THEY were due to join Viola Beach on stage for their homecoming show at the Pyramid which tragically never happened.

Now The Strawberries will play at The Lounge bar in memory of Kris Leonard, Jack Dakin, River Reeves, Tom Lowe and manager Craig Tarry on Saturday.

The Lounge in Springfield Street was where Viola Beach worked on and off when they were chasing their dreams of making it in the music industry.

It was also the focal point for hundreds of tributes to Kris, Jack, Tom, River and Craig after the devastating crash in Sweden which claimed their lives on February 13.

The Lounge reopened at the end of July when friends and family clubbed together to secure the lease and it is hoped that it will become a hub for music in honour of the band.

"We’re delighted that The Lounge has reopened," said Sam Neil, frontman of The Strawberries and former Penketh High School pupil.

"That’s why we’ve chosen to play at The Lounge for our Warrington date. For me the Warrington show has to be the special one.

"We wanted to play somewhere which would honour the boys and Craig. I think it will be a very special night because of that.

"When we played the Viola Beach tribute show at the Parr Hall we didn’t really know what to expect. We thought it might be bittersweet but it was a joyous occasion.

"Everyone was there in good spirits and celebrating what they achieved. I think Saturday night will be the same."

The Strawberries met Viola Beach through the band circuit in January.

Sam, who grew up in Latchford and Great Sankey, added: "We knew Craig first through other bands that we were friends with and he told me about this new band he had found from Warrington.

"We played a gig in Leeds with Hidden Charms, who Craig managed. Viola Beach came down for that gig and that’s when we met them.

"They were just vibrant, lovely people who were a joy to be around. It was infectious. We wanted to spend more time around them after that.

"Craig booked us to support them at the Pyramid. Sadly that gig never happened but we loved Viola Beach."

The Strawberries will be joined on Saturday at The Lounge by Warrington psychedelic rockers Psyblings who were also due to support Viola Beach at the Pyramid.

Sam, a former Thelwall Junior School pupil, said: "There are so many bands around the country and even around the world who want to honour Viola Beach and the perfect way to do it is to play at The Lounge which has been reopened in their memory."

Sam started learning the keyboard at Penketh High when he was 11 before he fell in love with the music of the 60s and the 70s.

The 21-year-old added: "When I started getting into the Beatles and Rolling Stones a lot of it was guitar based and I started getting jealous that I only had a keyboard.

"I ended up getting a guitar for my 13th birthday and I never stopped playing it. I just became obsessed."

Sam then formed The Strawberries, with the current line-up, about a year ago.

The band is Leeds-based as that is where Sam now lives after moving to study psychology at university.

He found that guitarist Joe Dines, bassist Ethan Sherwin and drummer Ben Heath were kindred spirits when it came to 60s and 70s influences like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.

"We had varied music tastes but those were the key records we listened to," said Sam.

"We wanted to bring a bit of that back as it seemed to be lacking in the modern day.

"But as time has gone by, naturally without really thinking about it, we’ve sort of modernised the sound.

"It’s exciting. We don’t really know where the music is going but we like it."

The Strawberries released their track, Caramel Eyes, earlier this month and are working on their next single.

Momentum is building but the quartet have no immediate plans to release an album.

Sam added: "We’re holding off on album territory as your debut album is really special.

"We want to release it at a point when it feels right and we know enough people are going to listen to it."

- The Strawberries will play a free gig with Psyblings at The Lounge in Springfield Street on Saturday. Doors open at 9pm.

DAVID MORGAN