AN album by a punk band has hit the shops -- more than 20 years after it was recorded.

If fate had dealt a different hand the names of Phil Hendriks, Ian 'Strang' Barnes, Tommy O'Kane and 'Big John' McVitie would be as familiar as John, Paul, George or Ringo. In East Lancashire at least.

But just as The Stiffs seemed to be making progress the notoriously fickle music business changed direction and the glory that was theirs for the taking was cruelly snatched away.

After signing to heavyweight label EMI -- one time home of the Sex Pistols -- Blackburn's leading punk band were busy recording material which they hoped would appear on their debut album.

It did eventually make it to the shops - 20 years later!

Singer Phil Hendriks, who now lives near Kings Lynn, Norfolk, said: "We recorded a lot of songs when we were with EMI which we hoped would make it on to the first album between 1979 and 1981 but it never got released.

"The probable reason was at that time bands like Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet were coming into fashion as well as the new wave of British heavy metal like Iron Maiden. The punk thing was fizzling out and unfortunately we were at the tail end of it all."

The band left EMI and signed a one-single deal with Stiff Records, home of Madness and Ian Dury and the Blockheads. But after releasing Goodbye My Love they too parted ways. Phil said: "It did OK but our deal was dependent on the single making the charts. If it did we would have had a future with them but it didn't so it was Adios Amigo and we parted."

The band, whose single Inside Out was once described by Radio One DJ John Peel as the "greatest record in the entire history of the universe" carried on touring and recording for small labels before calling it a day in 1988. They were albumless and, as Phil said, "fed up with each other with no enthusiasm any more."

But just as they had got together for an 18th birthday party at East Lancashire Cricket Club in 1977, it was the call of a celebration that made them reunite. A friend asked them to play at his 40th party at Cob Wall Working Men's Club in 1998.

A brand new interest in the group led to a full-blown reunion which saw a compilation of their songs released plus a live album.

But it was when EMI did a U-turn and decided to release their material for the album Innocent Bystanders that Phil feels fully vindicated at last.

He said: "If EMI had put some money behind it at the time it could have been successful but there was a lot of politics involved.

"I'm just pleased it has been released and we should be all right for the next one in 2021!"

Apart from Phil, the three other members of the band still live and work in East Lancashire. Tommy O'Kane is a fireman from Clayton-le-Moors, John McVitie is a housing officer from Blackburn and Ian Barnes, also from Blackburn, is a graphic designer.