FROM the ashes of his former chart-bothering band, The Crocketts, Davey MacManus has returned against the odds with inspired alternative rockers, The Crimea.

Throwing themselves into a frenetic whirl of activity, they have won praise from the late, great John Peel and a host of national media.

After encountering Travis frontman Fran Healy in a London supermarket, the Scottish singer gave the band a support slot on a series of shows.

Off the back of this came high-profile US tours with the likes of Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, Kaiser Chiefs and The Kings of Leon, which has earned them a strong stateside following.

Their debut album, Tragedy Rocks, was originally recorded last year has been injected with some added splendour following their signing a major deal with Warner Brothers.

The swaggering stand-out tracks Lottery Winners On Acid and Baby Boom have gained strong airplay, though Davey’s sister Annie Mac has yet to play them on her Radio One show.

"We just stayed in forever in order to finish the record. I felt it was time to grow up and start doing something I was really happy with," he said of the long haul to complete the album.

The 28 year-old has indeed endured his fair share of trials since the demise of his former band in 2002, when V2 records ordered a mass clearout of acts on their books. But life on the road had rarely been dull.

"It was all pretty crazy, I was only 19 when we signed our deal with the Crocketts. We went straight on tour with Shane MacGowan which set the tone for the whole seven years. It was quite messy, but then everything in life is pretty messy.

"After the band finished I was doing regular jobs and ended up sweeping Bloomsbury Park which was hard - especially in autumn with all the leaves everywhere."

From initial responses to his new outfit, it seems as if his days of cleaning up the streets may well be quickly translated into cleaning up in the record charts.

The Dublin-born singer revealed that his career to date has been something of an accident. It was while studying agriculture at Aberystwyth University that he changed his name to Crockett and started playing his unique brand of acoustic rock described as Welsh cow punk.

"I played the accordion as a teenager, but I only picked up a guitar six months before I got a record deal," he recalled with a laugh.

It seems he must have been doing something right as he’s now enjoying both renewed recording success and a crafty sideline as a fiction writer. No stranger to Kent, Davey is looking forward to returning to the county where he has previously been well-received.

"A lot of people crash and burn in Tunbridge Wells, but we have been to the Forum about 10 times now and it’s a good venue for us."

The Crimea, with Davey MacManus bottom left, play the Tunbridge Wells Forum on Friday, November 25. Tickets £6. Box office 08712 777101.