CAST your mind back 24 years to the summer of 1995 and one song was unavoidable during those long, hot months of July and August. Re-released a year after it had appeared on their breakthrough Homegrown album, Staying Out For The Summer handed Britpop originals Dodgy their first top 40 hit and was to become one of two radio staples for the band, who also broke into the top five with Good Enough in 1996.

After first splitting in 2001, the trio of Nigel Clarke (vocals, bass), Mathew Priest (drums) and Andy Miller (guitar) got back together in 2008, touring continuously for the next few years and releasing new albums in 2012 and 2016. Fast forward to 2019 and the band are looking forward to celebrating the 25th anniversary of Homegrown and have announced a major tour around the UK, including an appearance at this year's Llanfest where they will be playing alongside The Coral, Pigeon Detectives and The Fratellis.

"Homegrown is very special to us because it was our breakthrough album," says Mathew. "We'd had our debut out in 1993 but we weren't one of those bands that came out of the traps with a definitive first album like The Stone Roses. It took us until the second album for us to find our sound and a lot of people came on board with us for it and it remains a lot of people's favourite album.

"We toured it in March and April and it was incredible - there was so much love for it we'd thought we'd go and play it at the festivals this summer."

An early version of Dodgy formed in the late 80s, and by the end of 1992, the trio's melding of early Who and the aforementioned Stone Roses had earned a seizable following, attracting the attention of major labels. They signed a contract with A&M later that year, releasing their debut, The Dodgy Album, in May 1993 and becoming a crucial part of London's new Britpop movement emerging around Blur and Suede.

"In certain quarters there are people who say we pre-empted Britpop with our first album," laughs Mathew. "In a way we were quite happy not to be lumped in with it at the time. Obviously we were there and we did nothing to stop people thinking we were part of it but we weren't going around saying 'can we be part of your gang?'.

"The first time we heard the phrase 'Britpop' we were doing an interviewing in Germany and they asked us what it was all about and we didn't have a clue!"

With their love of harmonies and chiming guitars, Dodgy were always just as influenced by the West Coast sound of bands like Crosby, Stills and Nash as they were by bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

"We still love all that stuff like The Byrds and Neil Young, and The Beach Boys were a really big influence on us," he says. "You could hear that coming through on Homegrown. We were just hippies at heart!"

With the timing right and the album including the hits, Staying Out For The Summer, Melodies Haunt You, So Let Me Go Far and Making the Most Of, Homegrown's success seemed almost guaranteed a quarter of a century ago.

"It was never at the forefront of our minds whether we were going to make it or not," says Mathew. "We just had this blind confidence that we were doing the right thing and we were going to get there. We wrote the second album on the road and we began playing a few of the songs in the set, so we were ready and primed to go and record them.

"It was one of the moments when you're in a band when you're in your prime and you're cooking on gas - if you're good you do just do your job and write good songs. If you're a good band you make albums and tour them - that's what you do."

The next few years saw a string of hits as Dodgy enjoyed a gold-selling album with Homegrown, whilst 1996's Free Peace Sweet went platinum, reaching number seven in the UK album charts. The band were famous and enjoyed the lifestyle that went with it.

"We were over in Canada once at a festival," remembers Mathew. "The Chemical Brothers had been in this radio station before us and left some 'things' in the toilet and we got the blame! So many wonderful things happened around then and occasionally I'll get flashbacks and think 'whoa Jesus Christ'. They were brilliant times and there was money about for the bands because it was pre-internet and when teenagers had pocket money they would go out and buy an album.

"Music was culturally important and I'd argue that it isn't anymore - there are great bands but they just don't mean as much too as many people as they did back then. It's just the way it is and we were lucky we were around when there was quite a lot of money flying about and things were a bit more extravagant. It was a time when smart guys still got into bands - now all the smart guys and girls get into computer games."

Despite celebrating their past glories this year, Mathew insists the band, who now also include Stuart Thoy on bass, don't just want to become a nostalgia act and are determined to keep recording new material.

"We'd been apart for 10 years and we realised there was unfinished business," he says. "There was still a spark and we realised we still wanted to record songs together. It took a few years to see if we really wanted to do it and for their first comeback album we insisted it would be just the three of us, which is how we rebuilt some of the bridges that had been burnt down. We kind of said sorry to each other and said 'hey, you're brilliant'. It was the three of us getting back together and apologising to each other and saying this is where we are in our lives. I think people connected with that and it's a very special album for us."

As for festivals, Dodgy are veterans of many a Glastonbury, where they even played third on the bill in 1997.

"It all depends on what time we play but when you're at a festival you play to the crowd," adds Mathew. "We want them to have a fantastic time. It's nice that Van Morrison can dip into his back catalogue and pick something out, but when he does there'll be people still going 'play Moondance'. They'll be people there who are a little bit drunk on a sunny afternoon and we'll give them what they want - that's why we're on the bill after all!"

Dodgy join The Coral, Pigeon Detectives and The Fratellis at Llanfest on Sunday, July 7. Doors open from 2pm with a range of live bands on the outside stages and enjoy the wide variety of food and drink stalls around the field, before the Llanfest finale in the main Pavilion. Tickets from £39 available at

www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk