THE good news is, The Pitmen Poets, who celebrate the songs, humour, and culture of North East England's coal mining tradition, are on tour.

The bad news is, it's their final tour.

But grief need not yet overwhelm local fans, because Worcester's Huntingdon Hall will be a stop, on October 24.

A spokesman said; "Bringing together four of the region's leading champions of it's musical heritage: ex-Lindisfarne and Jack The Lad singer and writer Billy Mitchell; Song Man from London’s West End musical Warhorse, Bob Fox; leading exponent of Tyneside song Benny Graham, and much-covered BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards nominee songwriter Jez Lowe, are collectively, The Pitmen Poets.

"This is a journey through the centuries of a once-great industry, from the songs that saw it thrive and dominate, to those that saw it's demise and the resulting aftermath."

The spokesman added: "Now, after two albums and several hugely successful tours, the band prepare to release their farewell album to accompany their 23 date farewell tour.

"With every member coming from coal mining stock, this quartet represent the first generation of their families not to take up the tradition of working down the pit.

"With every member coming from coal mining stock, they represent the first generation of their families not to take up the tradition of working down the pit."

As Billy Mitchell explains:

“Our parents all said ‘you’re not going down the pit, get a good education and do something worthwhile with your lives'….so now we sing songs and tell stories…. about coal mining. It’s quite ironic really but it’s very important to keep the stories we all heard growing up in the form of songs for the next generation."

Tickets: 01905 611 427