WHILE some students filled their lunch hours smoking behind the bike sheds or kicking footballs about, a trio of music-loving youngsters had other ideas on their mind.

Twenty-five-year-olds Toby Lunn, Adam Crowley and Barnaby Arrowsmith - founding members of the group Frank Rapture - met while studying A-Levels at the Chase High School in Malvern's Geraldine Avenue.

Drawn together by their love of music, the threesome used to play wherever they could around the school, drawing in crowds of pupils during the lunch hour.

It was not long before their impromptu performances began receiving attention from a slightly more unwelcome source though - the teachers.

Bassist Toby, from Newtown Road, Malvern, said: "We used to play our drug-influenced songs in the school's social area which kind of cheesed off the teachers.

"People started not doing lunchtime things like eating and chatting and came to listen to us instead."

Alas, things came to an end for the trio when they went their separate ways after their A-levels, Toby joining Worcester pop `n rollers And What Will Be Left of Them? in 2001.

The trio came together again later that year, going under the name of Frank Rapture and drawing on a diverse range of influences.

Twenty-four-year-old drummer Nick Ward - from Malvern's Fruitlands - came on board last summer and now the band is preparing for a brace of gigs next month - at the Louisiana in Bristol on Friday, July 3 and the Bull and Gate in Camden, London, on Wednesday, July 12. They are also bracing themselves for a return visit to Oxford's Jericho Tavern on Friday, August 4 - a famed venue on the music circuit where none other than Radiohead cut their teeth. Toby said: "Radiohead are legends so to get a chance to play on their stomping ground is a bit of an honour."

Anyone interested in finding out more about the band can visit: www.myspace.com/frankrapture