Photo gallery special: We look back at The Sherlocks' story ahead of UK tour

THEY may be just four normal lads from the Dearne Valley, but The Sherlocks look to have solved the mystery of carving out a fanbase.

After signing a record deal just before Christmas, the band made up of two sets of brothers from Bolton on Dearne released their new single last week and are heading off today on a 34-date headlining tour of Britain.

With an album in the offing later this year, they’ve come a long way from the days of playing The Angel in Bolton for charity and recording the video for their 2010 debut single Live for the Moment on the roof of a local multi-storey car park.

So what better time for a chat and a look back through the photo archives?

We spoke to drummer Brandon Crook, whose brother Kiaran is the band’s singer, for an exclusive interview ahead of the tour.

Q: How did the record deal come about?

A: Korda Marshall, who runs Infectious Music, came to see us in Brighton but we had no idea he was there.

We had packed the venue out and he had to speak to the door staff and tell them who he was so they’d let him in.

Afterwards, Korda got in touch through his lawyer and invited us down to BMG in London.

He just said: “I love your band” and asked us a few questions.

He really loves music and he’s seen something in us.

Q: What advice have the record company given you so far?

A: It seems that they are standing back a bit and taking the view that it’s down to us to know what’s right for us.

If you look at a band like Oasis, they started out as five normal lads and they were real. We’re four lads who write our own songs and do our own thing.

Korda just said to us we know what we’re doing and he won’t tell us what to do.

There’s a creative side and a business side to the music industry and he will handle the business side.

The Sherlocks pictured back in 2012.

Q: What are you looking forward to most about the UK tour?

A:The first gig we played in Manchester was at a little place called Dry Bar — there were less than ten people, and we were headlining!

The Albert Hall in Manchester can hold around 1,500.

It’s just mad to be thinking of venues of that size. It’s going to be a big step up.

You can read the full interview in the new edition of our free lifestyle magazine Chase, which is out on February 14.