THEY have been dubbed ‘a classical boy band’ but Brit Award winners Blake don’t really appear to care too much about labels.

“I think we enjoy challenging people’s expectations,” said Jules Blake, one of the vocal quartet whose unique vocal harmonies have won them fans all over the world.

“Some people when they come to see us for the first time think they may get something fairly traditional but we are much more pop-orientated in terms of the show we put on.

“We love to have a good rapport with the audience and that’s one reason we are really looking forward to be coming to Blackburn for the first time.

“Northern audiences are just so much more up for it. They want to have a good night.”

Unlike many classically-based vocal groups, Blake’s sound is unique.

“We all come from a choral background,” said Jules, who from the age of seven sang with the Winchester Cathedral Choir.

“We sing in four-part harmonies, which an audience can pick out, and the effect can be quite dramatic.”

For the current tour the quartet will be putting their own take on classic love songs ranging from well-known pop tunes to classical pieces.

“Some purists think that opera is the only form of the art and that anything else is dumbing down,” said Jules. “But when you see an audience on its feet cheering, you know you have reached out to them. We are entertainers and well as musicians.

“This is reflected in our audience which covers the widest age range from older people to couples and, yes, we do get a few schoolgirls in there too.

“Very often you get the odd bloke who has clearly been dragged along by his girlfriend or wife but by the end of the concert they are the ones who are standing up and cheering the loudest.”

Blake, King George’s Hall, Blackburn, Thursday, May 10. Details from the box office on 0844 847 1664.