Billy Mitchell and Bob Fox first met on the north of England folk circuit in the 70s but only started playing shows together in 2006. Now with a second album, Back on City Road, under their belts, the duo is playing the Ram Folk Club next Friday as part of a country-wide tour. Mitchell, a former member of Lindisfarne, spoke to Will Gore.

Will Gore: You and Bob go back a long way, don’t you?

Billy Mitchell: We have known each other since the early days of the folk music scene in the north-east. I saw Bob playing with people like Tom McConville and Stu Luckley, and he would see me with the Callies or an early version of Lindisfarne, but it has only taken us about 35 years to play on stage together.

WG: How did your musical partnership come about?

BM: I do a yearly pantomime in Newcastle and one year Bob was recruited to play piano in the pit band. We renewed old acquaintances and came up with the idea of doing a one-off tour together. Originally, the plan was I would play some of my songs, he would do some of his, and then we’d play a couple of tunes together. As it turned out we didn’t perform individually at all. I chose the songs I liked of Bob’s and vice versa. We then performed new arrangements and played on stage for the whole time together.

WG: Is it important for you to reinvent the songs?

BM: Yes, it is. I don’t believe in playing someone else’s part on something that may have been recorded 30 years ago. I also had a couple of operations on my throat so the pitch of my voice changed and we have had to re-do everything we had done in 2006. It has actually given the music a great kick.

WG: Does your onstage banter come naturally to you?

BM: It does – we are from similar backgrounds of small mining villages in the north-east and have the same scathing humour. We take the mick out of everything.

WG: I hear there is a divide between you when it comes to football, though.

BM: I’m a Geordie and support Newcastle United but Bob is from nearer Sunderland, which is the team he supports. A little bit of a niggle goes on when we are on stage as far as that’s concerned.

WG: Are you proud to have been part of a group as successful as Lindisfarne?

BM: Absolutely, I had a wonderful time in the band. We do a few Lindisfarne songs to tip our hats to the past.

Billy Mitchell & Bob Fox, Ram Folk Club, Old Cranleighan Club, Portsmouth Road, Thames Ditton, October 2, £11/£9, 8.30pm, visit theramclub.co.uk