Tino Palmer is an unassuming Bradford City fan who makes his living selling sweets.

Going grey and in his 40s, he wouldn't seem to be the sort of person who would drive groupies wild in Japan.

But Tino, who lives in Low Moor, was once drummer for Bradford's first and most famous punk rock band, The Negatives.

Now the band is on the verge of re-forming amid renewed interest in their records. Only 1,000 copies of their first single, Stakeout/Love is Not Real were pressed in 1979. It has now become a collectors' item, fetching up to £200 from Japanese fans.

Those early tracks, along with a long-lost song We're From Bradford, are now about to appear on a compilation album.

Tino, the only band member still living in the city, said: "The owner of Detour Records in West Sussex rang me up and told me he'd been trying to track us down for the last two years. We couldn't believe it.

"Now I've managed to contact most of the other guys and it's all been confirmed, so we'll have three tracks out on the album.

"We hadn't really thought any interest was still out there so this has meant a lot and it's got us thinking about maybe playing together again."

Tino, pictured, traced guitarist Pete Stobbs to Wakefield and found bass player Bob Robinson in Cambridge. He has yet to locate vocalist Dave Wilcox, but in the meantime has become fascinated with the old material, including up to 11 unreleased tracks, he has discovered.

Dizzy, owner of Detour Records, said he was delighted he would be making The Negatives' sound known to a much larger audience than the band ever enjoyed when they were together.

He said: "They're a really, really good band and held in very high esteem by collectors."

Now all in their 40s with sensible jobs - Bob is a taxman - the group is waiting to see how the compilation does before deciding whether to stage reunion gigs in Bradford.

Tino has great hopes for We Are Bradford, a song he penned back in the 70s as a defiant rallying cry against the dominance of other cities like London, Leeds and Manchester.

He said: "We're toying with the idea of re-writing it for City. It would be something beefy to get them going before a match, and it would be better than the A-Team!"

If his music career does take off for a second time, Tino might even bring his daughter, Lauren, into the fold.

He said: "I've still got my drums and practice every so often, but I think Pete isn't sure if he can still do it. Lauren plays bass and guitar, and she's into punk, so we might just rope her in for some extra help if needs be!"

The Negatives played their final gig on January 19, 1980, at a Lord Mayor's Appeal Benefit at Bradford University, with The Squids and Shadowfax.

Dave left to form his own band, while the rest of the group changed their name to Mysterious Footsteps to reflect a musical shift from punk to what they called white-dread rock-beat.

Tino is relishing the prospect of getting back on stage in true punk style.

"There's nothing like going out and doing it," he said, "and if we could get a gig tomorrow I'd be up for it."

The compilation, Bored Teenager, should be out on vinyl and CD by the end of the year on Detour Records - call (01730) 815422 to order a copy.

Anyone who wants to get in contact with The Negatives can reach Tino on (01274) 418211.