After 40 years of gigging, you'd expect folk rock legends Fairport Convention to be ready for their pipes and slippers. Not likely - they're on the road and coming to Burnley on February 14. We spoke to fiddler Ric Sanders.

The secret to a long career in the music business is never being hip, according to fiddler Ric Sanders.

"We've never been in fashion. The upside is we've never fallen out of it," he laughed during our chat about his band's gig at Burnley Mechanics.

Fairport Convention now made up of Ric, Simon Nichol (guitar, lead vocals), Dave Pegg (bass, mandolin), Chris Leslie (fiddle, mandolin, bouzouki, lead vocals) and Gerry Conway (drums) aren't your usual band.

Best known for their live gigs and annual Cropredy Festival in Banbury, which attracts crowds of 20,000, they see fans as old pals, mixing with them after shows and letting them request songs through their hugely popular website.

"I always think of Fairport gigs as a meeting of friends," said Ric.

"We never scurry off out of the back door at the end of a gig and rush off in a limo. We go out front and chat to people.

"I think post-house is as important as the concert itself. We know lots of our fans. We're not pop stars in ivory towers."

But Ric is such a nice guy, he makes sure to add that he's not making judgements on pop stars who don't take their view.

"Robbie Williams would get torn to pieces if he went out front after a gig," he added.

The Fairport tour takes in 30 dates everywhere from Gateshead to Oxford, with just three nights off.

Doesn't it all get a bit of a drag after 20 years for the 53-year-old?

"The travelling sometimes gets to you," Ric admitted. "But the music itself is never tiring.

"It's never tiring to play for people who appreciate your music.

"We still have quite a heavy tour schedule. We probably do more than most younger bands, but it's something we've always done.

"We're very much a live band. We're not really part of the music industry.

"Our lead singer Simon, who founded the group, is fond of saying that Fairport Convention survives despite the music industry, not because of it."

With a history approaching 40 years, the band's back catalogue is so extensive that Ric admits he has to re-learn songs.

"We have a huge reservoir of repertoire we can dip into," he said.

"Every year we get a lot of feedback from our website about what they want to hear and we always pick out a few numbers that we think people would like to hear again.

"I'm just learning stuff now for the tour. It's been so long since I played some of it I'm learning my own parts from myself off the CD!"

But although gigs are like a reunion of friends, Ric says newcomers are always welcome.

"The atmosphere at our gigs and festivals is always lovely and the world needs music more than ever to bring people together."

Fairport Convention play Burnley Mechanics on Tuesday, February 14. For tickets call 01282 664400.