SINGER Davy Carton reckons his Irish band The Saw Doctors have three strongholds of support across the United Kingdom.

"In Lancashire there was a TV documentary about us, so that got us noticed; in Scotland there's an affinity with the Irish; in Yorkshire, we did a couple of shows in Leeds that were free, and that always helps!

"Since the promoter booked us into York for the first time, our Barbican shows have gone really well there," says Davy, who returns to the Barbican Centre on Sunday night.

Formed in the Galway county town of Tuam (pronounced 'Chewm') in 1987, The Saw Doctors are more a West of Ireland roots rock band than a traditional Irish band.

They made the UK Top 30 in 1994 with Small Bit Of Love and the Top 20 two years later with World Of Good and To Win Just Once, appearing on Top Of The Pops along the way, but their experience on signing for a major label was not a happy one.

"Warner couldn't quite make out what to do with us - and the NME didn't feature us, either - so we bought our way back out of Warner. They'd been trying to sell us as the new Pogues, and I remember there was this article that said we were the new Pogues but with teeth."

Why did The Saw Doctors choose to go down the line of a rock group, Davy?

"When I was 17 I was in a punk band, and The Clash and the Pistols were the records I was buying," he recalls. "I formed this band called Blaze X, and we had one single out in our nine months together in Tuam, our small, one-factory town 20 miles from Galway."

Carton's career has come full circle. "We've finally brought out an album of Blaze X material more than 20 years later, and we now include first Blaze X single, Some Hope, which we re-recorded when we were in Nashville," he says.

One song from those Blaze X punk days gave The Saw Doctors their biggest Irish hit: I Useta Lover. "We used to do it country style and Cajun style," Davy says. "Now we're playing it in the style of The Ramones, the original fast way."

On this tour, Carton and company are promoting their 20-track compilation for Shamtown Records, Play It Again, Sham. In the line up will be a new but familiar face: Anthony Thistlethwaite, from The Waterboys, has replaced bass player Pearse Doherty, who has left after 14 years to focus on family matters.

"We were close to splitting up when Pearse quit, because he was such a friend, but we decided to keep going, and we've got a new energy about us so I'm glad we're continuing," says Davy. "Hopefully we're off to Nashville next month to start our new album."

The Saw Doctors, York Barbican Centre, Sunday, 7.30pm. Standing and seating tickets are still available at £16 on 01904 656688.

Updated: 09:50 Friday, April 11, 2003