A BAND made up of a core group of best friends who met in Orford are returning for a winter concert after being brought back together over Covid.

On Friday, December 1, ‘The Ambersons’, will perform ‘Winter Songs’ at Pyramid’s Art Centre at 7.30pm.

A six-piece band, the group reunited after 10 years during Covid having drifted apart.

The band had years ago sold-out Parr Hall, with bassist Andy Fairnington saying the band was ‘so close to a massive record deal’.

Andy went on to say: “We've been around the block a little, you know, and done some really cool stuff. “We’ve been on tour, we've played at festivals, we’ve brought albums out, we've done music videos.”

“It all petered out as we all got a bit older and record deals weren't coming around and we had kids and mortgages and all that kind of stuff.

“Then Covid hit, and we got creative again, we were writing and we were recording songs remotely from on our phones.

“We ended up with some decent tunes and we thought let's go again, we've got the band back together.”

Whilst the band initially met with Culture Warrington expecting a room hire for Pyramid Arts Centre. The Ambersons instead walked out with Culture Warrington co-promoting the gig.

Andy described how, normally a six-piece band, their Warrington gig will be accompanied by and eight-piece orchestra, a percussionist, and extra vocalists.

Four of the group have been around since the beginning, having met at the Barley Mow and all living in the same area of Orford.

Andy Fairnington plays bass guitar, with Stephen ‘Midge’ Fairnington on vocals, Ben Ashton on guitar, and Richard McLaughlin on drums.

The four have been around since the bands inception years ago. Rounding out the band is Richard Dowling on keys, and Phil Bond on guitar.

Describing the night, Andy said: “For just £10 it’s the best thing to do in Warrington this Christmas.”

With Andy having himself almost ended up homeless in the past, the band is committed to giving complementary tickets to the show to local homelessness services.

Complementary tickets will go to Creative Remedies and Room at the Inn, allowing the neediest in Warrington to enjoy a Christmas night out.

‘Winter Songs’ will be in two parts, with the first part focused on The Ambersons original music, and the second half focused particularly on popular Christmas songs.

Tickets are available now.