Many bands would call a break when forced to find a new singer - but not the Big Bang. Keighley's oldest rock band simply pushed its keyboard player to the front and promoted its support act.

The Bangsters now have two singers sharing frontman duties as they play their hard-edged R 'n' B covers across Yorkshire and Lancashire.

Since setting out in the 1980s the Big Bang has been through four major incarnations, beginning and ending with singer Dazz. Dazz returned last year as the band, following the departure of John Gow to form Johnny and the Poorboys, dumped its indie rock style.

The new-look Bang soon built up a strong reputation for its set of R 'n' B covers by bands such as the Kinks, Who and Animals. Then at the end of last year Dazz left again, leaving the Bangsters with a clutch of gigs and no one to hold the mike.

Keyboard player Dave was moved to vocals with occasional help from Keiran, who had spent the previous six months opening shows with his own acoustic set.

"Dave knew quite a lot of the songs, and can sing them even though keyboards are a big part of the songs," says guitarist Stan. "We didn't tell anyone. If we'd said we had a new singer and were taking time off it would have been difficult to get bookings."

Extra rehearsals while still playing a couple of gigs a month have seen the Bang cement its new line-up, with bassist Steve providing vocal backing.

Stan believes the line-up is the best he's seen, with enough voices and instrumentation to let the band create the sound it wants. "The scope for what we can do is amazing," he says. "We can fill out the sound - but we won't be doing any Beach Boys songs!"

The retro style is going down well in pubs across West Yorkshire, with many repeat bookings and a growing fan base. Stan says: "We get a lot of 50 year olds who like it, and young ones who know the songs from adverts."

The Big Bang's new CD will be out soon, and the band plays the Rose and Crown, Ilkley, next Thursday.