EXCUSE the cliché, but the old adage 'birds of a feather flock together' seems particularly apt for Yorkshire rockers the Pigeon Detectives.

More than a decade after the five friends started out in their hometown of Leeds, they're still together and going strong with album number five on the way next year.

Perhaps best known for their 2007 singles Take Her Back and Romantic Type from their platinum-selling début album Wait For Me, the group have been relatively quiet for the past two years but are now gearing up to take the charts by storm once again.

Hannah Worrall spoke to the Pigeon Detectives - a.k.a Dave Best, Ryan Wilson, Matthew Bowman, Jimmi Naylor and Oliver Main - about their new album, growing up in Leeds and going to illegal raves in Los Angeles.

Hello, how are you all? What have you been up to recently?

We are good thank you, we have played a couple of gigs over the summer in between writing our new album.

Tell me about your show at The Forum Hertfordshire – what can your fans expect?

You will expect to see The Pigeon Detectives as you know and love us, we always give 110%, we enjoy all gigs big or small.

You’re a Yorkshire band, but do you enjoy playing down south?

Yes very much so, we have a good fan base across the country. Although it is always special to play your home town, ours being Leeds we are welcomed across the country and have adopted certain cities as our second / third homes.

You’ve not released anything for a while…what have you been up to?

Since the last album we have toured that album over the UK and Europe, then we have been tucked away writing our new album. It is sounding good, we are looking forward to getting the recording finished and released. It is as yet unnamed and there is no exact date of release, we are aiming for late spring/early summer 2016.

Will there be a full tour to come?

Yes, next year when we release our new album, there will be plenty of touring.

Where do you get your inspiration from for your new music?

We have a lot of inspirations while learning our instruments and writing. We have always been influenced by bands like The Beatles and The Strokes amongst others but we have never tried to replicate what these bands do, we have always tried to be ourselves and be unique.

What are you best memories of being in the Pigeon Detectives?

We have had some fantastic times and gigs, playing Glastonbury has to be a highlight gig and getting a telephone call saying your album has just gone Platinum was a great feeling.

Would you say growing up in Leeds influenced your music?

Leeds was a strange place music wise as we grew up, there was a very big 'metal' scene which we never were part of for obvious reasons. We looked at other cities and towns for influence mainly New York, there were many fantastic bands coming out of there while we were getting into music.

You probably get this a lot, but where did the name of the band come from?

A massive pigeon that lived in a shed.

How did you all get into music?

We all grew up listening to bands like The Beatles and Oasis, listening to bands like that made us want to pick up a guitar and play.

What’s the most rock’n’roll thing you’ve done as a band?

We have had some crazy parties, probably riding in the back of a pick up truck in LA with the wind in our faces on our way to an all night, illegal rave party - that was surreal.

Apart from the new album, what else have you got planned for the future?

More gigs and touring, we do not intend to do any crazy side projects.

What would you like to achieve?

To continue what we are doing, we are very lucky to have been touring for nine years, many bands have tried and failed to last this long.

How do you think the music industry has changed in your years as a band?

It is changed massively, the genres go in and out of favour faster than the wind changes. The internet plays a massive part, it can make new bands but break established bands with the illegal downloads and streaming services.

What do you all get up to in your spare time?

We all potter about our home town, playing golf, going to the local and writing music in our studio.

Where do you all live now?

We all still live in a little village just outside Leeds, we have never been tempted by the bright lights of London.

The Pigeon Detectives, The Forum, College Lane, Hatfield, Thursday, October 1, 7pm. Details: 01707 285000, forumhertfordshire.co.uk