After forming in 1995, Idlewild exploded onto the British music scene with a repertoire of punky sketches and a quickly-built reputation as a formidable live act.

Yet there was always melody to the madness and while their noisy contemporaries, such as 3 Colours Red and Symposium, fell quickly by the wayside, Idlewild have endured.

Last year saw the release of their sixth studio album, Post Electric Blues, and the band are now hitting the road to promote the record, with a sold out show at the Watershed coming up next Friday.

The album’s release was an innovative one, being sold directly to fans before a note had been recorded and Roddy Woomble, the band’s lead singer, says this pre-order experiment has been a neccesary response to a music industry that has changed completely in the 15 years since Idlewild first started.

“It was a practical thing because our last label went bust,” he explains. “We had a few deals offered to us but they weren’t great because labels don’t want to spend any money on bands. Getting fans to pre-order the album seemed like a really simple idea - luckily we have got a dedicated set of fans.

“Everything has changed so much with online and everyone seems to be in competition with each other. All you have to do is to carry on writing songs and hope people respond to them.

“They don’t have to buy the album necessarily, if they steal it oline at least they then might come to a concert. I think people are starting to realise that if they don’t buy something off the people making the music, then the bands won’t be able to do it anymore.”

The tour, calling in on a number of small club across the UK, is a far cry from the heady days of the early Noughties when Idlewild’s album, The Remote Part, was riding high in the charts.

Those days of major label success may be behind them but Woomble says he and his bandmates are just pleased to still be here, making a living out of playing their music to people who love it.

While their sound has evolved, and some would say softened, over the years, Idlewild have never been afraid to revisit their back catalogue and audience members at the Watershed can look forward to hearing some old favourites - how does Woomble feel about singing songs he wrote as a teenager?

“I’m of the opinion that the stuff we have done latterly is more interesting because it is a reflection of me as a 33-year-old man, singing about what a 33-year-old man would sing about,” he replies.

“Captain [the band’s debut mini-album] was written when I was 18, but we realise that there are people who associate it with their youth and I think it is sweet that we have played a part in people’s lives, when they were listening to this ramshackle rock band in their bedrooms.”

Idlewild, The Watershed, Wimbledon, March 5, returns only, the-watershed.com. Idlewild also play the Forum, Kentish Town, April 21, idlewild.co.uk