THEY may be in their thirties and living by the daily grind of nine to five office jobs, but Faker Junior only need look at fellow Bury band Elbow to know you don’t have to be a teenage Arctic Monkeys wannabe to get a big break.

With Jeff Buckley-esque vocals, layered guitars and driving rhythms, the new four-piece has just enough of the sweet and the bitter to create melodic pop songs that can satisfy all moods.

Between them, the band has experience, both in life and music, which gives a different edge.

After all, how many local bands can boast a drummer with a bionic foot, a Canadian frontman and the 1998 Ramsbottom Pool champion?

For Faker Junior the journey began 18 months ago when guitarist John Fitzpatrick, a former St. Monica’s pupil from Prestwich, bassist Rick Kiely, an ex-St. Gabriel’s student from Elton, and drummer Lee Summers from Heywood, advertised for a singer.

After “kissing a lot of frogs”, as John says, the friends were sought out by singer-songwriter Ryan Lamey who had moved to the North West from a tiny town in New Brunswick, Canada, to pursue his dream.

In true northern style, they met over a pint and hit it off straight away.

They threw around ideas, drawing on disparate influences such as Prince, Peter Gabriel, The Police and The Smiths. The chemistry was immediate.

By February the four were in the studio with producer Yves Altana, putting together their debut EP Need to Know.

Since then they have progressed from back room gigs to supporting 90s indie band Echobelly during their comeback show at Manchester’s Moho Live.

Now they are preparing for a host of gigs around the North West, which they hope will get them noticed – but their feet are firmly on the ground.

John says: “It’s unbelievable what Elbow have done and they really deserve it because it didn’t happen over night. It gives us hope that we can make it even though we are in our thirties.

“We are all experienced so we can be realistic about the future, but we’d like to make enough money to survive and make a living from playing music.”

The band will perform at the Spinningfields free summer festival in Manchester at 6pm on Saturday followed by a set at Jackson’s Pit, Oldham, on September 18, Manchester’s Academy 3 on September 19, and Moho Live, Manchester, on October 2.

You can listen to tracks and find out more about the band by visiting www.myspace.com/fakerjunior.

Need to Know is available at iTunes and Vibes Records.