The King Blues are a band stirring things up; I caught them on their first headlining tour after gigging with established acts like Gogol Bordello, Capdown and Bedouin Soundclash. They're proving themselves popular at various festivals , have just finished a residency at the Purple Turtle in London, have been praised by the likes of Mike Davies and Zane Lowe, are booked to support Hard-Fi on their tour (including a date at Wembley Arena), plus are re-releasing album 'Under the Fog' on Island Records early next year. Not bad for an acoustic ska band that started off as a two-piece gigging in the squats of Hackney.

Musically, I'd say they're an acoustic cross between Dylan and Dillinger with the razor-edge of Joe Strummer, Tim Armstrong and Billy Bragg echoing through their lyrics and sound. The acoustic punk sound is a rare and unique thing to come across, but the lyrics are a scathing blitz of politics mixed with aggressive rants from frontman Itch (the most dangerous man alive with a ukulele) about the BNP, the war in Iraq and the state of the nation. "This anger is focused" as tuneful song 'Sound of Revolt' goes. In a trailer for their documentary 'Taking Over' (which can be found on Youtube), Itch says: "The whole point of what we're trying to do here is [that] punk before up until now [has] been about fuck the system, smash the system, break it down. We're here to say let's build our own system within the system, let's build our own society within this society, we're here to build things up not break things down, by building things up, we will break things down ".

I was able to interview the guys when they played Leeds on the 3rd December for my ska radio show, 'A Message to you, Rudi' on www.lsrfm.com Sundays 4-6pm (sorry for the plug! Slyly done, but we'll let it pass! - Ed. ). Joining them on this tour are Make It Better Later, York's merry ska-pop-punk 4-piece featuring a violin and songs about pirates and ninjas - I could write a whole article just on them! New to me on the tour are Milk Kan, who make it seem so natural that cockney bluegrass and hip-hop should sit side-by-side. Even though dogged by technical problems, The King Blues prove their diversity and skill. Itch comes along with his special 'Fuck you Bono' and 'All Nazi Skinheads are Gay' solo tunes. Everyone screams along to the uplifting 'Mr. Music Man' and a call-to-arms 'Taking Over' singing competition. The savagely atmospheric 'Come Fi Di Youth' is an attack on the British Nationalist Party, whilst 'We Ain't Never Done' is explosive with youthful exuberance. The band are flexible enough to tweak their songs and the re-release will have extra lyrics making longer, bulkier tunes. After all, the Household Name version only totals 36 minutes.

Their manifesto seems so obvious when Itch is standing on top of an amp preaching to the audience. "The things we've got to say are relevant to this entire generation or everyone that's living in this world at the moment" says Itch in the interview. "It's important that as a political band we get out to as many people as possible and really wear our hearts on our sleeves and tell people what we really believe in and I think the people will take to that ". By signing to Island and taking on these larger gigs the King Blues could well propel themselves from the dingy basements and pubs playing to a already converted punk crowd to really stirring up not only the music scene but also challenging how people see this country: "If the Arctic Monkeys are controversial I must be a fucking terrorist!" I enquired as to their thoughts on Love Music Hate Racism's feature in the NME where numerous high-profile indie bands encouraged their fans to fight racism in the UK. The King Blues have a more direct approach, on stage Itch gives a speech about tearing down pro-BNP flyers, slicing their tires and putting bricks through their windows. "Not everybody needs to be a hooded-up, bandana-faced activist throwing bricks through windows but I think there is a case for direct action".

The King Blues are the real thing with heavy messages (though they prefer to call it a vibe). Though the traditional punk ethos shuns the mainstream, the more publicity the band get, the more people they reach; "People are interested in this and people are interested in politics and what's going on around them. It's only natural to be " asserts guitarist Jamie Jazz. On stage Itch salutes the support acts, and says with real conviction that 2008 is the year for the UK punk scene. If the King Blues can break into the mainstream then the sheer sense of family and loyalty the UK underground boasts may also help give other bands with important messages, original styles or a great sense of fun the appreciation they well and truly deserve.