After selling millions of albums with Reef, Gary Stringer took a lengthy break from the music business. Four years on he makes a Kent gigging debut with new band Them Is Me at the Tap ’n’ Tin in Chatham.

If you’ve been out pubbing and clubbing over the past decade then the chances are you’ve found yourself raising a drink to Reef’s Place Your Hands.

The band’s signature anthem has remained an indie-favourite and has lingered long after the demise of the group four years ago.

After a spell away from music, their frontman Gary Stringer returns to the scene with his old bassist Jack Bessant to form Them Is Me.

Far from being a watered down version of their previous incarnation, they are striking out in a less polished, heavier direction.

After their debut album, released last month, and a series of gigs testing the water over the summer, they’re in buoyant mood.

“Me and Jack were living in Somerset and last year we used this old pig farm which has this studio above it. It was a great rehearsal space and spent three or four months there enjoying writing music, just rocking out,” he says.

While many bands fold within a few short years, they managed a sustained string of hits and were championed by many acts and DJ’s including Chris Evans, who featured them on his 1990s C4 TFI Friday TV show.

Gary is glad to be back in the fray.

“It’s great to play big festivals but we are starting out again doing some great small venues like the Tap n Tin which will be good nights. We wouldn’t be doing stuff like that unless we really wanted to be playing them.”

- This Me Play the Tap n Tin this Saturday. For ticket details visit the website www.tapntin.co.uk.

- Read Neil's full interview with Gary Stringer in our What's On leisure guide, free with Friday's Medway Messenger.