INDIE fans were thrilled to hear idols Razorlight play a free gig in the town centre this week.

The band played the acoustic set at X Records in Bolton.

The surprise performance was to help launch their new album, Olympus Sleeping, which will be their first album release in 10 years.

Johnny Borrell, the front man of the band, and David Ellis, guitarist, performed a 30-minute set of old and new songs as well as spending time with those who attended, to sign albums and mingle.

Steven Meekings, manager at X Records, said: "It was an excellent event, they were mainly here to promote their new album, play some songs and do a meet-and -greet.

“It was a short set, but they came and set up for a bit to get the sounds right and then stayed after they had played to spend time with everyone, so they were here for about two to two and half hours in total.

"They sounded brilliant.”

Johnny Borrell spoke to Graeme Ralphs, presenter and producer at Bolton FM, and said how he was very pleased to go into local places and was keen to support the independent shops.

Steven Meekings of X Records said: “A lot of bands are going back to smaller independent labels so it’s good to perform in and support the independent shops.”

X Records have hosted a couple of intimate acoustic gigs before and say that they have ‘future events like this one in the pipeline’. They aim to ‘bring bands back to their original roots’.

Mr Meekings said: "When asked what his favourite song from the new album was, Johnny Borrell replied: 'It’s like being asked to pick your favourite child, it’s impossible to choose’. He loves all the songs. They opened the gig with their new track ‘Olympus Sleeping ‘and finished with their number one hit single ‘America’."

Since their success in the early 2000s, Razorlight have made their comeback and are looking forward to being back on the road. They are going on tour in December in the UK and in Europe in February 2019.

Johnny Borrell’s full interview with Graeme Ralphs will feature on Bolton FM this Saturday as part of the Dancefloor Fillers Show from 10pm.