Had they gotten together a few years earlier they would have been just retro enough to cause a stir. Had they gotten together a few years later they may have capitalized on the Post-Madchester era left empty by the loss of Stone Roses.

But no, The Stairs were together from 1990 to 1994 - issued only one album, a handful of ep's and went their separate ways.

Formed in 1990 by bassist Edgar (Summertyme) Jones, who wanted to put together a band with a retro flavor of such 60's groups as The 13th Floor Elevators and The Seeds. The Stairs adopted a certain early Rolling Stones approach, cutting all their material in Mono.

The result was one album and four ep's, of which tonight's track Flying Machine, is off their first ep Weed Bus, originally issued on Imaginary Records and then issued on Go! Records after signing with the label.

After the first album failed to click, they had several attempts at cutting a second album, which never materialized before calling it a day in 1994 with Jones pursuing a solo career.

As I've said so often, timing is everything. And in The Stairs case, it certainly wasn't for trying.