FOUR Poofs And A Piano are best known as the house band from Friday Night With Jonathan Ross.

Dubbed “more hairdresser than barber shop” the band – Dave Wickenden, David Roper, Stephen De Martin and Ian Parkin – are coming to East Lancashire as part of a 55-date whirlwind tour of the UK this winter.

The boys are promising an eclectic mix of song and dance, from jaunty re-workings of classic covers to their own comic observations of life in the noughties.

We caught up with Stephen De Martin ahead of the gigs.

IF YOU HAD TO BE STUCK IN A LIFT WITH SOMEONE, WHO WOULD IT BE? Agnetha Faltskog from Abba.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? Snakes.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SUPERSTITIONS? I never walk under ladders and I always touch wood after saying something if I don't want it to happen to me!

IF YOU COULD HAVE ONLY ONE SONG ON YOUR iPOD, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Dancing Queen from Abba (strange theme running here?) WHAT'S THE MOST EXPENSIVE THING YOU'VE BOUGHT, NOT INCLUDING PROPERTY? We had some suits made and they cost about £1,000 each. we got good use out of them though.

WHAT'S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN? Never close doors (burn bridges) completely, you never know when you have to knock on it again. Be nice to everyone you work with.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED AND WHY? A cried recently in a film called The boy with the striped pyjamas. The ending was awfully moving.

WHAT'S YOUR INDULGENCE? I like the odd night out clubbing.

HOW ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY ARE YOU? Very. I don't have a car, I recycle loads and try not to waste food. I limit paper bills, save water and am conscious of the environment. I try not to litter or waste anything.

HOW MANY TEXTS DO YOU SEND IN A DAY? About 10.

WHO'S THE MOST FAMOUS PERSON IN YOUR MOBILE? Probably Christine Hamilton but Ian has Julie Walters' email and phone number I think.

WHAT ITEM COULD YOU NOT LIVE WITHOUT? Coffee plunger.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOURSELF, WHAT WOULD IT BE? I'd be a little stockier.

WHERE ARE YOU GOING ON HOLIDAY? Sydney, Australia.

WHAT WERE YOU DOING THIS TIME YESTERDAY? At the BBC rehearsing the Jonathan Ross show.

WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING THIS TIME TOMORROW? Getting ready to drive to our next gig.

See 4 Poofs & a Piano at Burnley Mechanics on Sunday, November 2 (01282 664400); at Blackpool Grand on Monday, November 3 (01253 290190); and at King George's Hall, Blackburn, on Sunday, January 25 (0844 847 1664 ).