Lonely The Brave, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar, Middle Street, Brighton, Saturday, March 21

THINGS moved fast for Lonely The Brave in 2014, with the release of their debut album The Day’s War, and a string of support slots for Bruce Springsteen, The Deftones and Neil Young.

But for drummer Gavin ‘Mo’ Edgeley a sign of how far they have come is their main stage slot at this summer’s Reading and Leeds Festival.

“I did about eight years on the bounce going to Reading,” he says from his home in St Ives, near Cambridge. “I was obsessed about it – the only thing that would stop me going was death.

“Being booked for the main stage is mind-boggling – it will be our third year in a row playing, and each time they’ve asked us back they’ve bumped us up a stage. It’s daunting to think I spent so many years watching bands on the main stage, and now it will be my ugly arse up there!”

Hailing from villages around Cambridge, Lonely The Brave are part of a new wave of guitar-based rock coming back onto the UK music scene after the synthesiser’s long domination. Their debut album reached number 14 in the charts when it was released last year.

“Coming from Cambridge we weren’t part of any scene and didn’t want to be,” says Mo. “We all liked different types of music. Nobody could pigeonhole us or tell us what kind of music we are. We weren’t trying to be clever, it was just an organic process.

“I feel proud that guitar music is coming back – it’s all I ever listened to.”

One of the defining characteristics of Lonely The Brave’s music is singer David Jakes’ classic rock vocal and highly emotive lyrical skill.

But anyone who has seen the band play live will know he’s not a traditional frontman, preferring to lurk back from the stage lip in the shadows.

“I like the company,” laughs Mo. “That was the way we used to set up – it stems from playing tiny pubs and club shows with no stage. We weren’t a punk rock band that would run around the audience.

“When [record label] Hassle came in and saw us play some shows they said: ‘Don’t change anything you do on stage’.”

Having written and recorded their album as a four-piece, the band’s live sound has expanded with the addition of second guitarist Ross Smithwick late last year.

“Ross is an exceptional guitarist,” says Mo. “After we recorded the album we tried to expand the sound, but we realised we needed another guitarist. We didn’t want a session guitarist.

“Ross had been in a band [Tupelov Ghost] for eight years plugging away, so he’s done his time. He’s brought so much more to the band than just playing the parts he’s told to play. We’re lucky to have him on board.”

The band began through Cambridge’s social scene, with Mo and Jakes first meeting in the pub before bumping into each other at gigs and festivals.

“Starting a band seemed a natural thing to do,” says Mo. “As soon as we started making music it was obvious David had a hell of a voice. The first song we ever wrote was [The Day’s War single] Victory Line. We took our time writing the songs – there has always been a good dynamic in the band when we’re writing music.”

And there is more to come. The five-piece has already recorded several new songs in the legendary Rockfield Studio in Wales – where Queen recorded Bohemian Rhapsody – and has a session booked in the neighbouring Monnow Valley Studio later this month.

“Ozzy Osbourne was up there doing Ouija boards when he recorded there,” says Mo. “It’s not something you want to think about when you’re on your own there late at night!

“It’s very difficult when we’re right in the middle of all this. You don’t have a chance to step back and appreciate what has happened. It feels like the chance of a lifetime.”

Support from Hannah Lou Clark.

Doors 7.30pm, tickets £8. Call 01273 606312.