Courteeners: From humble Manchester roots to the world - and back

The street outside legendary indie club 42s, a front garden on Burnage Lane and a pub's function room with a tiny stage - all locations in Manchester where you could have found Courteeners in their early days. The four school friends from Middleton, near Rochdale, have certainly come a long way since they hit the Manchester indie scene in 2006. While they have travelled around the world ever since, there is no place like home and they will take to the stage later for a huge homecoming gig at Wythenshawe Park. From humble beginnings performing for friends in the garden of their shared house in Burnage, the Courteeners are now celebrating 20 years together. Fresh from releasing a new best-of compilation album called God Bless The Band, lead singer and songwriter Liam Fray spoke to BBC North West Tonight at The Briton's Protection pub on Deansgate, where he first performed as a solo artist back in 2005. Sitting upstairs in the pub, Fray smiled at the 3ft (0.9m) stage and single spotlight on the ceiling while recalling the night he spent there more than two decades ago. "It's unusual to be in here and it's exactly the same," he said. "It is very small." Fray recalled the gig, the crowd