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What sort of interview question is THAT?

I ring Pete Hefferan just after band practice at the White House studios in Reading, where Pete & the Pirates have been picking holes in existing songs and working on new tracks.

"We have a huge bank of songs that we've already written, and we're thinking about slipping a few of them into sets every now and then to see if they work," says Pete, guitarist and vocalist.

One of two Petes in Pete & the Pirates, I remember him years ago fronting Sonic Undermind where he entertained the crowds with what I described in a review at the time as: "uninhibited coyote howls, straight talkin' lyrics and deep vocal gurgling down the mic."

Sonic Undermind didn't quite make it beyond the fringes of Reading town, but Pete & the Pirates have.

Pete & the Pirates at Reading 2007

Over the past years they've become vanguards of quintessentially British rock. And by that I mean there's an eminent quick-wittedness, a Reading-accented quirk, a rhapsodical down-to-earth ramshackle charm to their music that shines forth in debut Little Death.

Their music has landed them spots at Texas's South By South West festival last year, a BBC3 interview during the 2007 Reading Festival and now a tour of Europe. It's fair to say Pete & the Pirates are going up in the world.

"We were just in Italy the other day and that was just something else, they're really good to you. We stayed in hotels with more stars than a Travel Lodge."

But of course their gig calendar wouldn't be anything without a slot at their home town festival this August bank holiday. They opened the Carling Stage last year - a stage focusing on emerging bands - which was enjoyed by an army of local fans and also one Steve Lamacq among the bulging throng at midday.

This year they've been slated on the bill of the mammoth Radio One/NME stage.

"We're really excited," says Pete, "even if it wasn't our home town it would still be really exciting. It's a big deal playing the Reading Festival. It's going to be a highlight of the summer, and this time we'll go to Leeds as well..."

Pete Hefferan playing the Carling Stage in 2007

He's referring to the time that their van, lovingly named Judy, died en route to play at Reading's sister festival in Leeds, marooning the band along the side of a road and leading to a no-show.

However their unrelenting popularity at the Reading site must have made up for it. An idea to play in the camping area beside any tent featuring a pirate flag led to a highlight of the whole festival.

"We were going to go round at night," remembers Pete, "but when we got there there was a guy from the NME that wanted to photograph it and write an article about it.

"So we went along and did one in the day time. It was about 1pm in the boiling hot sunshine, we found this big pirate flag and played the gig there.

"We were going to play about three songs and go back and get drunk, but what ended up happening was that this huge crowd developed around us and they wouldn't let us stop! We actually ended up playing longer in the campsite than we did on the stage."

And there's video evidence of this floating round on YouTube:

"I really want to do something like that again," he reveals, "I haven't talked to the guys about this but I'm thinking of maybe trying to do something on Thursday night, depending whether we're busy or not. It's all up in the air but it would be nice to something like that, it's like our back garden so we should be able to do anything we want!"

The band are playing on the Friday in Reading and Saturday in Leeds. Last year they all wore hand-made T-shirts, scrawled with black marker pen, given to them by friends from fellow Reading band, Hot Silk Pockets.

"I think I'm going to wear another Hot Silk Pockets T-shirt this time," Pete muses, "either that or wear a Reading Arts and Venues shirt from when I used to work at the 3Bs!" A job he gave up to concentrate on the band.

"I haven't got time to hold down a job at the moment, we're giving it everything. It really is a privilege to be able to do this full time."

And while touring Europe and playing festivals sounds like fun, the band has had its stressful episodes, such as their potentially disastrous gig at the London Astoria - again to do with a mode of transport.

"We were in Italy and we were at the airport," Pete recalls. "It was foggy and the plane got cancelled. We thought we weren't going to make it to the Astoria, we'd written it off. Eventually we ended up caning it down the M25 and making it literally five minutes before we were on stage. We got to the venue, loaded in and went and played with no sound check.

"But that's what's it all about," says Pete, "The show must go on."

Catch Pete & the Pirates on the Radio One/NME stage on Friday 22 August 2008.