Ned's Atomic Dustbin's Jonn Penney and Pop Will Eat Itself's Graham Crabb talk ahead of Love From Stourbridge tour

Pop Will Eat Itself and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin – who last toured together in 1989 – are set to headline the Love From Stourbridge tour next year, which will also feature The Wonder Stuff’s Miles Hunt as guest DJ.

The three Stourbridge bands grew up together as kings of the short-lived but highly influential 'grebo' scene, which took the UK by storm in the late 80s and early 90s.

And as a special bonus, next year's gigs will also see the seminal Poppies album, This Is The Day…This Is The Hour… This Is This! played in full, including the monumental chart-topping singles, Def. Con. One, Can U Dig It? and Wise Up! Suckers.

On its release in 1989, the record received widespread critical acclaim, not only for its inventive sound-tracks – with heavy sampling of hip hop, metal, disco, punk, indie, rock, dance and pop culture – but also for the incredible artwork by The Designers Republic.

TITD also gave us the very first appearance of the band’s now iconic robot logo, and spent two weeks in the UK album charts in 1989 as well as achieving success in the US.

The Poppies began their career in 1986, and immediately became recognised for their original style and sound.

Their first single Poppies Say Grrr! became NME’s Single Of The Week and was playlisted by Janice Long on BBC Radio 1.

Between 1990 and 1994, the Poppies’ success continued with every single release charting in the Top 40, live dates worldwide and festival appearances before disbanding in 1996.

After a brief reformation in 2005, Pop Will Eat Itself issued their first release in more than five years in 2010, before returning in 2011.

More recently, in September 2018, they released PWEI – Def Comms 86-18, a career-spanning 4-CD collection, compiled with Graham Crabb, featuring 75 hits of classic album tracks, remixes and rarities, from all eight of the band’s albums, plus the ‘lost’ 1996 record, and unheard alternate versions and demos.

Founding member Crabb, had a taste of the Love From Stourbridge tour last year as a DJ.

He said: “We had such a blast it would be silly not to repeat it. This Is The Day is probably my fave PWEI album and we look forward to performing it with all but one of the original band.

"This year it would be especially nice to complete the tour without smashing my head open in a freak hoverboard accident at 3am in a hotel corridor (photos can be supplied).

“I can't remember the early days with Neds very well, I was, erm, away with the fairies most of the time, but now I know them well they are a fantastic bunch of blokes and we've had many a top night out together.”

The Poppies line up sees Crabb alongside Mary Byker, (vocals), Richard Marsh (guitar), Davey Bennett (bass), Fuzz Townshend (drums) will share the co-headline bill alongside all five original members of Ned's Atomic Dustbin – Jonn (vocals), Rat (guitar), Alex (bass), Mat (bass) and Dan (drums).

Neds’ Jonn Penney said: “I can’t wait to get on the road with the Poppies. We were always going to each other’s shows and our paths crossed all the time in all corners of the globe, but it’s been an absolute age since we shared a stage.

"There’s bounce in these old knees yet and the Poppies taught us all the moves.”

The tour comes at a time when the Stourbridge scene is undergoing something of a renaissance, with The Guardian exclaiming that 'grebo' rivalled Britpop as the sound of the 90s.

Last year's Love From Stourbridge saw Ned's get back on the road with fellow Stourbridge mafia The Wonder Stuff for the first time in 27 years, and the tour turned out to be the real deal.

All original members from the Ned's turned up as if nearly three decades had never passed – the power, the energy, the pure joy – it was there in spades to remind us all of that first love, the one that still tingles away years later.

Frontman Penney added that he remembered the 1980s fondly. “Early days in the band I had no faith in my own ability to do something original. I must have seen that ‘unique sound’ as a thing of myth and legend, so I consciously tried to shut out everything that was big at the time.

“I tried to be a kind of musical monk to ensure I wasn’t influenced by something in case it sneaked its way subconsciously into one of our songs.

"The Poppies completely blew that stupid idea out the water for me with this album [TITD]. It was 100 per cent all about influences – musical and cultural but I absolutely loved it.

"I realised you’re nobody without your influences and it’s not about the origin of your ideas – it’s how you make them your own.”

Formed in 1987, Ned’s rose to fame on the back of the hit ‘Kill Your Television’, and went on to have huge success in the States with their seminal debut album, God Fodder.

The tour plays Birmingham O2 Institute on April 20 and 21.