When The Wonderstuff initially broke up in 1994 they left a short but powerful eight-year legacy of four great albums including the classic Never Loved Elvis.

After an abortive reunion in 2000 the band reformed in late 2004 around the basic hub of frontman Miles Hunt and guitarist Malcolm Treece.

Tonight sees Miles and new bandmate Erica Nockalls visit the intimate surroundings of the Engine Room as part of a short acoustic tour playing a combination of Wonderstuff hits old and new, and pieces from Miles's solo album Not An Exit.

This series of gigs is a precursor to next year's planned album and tour to mark the 20th anniversary of The Wonderstuff's first LP The Eight- Legged Groove Machine.

Part of The Stuffies' original appeal was their industrybaiting songs like Astley In The Noose, Radio Ass Kiss and Who Wants To Be The Disco King?

"When we were signed to a major label they used to talk about chart hits and radio play," says Miles. "We really didn't give a f*** about it."

It was this antiestablishment edge which gave them their cult audience.

When they went overground three years later with their third album Never Loved Elvis, which featured their number one Dizzy with Vic Reeves on vocals, they didn't lose those fans.

"We used to do our tours and see this passionate audience," says Miles. "It always surprised me that the audiences for bands we regarded as our contemporaries were bigger, but they weren't as excited as ours."

He described the Stourbridge-based band's initial "throwing in of the towel" in 1994 as necessary.

"If you take being in a group out of the equation it is pretty difficult to hang out with the same mates for that long," he says. "Martin Gilks the band's drummer who died last year in a motorcycle accident, Malcolm and I had spent eight years living in each other's pockets."

Miles and Malcolm had always been closest in the band, both as the two adults who had never grown up ("the other members of the band were buying and selling property and having families") and as songwriters. It only took four years before they wanted to work together again.

He says part of the problems The Wonderstuff faced in their later years was the decision to bring more people into the songwriting, including fiddle player Martin Bell, who joined the group during sessions for their second album Hup!

"He was a lot older than us and wasn't into the same things as us," says Miles. "On Never Loved Elvis I instigated every track part from Welcome To The Cheap Seats, before as a band we embellished them and turned them into songs. With Construction For The Modern Idiot the band's fourth and final album in their original line-up everyone was throwing ideas in. It was difficult to give them a common sound. It didn't work."

He described the current Wonderstuff, which also features Mark McCarthy on bass and Andres Karu on drums, as "all fresh and new and vibrant creatively".

The line-up has now recorded two albums, Escape From Rubbish Island and Suspended By Stars, with much of the latter being tested out extensively on the road. They are set to release a new double live album next month, which will be available at tonight's gig.

"When we first talked about giving it a go in 2000 we started talking about what we would do creatively, rather than wheeling out a Gary Glitter Gang Show of greatest hits that we weren't comfortable with," says Miles. "We felt we would be taking the p*** out of our audience if we didn't come up with anything new.

"I'm passionate about what we have done and what we continue to do."

  • Starts 7.30pm, tickets £9. Call 07903 399309.