The Houghton Weavers are as closely linked to Lancashire as hot pot and the red rose - and they're playing at Oswaldtwistle, Accrington and Padiham this Christmas. We caught up with frontman Tony Berry.

AFTER more than three decades in the business The Houghton Weavers fully deserve to be described as "folk legends".

But lead singer Tony Berry laughs off the suggestion.

"It's quite comical really, the term legend'. I suppose longevity has a lot to do with it. Next year we'll have been going for 32 years, which is a lot of time really, although it seems like minutes."

The Weavers - Tony Berry; Jeff Hill on vocals and guitars; David Littler on guitar, banjo, mandolin and vocals, and Steve Millington on keyboards, guitar and vocals - cut their teeth in local folk clubs.

Since then they have enjoyed non-stop success, entertaining audiences with jokes and anecdotes and singing everything from raucous traditional songs to beautiful ballads in their own inimitable style.

Over the past three decades The Weavers have recorded 25 albums and have numerous radio and television appearances to their credit.

The secret of the band's success, according to Tony, is never forgetting the importance of keeping the fans happy.

"What we tend to do is not please ourselves but try to please the audience," he said.

"Some people in the music business do what they want. Their attitude is We're doing this whether you like it or not'. We do pretty much play what the audience wants - we encourage people to shout out requests and do as many as possible.

"We're honest with them. If they request something and we only know half of it we'll do half of it instead of refusing to do it at all."

And a refreshingly down-to-earth approach (the band's attitude is "keep folk smiling") has helped build an army of loyal followers.

"A lot of folk musicians sing about death and destruction but we try to keep a light side to it all," said Tony.

"If people are walking out of the hall crying they probably won't come back to see you again. If they're smiling and laughing at least you've got half a chance.

"We've always tried to be as normal as possible - we love it that the audience feel like them can come up and talk to us afterwards. We're not aloof at all.

"No matter where we're playing we come home to our own beds every night, even if we've been working in Cornwall and don't finish until 10pm. The best one was when I had a 20 minute slot in Southampton. I drove there, played and got straight back into my car and drove home again."

It's fair to say the audience at Weavers gigs is made up largely of women of a certain age Do the guys ever get saucy offers after the show?

"Oh always, but we always push them away! said Tony with a chuckle.

"We do have some banter with the crowd, we tell them we're available but don't tell our wives - it's all very tongue-in-cheek."

"What I love best is celebrity watching," Tony said.

"When we go to football matches these players come up and say hello. One of the highlights of my career - no, my life - was when Bolton Wanderers legend Nat Lofthouse came up to me and said Hello, can I introduce myself, I'm Nat Lofthouse'.

"I was gobsmacked. He's one of my all-time heroes."

See the Houghton Weavers over the festive period at: Civic Hall, Oswaldtwistle, on December 20. Call 01254 380 293; ; Poplar Club, Accrington, on January 18. Call 01254 231 280; Nazareth Unitarian Chapel, Padiham, on January 27. Call 01282 773 336