NOT many artists can claim to have been in two of post-punk's greatest bands but then Kirk Brandon is a true one-off when it comes to British alternative music.

First came Theatre of Hate, also featuring future Cult members Billy Duffy and Nigel Preston, who hit the top 20 in 1982 with the classic Do You Believe in the West World. Then came Spear of Destiny, whose punk-influenced power rock, brought chart action with Never Take Me Alive and So In Love With You and two top 20 albums in World Service and Outland.

This year saw Spear of Destiny release their 14th studio album, Tontine, with Kirk going back on the road to play songs from the band's formidable back catalogue as well as celebrating 35 years since their debut album Grapes of Wrath.

"This is part two of the tour," explains Kirk, who plays Chester Live Rooms next week. "We're not playing the major cities but playing places we don't usually get to play.

"We've always had a policy of trying to be alternative and not going with the major promoters which allows us to play smaller places and work with independent venues. I always want to give them a shot because it's more in line with how we think - I did corporate when I was signed to CBS and I didn't really like it!"

Looking after his fan base is clearly at the top of the list when it comes to Kirk's priorities with his supporters paying back the loyalty quite literally by funding Tontine through a pre-sale.

"Put it this way," he says. "If I wanted to go and see Tom Waits would I want to go to some place that was all metal and steel and chrome bars everywhere or would I want to see him in some kind of independent dive that isn't full of lighting rigs and trusses. If you want somewhere corporate fine but me? I'm out.

"If you use a record company's money, you're in debt to them and you've got to pay them back and that amount is usually a hell of a lot more than you might have first thought. We do things on our own now and we have control over everything from beginning to end."

Looking back on the release of Grapes of Wrath, Kirk, 62, is simply grateful that people still want to hear a collection of songs he wrote in his twenties.

"It's brilliant I'm still alive and people want t hear me play music," he laughs. "It's a privilege and it's a bit of a charmed life being able to do it - so many of my contemporaries are dead or not in very good nick! I'm lucky that people can still be bothered to come out and enjoy what we do.

"We're doing plenty of songs from Grapes of Wrath on this tour but with 35 years of experience I'm often left thinking 'why did I do it like that?' or 'what the hell was thinking?'

"It's almost like it was someone else but what we're doing now is giving the songs the texture and the feel they should have had if it hadn't been for that early 80s recording.

"I've approached it like I would have approached our rehearsals back then and made it much rocky rather than when it was watered down in the recording process. The songs themselves stand the test of time."

Spear of Destiny adopted a more melodic and less aggressive sound than Theatre of Hate but Kirk is keen to revive their rock credentials.

"I'd always been a fan of rock music but when punk came along it changed everything," he remembers. "Theatre of Hate was very left field and in today's terms it would probably be described as avant-garde but we still had a good hit there with Westworld and the album was a big hit in the UK and Japan.

"As a result we still get to play a lot outside England - we went Poland and Germany this year which was fabulous and next year we want to aim to play a lot more different places as well as America."

Before Kirk goes I ask him about the recent US drama Westworld which of course took inspiration from the same 1973 film as his biggest hit.

"They used the same kind of tonalities from some of my songs so I think someone had been listening!" he adds. "When I heard them using the piano and the cello together I thought 'that sounds like me!'"

Spear of Destiny play Chester Live Rooms on Wednesday, October 3. Tickets £16 are available from www.seetickets.com