And many of the ups and downs in the life of the cheeky Sheffield quartet have been captured by four local photographers and compiled for a smart new book with a mission.

The Tate Gallery: Little Man Tate in pictures is a limited edition publication with all profits going to the cancer research unit at Sheffield's Weston Park Hospital.

"It captures us in our full glory," say Jon, Dan, Ben and Maz, who become the second Sheffield band to sell-out the city's newest venue tomorrow.

"It's from our first promo shots in early 2005 right up to January 2008 and our recording sessions for the second album in Sheffield's 2Fly studios."

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It includes imaginative promotional shots by Chris Saunders, Andy Brown's atmospheric live shots and yours truly's photo-documentary images of the band in America. RepoMen frontman Denzil Watson, whose casual shots of LMT at work and play complete the set, came up with the idea and produced the book "for a charity very close to his and our hearts".

The book includes 26 pages featuring 59 black and white and colour shots, signed by the band. Available now from www.littlemantate.co.uk/shop.php for £35.

The band follow last Friday's show from big man State, namely Jon McLure the Reverend, to headline the Carling Academy tomorrow, part of a tour that takes them close to the release of new single What Your Boyfriend Said on June 2, a punchy treat aired at their hectic recent Boardwalk tour warm-up.

It is released through Yellow Van Records/Skint and taken from the forthcoming, as yet untitled, second album to be released in August.

That follows up last year's debut About What You Know and is their first official output since the demise of their mainstream label deal with V2 in spite of a string of top 40 incursions, the highest being a top 20 with Sexy In Latin.

"Despite the success, the band were one of the first to suffer from the music industry's big cull," says their spokesman.

"Little Man Tate understandably felt cheated and angry, but it has been to their benefit.

"Album number two is the album the band always knew they could and would make, and without restraint.

"Bold, brassy and buoyant, LMT have returned stronger than ever and without restriction."

It follows "intensive recording sessions" at 2Fly over the past six months, interrupted only by a 3,500 sell-out at Blackpool's Empress Ballroom at Christmas and their Plug charity gig for those who lost homes in the Yorkshire floods.

LMT summer festival duties take in the new Zoo Thousand & Eight at Lympne in Kent, Oxygen Festival Kildare, Ireland, and Scotland's T In The Park, all in July.

Supports for tomorrow's gig include a who's who of local runners and risers such as Doncaster's The Wallbirds, The Dodgems, Alvarez Kings, The Headliners and Bohemian Mods.

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