TAKE three fans of nineties pop, who idolise classic starlets like Doris Day and have a cheeky northern charm, and you’ve got The Nylon Hearts.

“And add a sprinkle of insanity,” says band member Amy Pickering, because all three girls hold down full time jobs and are raising young families at the same time as being part of a group that is on its way to stardom.

The close harmony trio have been invited to play at Green Man Festival and Wilderness Festival this summer, and narrowly missed out on a spot at Glastonbury.

Thirty-three-year-old Amy, alongside her bandmates Tanya Pearce, 35, and Hollie Kavaney, 31, play modern songs in a vintage style as well as classic tunes from as far back as the 1940s, but they are undeniably inspired by the music of their childhoods.

Amy and Tanya met at William Beamont High School and Tanya said: “We have been singing for a long time, from our stage school days at Starlight in Liverpool, auditions together and living the dream of wanting to be an Atomic Kitten popstar. We felt like we were in Fame. It was a lovely time in our lives.”

Amy went on to perform as part of an S Club 7 tribute act in Lanzarote in her late teens but it wasn’t until the pair met up again at a festival five years ago that they decided to rekindle their love of performing and teamed up with Tanya’s friend Hollie.

But life had become slightly busier. Amy, now an English teacher at Penketh High School, has an eight-month-old daughter while dental nurses Tanya and Hollie also have two young children each.

“We are all in the same boat, we have kids and careers and other things going on in our lives, so I think in a way it shows how much we love what we’re doing,” said Amy.

Tanya added: “We adapt, last year we were both heavily pregnant so we had to do a 1940s sweetheart theme, as if our husbands were away and we were like ‘when are they coming home?’

“We did one of our last gigs before the babies came and it was this 1980s night. We were like 1980s pregnant Madonnas. We sang Papa Don’t Preach and Like a Virgin as well – it was so inappropriate.”

The trio have supported comedy act Mik Artistik at the Parr Hall for the past three years and said he is one of their inspirations: “He’s a very charismatic and one-of-a-kind guy. We’re quite good at improvising and Mik Artistik has given us the confidence to go on to the quirky side.

“You just see three girls having a laugh. A lot of the time girls will say ‘can I be a Nylon?’ We’re like an unspoken girl group.”

Other influences include Postmodern Jukebox, Dita Von Teese, the Spice Girls and starlets like Marilyn Monroe.

Amy said: “We’re a bit like the Puppini Sisters but with a lot more northerness. We try to do a bit of slapstick comedy and some northern cheek.”

Tanya added: “I always used to watch old films on a Sunday with my mum and I just love them, all the clothes and actresses like Jayne Mansfield. The stars have beautiful voices.”

But some of their most enjoyable shows have been performing wartime tunes at nursing homes.

“Sometimes you get someone crying their eyes out. The responses are quite overwhelmingly emotional,” said Amy.

“They will hear a song that’s attached to a memory, a partner or a child. Sometimes we have a little natter with the old ladies and gentlemen too. I mean, some of them are asleep but I’m sure they’re enjoying the show while they’re napping.”

The trio make time between juggling family life and work to practice together weekly.

But Tanya said the group still have a naughty side, adding: “We did joke that if we did ever get to perform at festivals we would get little tattoos of our logo. We’re going to hold Amy to that.”

Inspired by vintage glamour

HARMONY trio The Nylon Hearts bring a touch of vintage glamour to their shows thanks to a love of retro clothes hunting and talented seamstress friends.

Band member Tanya Pearce said they love dressing up as their on stage personas, Dolly, Kitty and Pearl, in air force uniforms or rockabilly dresses.

She added: “Sometimes we like to go out in matching dresses. We basically just pretend we’re young again – because we’re not. We like to get dressed up and relive those days of going out.

“It is a dream for us to be able to wear vintage clothes and do what you love, not many people have that and we are so lucky. It’s all part of our act. If you haven’t got your face on, your lashes and your petticoat, then you’re not ready for the show.”

And a love of all things vintage helped the group find its name and its style.

“A lot of names were already taken but we thought we wear nylons and we didn’t want to be just The Sweethearts,” said Amy.

“We did want to be the Victory Dolls but it was taken. They have disbanded now but too late.

“We all really like the resurgence of vintage – the vintage headscarves and the dresses, the makeup and the Dita Von Teese look.

“Also the three piece harmony is not something you see very often these days. There’s an art to blending the voices.”

She added: “For as long as the glue sticks on our eyelashes and we can stand in heels we’ll be Nylons.”

The Nylon Hearts will be playing at Green Man Festival and Wilderness Festival. Visit greenman.net or wildernessfestival.com for tickets. Visit facebook.com/TheNylonHearts for more.