Kaisers rock small village hall

Oh my God, I can't believe it - Kaiser Chiefs cause a stir in Strathpeffer/Pic: Paul Campbell

Kaiser Chiefs have been warming up for one of the biggest concerts of their career by playing small venues in the Highlands.

The Yorkshire band played to a few hundred fans in the village of Strathpeffer on Monday night, ahead of a gig at Elland Road Stadium in Leeds.

They are also due to play at the Oban Corran Halls in Argyll.

The band said it was good to get in touch with fans who may not be able to make it to big arena gigs.

The Strathpeffer venue is a restored former tea dance pavilion in a quiet Highland village which is more used to summer Scottish country dancing demonstrations in the square.

But Kaisers drummer and songwriter Nick Hodgson told BBC Scotland: "We needed warm-ups for the big gig - Elland Road - and it was suggested that why don't we go and play somewhere remote, where no-one plays.

"We like doing things like that, so here we are - I've just been to the shops and it's a quiet place."

Keyboard player Nick 'Peanut' Baines said the band had a loyal fan-base in Scotland but wanted to reach out to the sort of fans who might not be able to make it to city gigs.

Strathpeffer Spa Pavilion manager Andrea Muir said it was actually a return to form for the venue, which had hosted Freddy and the Dreamers and the Bay City Rollers in the 1960s.

There is also a story of a nearby gig by the early Beatles in January 1963 that was so poorly attended it closed early, leaving everyone - including the young Fab Four - to head to the Pavilion, where the Melotones were playing.