They gigged with The Specials and Jam bassist Bruce Foxton in 2014 and now Watford punk pop band The Spitfires are finishing off another busy year by supporting Paul Weller at Watford Colosseum.

“We’ve been extremely busy,“ says lead singer Billy Sullivan. “We’ve toured pretty much the whole year, recorded our album and got a new band member – Chris Chanell on keys. It’s been pretty constant!“

Indeed the boys – Billy, from North Watford, Matt Johnson from Abbots Langley, and Sam Long from Pinner, as well as new boy Chris – haven’t stopped since they formed the band in 2012, and this year looks set to be just as busy, with their new single, Stand Down, out next week, and their as yet untitled debut album due out this summer. All the boys’ releases come through their own label, Catch 22.

“Stand Down is about the negativity thrown at young people,“ Billy explains. “It’s about being skint, bored and not able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There seems to be a path laid out for young people where they stay in education for as long as possible and come back home to debt and trying to make ends meet.“

The song was inspired by Billy’s observations of what is currently happening to people in their late teens and early 20s.

The video for the single was shot around Watford in locations such as Parkgate Community Centre, outside the old Watford Market, The Dome Bar on St Albans Road, and the chip shop on Bushey Mill Lane.

“They’re locations I see every day, where I live and grew up,“ says Billy. “Travelling up and down the country, you get the sense that people are all going through the same thing so I wanted the video to be ‘real’ so people could identify with it.“

Next week the boys will be playing a warm-up gig at their old haunt, The Horns, at the top of town, where Billy has been playing since he was 15, and then – moving from the real to the slightly more surreal – The Spitfires will be supporting the legendary modfather Paul Weller on two of his UK tour dates this spring, including at Watford Colosseum in a couple of weeks.

““We’re all big fans so it’s great for us. It’s a chance for us to play bigger venues to more people. And we’ll be coming out front to watch his set when he comes on stage after us, definitely.“

  • The Spitfires play The Horns, Hempstead Road, Watford on Tuesday, March 3 and are supporting Paul Weller at Watford Colosseum, Rickmansworth Road, Watford on Monday, March 9. Stand Down is available to pre-order as a 7“ single, and available to download from Monday, March 2 from iTunes. Details: thespitfires.org