The Blow Monkeys brought a bit of brightness to that decade with their slick, soulful sound which spawned several memorable hits before it all started falling apart – the quartet only just made it into the 90s before pulling the plug.

Their singer and main face, Dr Robert, now lives in a quiet part of southern Spain, and divides his time between growing olives and recording solo material – he has put out several albums of his own in the 18 years since the split.

However, in the last couple of years he has renewed links with other Monkeys Neville Henry, Mick Anker and Tony Kiley and it culminated in them re-assembling to record an album, the release of which is being funded by fans through the band's official website.

Devil's Tavern comes out on August 18 and is followed by a British tour, the second date of which is at the Leadmill on September 2. It's a fine album, although it may be slightly too subtle to make the impact it deserves, marking a new beginning and also a new way of working, which is really an old way of working...

"It's the first time we've really all got together in the studio and just played," says Dr Robert. "The last time around was during a period when machines had taken over and everything was very clinical and mechanical. Some of the songs on this album are first takes...we never really got a chance to do that last time."

And if they can keep it as tight on stage as they did during the recording, the Leadmill should see a decent show.

As the father of two teenage children, a daughter who is a 'real NME kid' and a son 'into grime' Robert keeps up to date with modern music.

And in turn, due to advances in technology since the Monkeys' heyday, they can look back – and laugh – at their dad's past. In terms of style, the 80s was a decade out on its own, and the fashion excesses of those days have come back to haunt him.

"Youtube is a (expletive deleted) menace. My kids can easily find stuff like us appearing on the Tom O'Connor Show, when I was messing about and sending the whole thing up."

Mind you, appearing on Top Of The Pops wearing a feather boa, as Robert did on one occasion, was maybe taking it too far. As he recalls, the single plummeted out of the charts the following week.

However, he didn't dispose of the neckwear: "It's in the garage. I might get it out especially for the Leadmill date."

One slightly overlooked factor among all the glamour was the political commitment of the band. They weren't monkeying around when it came to making their views felt.

With an album entitled She Was Only A Grocer's Daughter and singles called Out With Her and Celebrate (The Day After You) there was little disguising their contempt for the blessed Margaret, the woman who was Prime Minister for the entirety of their career. Looking back almost two decades, Robert has to admit defeat.

"Thatcherism won," he admits.

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