Interview - The Wedding Present: Past and Present meet as Gedge looks back

THEY were one of John Peel's favourite bands and influential pioneers of indie-rock, back when that term still meant something.

Now, 25 years after forming in Leeds, The Wedding Present are returning to Yorkshire to mark their silver anniversary.

"It really doesn't feel like a quarter of a century has passed," says frontman David Gedge. "It's difficult to maintain a group over a long period, and it can be hard work. But it's not like working down a mine, is it? It's playing music, making records and travelling the world."

The Wedding Present have released eight albums and notched up 18 Top 40 singles, even equalling a long-standing Elvis Presley record in 1992 for most Top 30 hits in a year. But they have remained very much a cult outfit, neither attaining the lofty endurance of fellow 80s' indie darlings The Smiths nor the attention enjoyed by guitar bands during the Britpop explosion.

"We were quite prepared to not get as big as we could have been, and not make as much money, as long as we were happy with our work," says Gedge.

"The industry is there to bring the work of artists to consumers and there are pitfalls to that. I've seen people who have been swallowed up by the machine We made sure we avoided that."

The band has been through numerous changes in personnel over the years, with 11 musicians in all walking out or receiving their marching orders. While Gedge is the only original member left, he insists the high turnover in bandmates has not been the result of furious bust-ups or cliched meltdowns.

"Our story hasn't been that dramatic," he laughs. "We haven't had 'cinematic levels' of sex and drugs, and there were never any wild fights on stage. Most people who have left have gone of their own volition, and the others I asked to leave because I sensed they weren't happy.

"I'm still friends with most of the people who've come and gone. It's always been quite mature." Perhaps this, coupled with a loyal fanbase and shrewd approach to the industry from the outset, helps explain the band's extraordinary longevity. Growing up in Manchester in the 60s and 70s, Gedge dreamed of starting a band and at university in Leeds – the city of his birth – he realised it might be possible.

"All the big punk acts came through on tour, and there was so much going on with local bands like Gang Of Four and The Mekons," he recalls.

It was at Leeds that Gedge met bassist Keith Gregory, and they formed The Wedding Present with guitarist Peter Solowka and drummer Shaun Charman in 1985.

After finishing university Gedge was on the dole for two years, writing songs and playing gigs. His big break came when the band's early, self-financed singles found a champion in legendary Radio One DJ John Peel – who credited Gedge with writing "some of the best love songs of the rock 'n' roll era".

"I was obsessed with the John Peel show as a teenager, and when we got the first Peel session, it was so important to me. It meant more than anything else."

With Peel behind them, The Wedding Present were inundated with offers from major labels, but they turned them all down in favour of releasing their own material independently. When their debut album George Best came out in 1987, it went down a storm with critics.

Not long after, the band did sign to major label RCA, prompting accusations that they had "sold out".

"It didn't bother us," says Gedge. "We spent a lot of time making sure we'd keep creative control. They basically said 'just make the records, sail around the world and, oh, here's a load of money'. And they kept their word."

It was with RCA that Gedge recorded Bizarro and it is this album the band will play in its entirety on their new tour, which calls in at Leeds O2 Academy next month.

"It's always special playing in Yorkshire," says Gedge, who now divides his time between LA and Sussex. "I've played more gigs in Leeds than anywhere else and I'm looking forward to coming home."

The Wedding Present play Leeds Academy on December 6. 0113 389 1555, www.scopitones.co.uk

The bands that benefited from the John Peel factor

In 1973, Peel became the first DJ to play Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells in its entirety and helped sales rocket.

Billy Bragg got his first airplay on Peel's show after taking him a curry.

While the Smiths first single, Hand in Glove, failed to chart, thanks to Peel's constant support and a success of studio sessions,

by the time of their eponymous debut album

in 1984 they were already one of the biggest bands in the UK.

After a young Jarvis Cocker gave him a tape during a gig at Sheffield Poly, Peel became a champion of Pulp.