore. I had a few gigs left and I was then going to think about doing something else with my time."

A gig at London’s 100 Club – set to be his last – changed all that. Jimmy Barker, the manager of the headline band, liked their set so much that he offered to manage them on the spot.

The only snag: they had to change their name and write a whole new set of songs.

Gaz saw it as a challenge which was reflected in his band's new name, Man and The Echo.

Based on a poem by W.B. Yeats, it is about a man who is thinking of ending his life, but when he shouts out that he is going to lie down and die, he hears the echo and argues with it, deciding that he wants to live.

At least on a musical level, Gaz could relate and the result was indie pop songs with more of a political edge.

Three years on, things are definitely on the up for Gaz, his long-time musical collaborator Joe 'Fush' Forshaw, Joey Bennett and Chris Gallagher.

Gaz added: "I don’t believe in fate but I’m really glad we are where we are.

"I’m really glad because this last year – playing big festivals and recording in amazing studios – has been the best one we’ve had."

Now Man and The Echo are set to launch their debut album on November 18 through 1965 Records. Some of the finishing touches to the record were also made at Tuff Gong studio in Longford Street.

The deal came about after 1965's James Endeacott came to watch the band rehearse at St Peter's Church in Lymm.

Making the record opened a door to a side of the music industry they feared no longer existed – where artists get encouragement rather than interference during the songwriting process.

Gaz, a benefits advisor, said: "1965 have given us pretty much complete creative freedom.

"They’re great. They’re not the biggest operation in the world but I really like that about them. It’s a completely uncorporate setting. I’ve never had a meeting that wasn’t in a pub.

"We signed our deal in a pub. There isn’t any going to swanky offices or anything.

"We’ve never been told we have to write a certain type of single. You realise how lucky you are in that respect.

"Sometimes you can get a bit jealous looking over the garden fence thinking: ‘This band has a massive publishing deal and they’ve all jacked in their jobs’.

"But the thing that comes with that is a complete limit on your creativity. We’ve heard stories of bands getting 50 calls a day from their record label while they’re trying to record a single.

"Then they’re under pressure to get in the top 10 or they’re dropped. We’re not doing this by committee. They let us know what they think of it and when they think we can do better but ultimately we get to say what we’re doing.

"I’m really grateful for that. I think it’s a better record for being like that.

"They have exquisite taste in music themselves so it is great to be in their company when we’re making something."

Although politics is at the forefront of Gaz's writing, Brexit did not make its way onto the album as recording finished in May.

He heard about the EU referendum result while he was at Glastonbury Festival to perform on the Leftfield stage.

Gaz, who grew up in Birchwood, added: "Everything is very political there anyway. There are MPs walking around on BlackBerrys backstage.

"I went to make a cup of tea in the green room and the first person I spoke to about it was Billy Bragg.

"That was a strange way to take in the most important political decision in your life – with your political songwriting idol. I won’t forget that."

So does Gaz get annoyed when the political element of his music does not get noticed?

"I quite like it when it gets lost," added Gaz, who was compared to Jarvis Cocker by DJ Steve Lamacq.

"I write about what I’m thinking about and there’s only so many subjects that work for songwriting.

"I don’t have a tumultuous love life as I’ve been with the same person for 10 years so politics, class and inequality is what I think about.

"They are at the forefront of my mind when it comes to writing.

"I don’t really mind if people miss the lyrics because I like writing pop songs. I like writing catchy choruses so if people like it for that then that’s fine.

"I think it’s quite nice that there’s something underneath it and you can look into it in more detail if you wanted to.

"It works the other way too as some people are into the band because of some blogs that I’ve written.

"That’s how we got in with Billy Bragg – he hadn’t heard the band – he saw a blog I did after the General Election last year..."

- The Man and The Echo are doing a show with Dave McCabe from The Zutons at Hernando's Hideaway in Sankey Street on Friday, October 14. There will also be a DJ set from The Coral

- You can also catch their headline show at The Soup Kitchen in Manchester on November 22

DAVID MORGAN