Red Sky Coven are the perfect antidote to the irony-obsessed 1990s.

The acoustic cabaret act are celebrating ten years of passion, poetry and humour with a short UK tour which kicks off in West Yorkshire next week.

The trio, who feature Bradford-based poet Joolz; Justin Sullivan, frontman with Bradford rockers New Model Army, and guitarist Rev Hammer, will be at the Irish Centre in Leeds on Thursday.

Joolz said: "If you're really bored of being told that everything's got to be really clever clever and ironic or made by computers and you want some human contact and a genuine emotional event run by people who really know what they're doing then you will love it."

Red Sky Coven's live performances are not quite like anything else you'll come across on the music scene.

A three or four-hour show, it features separate performances by each of the trio, backed by bass guitarist Brett Selby.

"Then there's the encores. We try to pick things from numbers which people won't necessarily be expecting. They are often hilarious," said Joolz.

She will be performing new songs including one called Fear and Anger, and Sullivan's set will feature previously unheard material from his forthcoming solo album.

The threesome have also just released their first album, a double CD of material recorded on past tours. Red Sky Coven Volumes 1 and 2 is available by mail order through the Bradford-based indie label Wooltown Records.

"We had 80 hours of material to listen to and it was Rev's job to listen through it all. By the end he said he never wanted to hear any of it again," said Joolz.

"To be honest any of it could have made the album but he just chose what he thought sounded the best."

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