THE frontman of Catfish and the Bottlemen is to play an exclusive free gig in Warrington as part of Record Store Day.

Van McCann, singer and guitarist with the Llandudno-based indie rockers, will perform an acoustic set at Head in Golden Square on Saturday.

He will also be signing limited edition copies of the band’s new single Kathleen on seven inch vinyl.

“There’s a lot of buzz around them at the moment,” said Head sales assistant Rob Hatton, who is in a Warrington band called Antelopes.

“Catfish and the Bottlemen have gigged in Warrington a couple of times. I’ve been on the same bill as them at Friars and they’re a very well-polished indie band.

“You can see they are going to go to the top level. They’ve already been played on Xfm and Radio 1.

“We’re hoping people will look back on this moment when they played in the store.”

The performance is part of a wider celebration of Record Store Day with Warrington bands Kindest of Thieves, Specs (Kieran Gallimore), Old Town Quartet and Sigmund Void joining the party for an acoustic showcase at Head.

“It champions the town,” added Rob, aged 23, from Orford.

“It will make people realise there is some diverse, interesting music here.

“There are a lot of Warrington bands that are getting successful and can hold their own in the wider music scene.

“I want Head to become the musical hub for musicians to come and chat and listen to records.”

There will also be hundreds of exclusive records on sale.

Former St Gregory’s RC High School pupil Rob, who used to DJ at Friars Court, said: “One that we’re laughing at but are all excited about is Ray Parker Jr’s Ghostbusters theme on 10inch and it’s green and glow in the dark.”

Some new music releases will not even be records in the traditional sense.

Rob, a music technology graduate, added: “The one I’m looking forward to is by the Flaming Lips. They have these skulls and they put a hard drive in it with the album on it.

“Records are like gold dust to some people. They treasure them.

“People have it with cars and I’m pretty sure you could have a Top Gear type show about record collectors. It’s like an obsession that people have and it seems to be growing.”

Head also wanted to thank Dawsons which will be providing equipment for the musicians on the day.

- For our interview with Catfish and the Bottlemen, click here

The Record Store Day acoustic showcase at Head on Saturday is as follows:

- Sigmund Void 12.30 to 1pm

- Old Town Quartet 1.15pm to 1.45pm

- Specs 2pm to 2.30pm

- Kindest of Thieves 2.45pm to 3.15pm

- Catfish and The Bottlemen 3.30pm to 4.45pm