The Boyfriends are vocalist Martin Wallace, guitarist Richard Adderley, bassist David Barnett and drummer Paddy Pulzer. The band came together as they were already friends. David knew Martin because he "used to live in the garret upstairs from the room I was living in in the late 90s. I heard rumours he was writing songs with Richard, who used to be in a band with Paddy. For some reason they asked me to join." David has a rather, shall we say, punk attitude to playing his chosen instrument: he claims that he started to play the bass "several months after I was asked to join The Boyfriends." Richard is the band's musical genius, who can apparently "play everything." Shall we listen out for a Bedouin nose-flute on the album? David learnt guitar, clarinet and trumpet at school, "but I can't play any of those apart from some very rudimentary guitar." Not that this is something to get in the way: "2I think the combination of incredible talent and blatant cheek is what makes us so good. He may just be right.

Musically, they are a tight guitar 'n' bass 'n' drums outfit, with Martin's gentle vocals lain over the top. The guitar growls with a relentless, never-meandering rhythm, a bit like Marion, in fact (another band who were Morrissey's support, and ended up being produced by Johnny Marr in his own studio), sometimes heading off with minor chords like an angry sob, the bass scowling in the background, the drums driving everyone along. In a way, they sound a bit like Gene, if Gene took Pro-Plus and were irritable from lack of sleep.

Incredibly, the first ever Boyfriends gig, on 6th June 2003 was sold out, and Jim Reid from The Jesus & Mary Chain was there. How come so many people went to the first gig? "Quite simply, Martin has a lot of friends. The problem is trying to convince them to come back a second, third, fourth time and more." This however hasn't been a problem. Word of the band spread, with people posting about them on message-boards for other bands. Clearly, The Boyfriends were doing something different, something which appealed to a fanbase who didn't know it, but had been waiting for The Boyfriends to come along. The number of gigs that the band has done since that first one, nearly three years ago, must number a hundred at least by now, and despite being a London-based band, they've even managed to play elsewhere in Britain, and abroad. By 2004, they had played gigs in Germany and Finland. Although they are yet to play in Birmingham - perhaps this is forgivable, though. In June 2004, their track "No Tomorrow" appeared on the compilation Rip Off Your Labels, along with Art Brut, The Long Blondes and Luxembourg.

David's favourite gig so far has been Glastonbury, 2005, where they were the first band to appear on the newly-monikered John Peel Stage for unsigned bands. As usual at Glastonbury, the weather was appalling. It "was quite surreal. We thought we were going to be struck by lightning but the thunderstorms worked in our favour because everyone was forced to come and see us." The vengeful deity apparently quite liked The Boyfriends d spared them, and it led to them being signed to Boobytrap Records.

And then... enter stage left, Morrissey. What does David think the outcome of the tour might be? Top of the Pops? Never Mind The Buzzcocks? Saturday morning kids' tv? Induction to the UK Music Hall of Fame? "If we're still alive at the end of it I'll be very thankful." As is typical for The Boyfriends, bad weather has followed them from Glastonbury to Scandinavia: instead of thunder and lightning, they missed their ferry to Sweden because of a snowstorm in Finland. As I write, however, as I far as I know we can breathe a sigh of relief - they are all still alive, despite feeling rather cold.

And so... the fairytale moment when they realised Morrissey, indie's own Prince Charming (Man) was in their audience? "To be honest I didn't really believe he was there until I saw photographic evidence days later." Partly this was because Morrissey arrived at the gig, only to be pounced on by eager fans, so he ran off, to return loitering in either the fire exit or the entrance to the ladies' loos, depending on whose report you believe, and left with a record under his arm. Did The Boyfriends suspect that this might be their big moment? That the pale hand of Moz would beckon their way? "I'd heard he was looking for a support band so I suppose we did have an inkling that it might just happen."

And, as we know now - it did. The first rumbles of excitement following Morrissey's gig-going experience arrived when Math Tinder, shorn-haired celebrity fan, reported that the last song played before Morrissey came on stage at his first gig of 2006, in Tulsa, "had the words 'I love you' repeated a lot [and] sounded uncannily like it was done by Morrissey and his current band, though I don't think it actually was. What WAS that song? And did the audience clap when it ended because they thought it was a Morrissey song? It couldn't have actually been Morrissey, right?" Indeed not - it was in fact The Boyfriends' song "I Love You" - their debut single which, predictably enough, has sold out. Days later, the news broke - The Boyfriends were to be Morrissey's support band. The lairy Mozfather had, so to speak, waved his magic wand.

There is something novelistically satisfying about The Boyfriends being in the position they are now, as if human existence is merely a cyclical plot. Like Wuthering Heights, only with less shouting. David doesn't really like to mention it, as he doesn't want to ride on anyone's coat-tails and wants The Boyfriends to be recognised on their own merit - however, if you are stroking your chin thinking "I'm sure I've heard that name somewhere before" you would be perfectly right. David wrote Love and Poison, the Suede biography, published just before the band split. He worked for Suede, running their fanclub - the Suede Information Service. Doesn't it seem rather apt that the man who ran the New York Dolls' fanclub, who then wrote a book about them, should be on tour with a band that contains another chap who ran a band's fanclub and then wrote a book about them? And lest we forget, Morrissey turned up at one of Suede's early gigs and then played a cover of "My Insatiable One", a sponsorship which boosted fledgling Brett 'n' Bernie's outfit no end. Of course, Mike Joyce was fleetingly in Suede, too, but was replaced by a drum machine. And so, narrative tensions satisfied, Morrissey and The Boyfriends hold hands and walk into the sunset over the moors, cue the music, roll credits....

Not quite. This is just the beginning for The Boyfriends. They have another single out, "Adult Acne" (no doubt Morrissey's remark about The Arctic Monkeys and Clearasil will spring into the minds of many at that), and they are primed to take on whatever comes their way. It may not be a mission statement, however, David claims that The Boyfriends are "anti-rock'n'roll. Paddy keeps bees, Richard is a Scrabble champion, I'm into crosswords. Martin doesn't even drink." And what legacy would The Boyfriends like to leave? "We'd like to reintroduce good manners into popular music. People are incredibly rude nowadays."

The photographs used in this interview are from The Boyfriends' website.

Visit The Boyfriends' official website here.