FOLLOWING in the footsteps of Amy Winehouse, Madness and Arctic Monkeys has been one of Ryan Vernon’s highlights as a musician so far.

The former Woolston High School student recently got to perform at The Dublin Castle with Manchester band, Black Sonic Revolver. Camden’s renowned venue is associated with Amy Winehouse as she worked and performed there.

Blur, Coldplay, Supergrass, The Killers and Arctic Monkeys have also performed there on their way up and it has featured on a couple of Madness videos.

Bassist Ryan, from Woolston, said: “People come to that venue come from all over London.

“It’s seen as a good night out so for a band from the north west to be invited down there was fantastic.

“A lot of the crowd probably hadn’t come across us before but we got a lot of positive reviews and the promoter really liked us. There’s something special about that place.”

Black Sonic Revolver (BSR) will be returning to The Dublin Castle in April but before that the band’s first gig of the year will be at Friars Court.

Friars Live returns to the Barbauld Street venue on Saturday, February 4, when BSR will be joined by The Luka State, Weekend Wars and Dirty Berns.

Ryan, who played in the Warrington bands The Madcap Laugh and Afterburn in his teenage years before he went to Huddersfield University, added: “It feels great to be doing Friars Live because I’ve not played in the town for five years and it’s BSR’s first gig in Warrington as well.

“It is a bit of a homecoming for me and I think it’s one of the best venues in Warrington.”

Indie and grunge influenced four-piece BSR are currently working on their third album, Different, at The Sound Loft in Leigh and Ryan said the Friars crowd will have an impact on the finished product.

The 25-year-old said: “Some of the songs that we’ll be playing at Friars we haven’t recorded yet so we’ll base what songs we’ll be taking to the studio on what people think during the gig.”

Looking ahead to the rest of 2017, Ryan's ambition is to get the band gigs in Europe and the USA after playing the likes of The Ritz, Manchester Academy and Liverpool Concert Square.