A COCKERMOUTH councillor has become an 'overnight success'... just 45 years after his punk rock band released their first single.

In 1978, four 20-year-olds from Annan started a punk group called The Limps. Andrew, Derek, Norman and Tam became Andy Septic, Dee Dee Tee, Chuck Abnormal and Tam Limp.

The band, which includes Cumberland councillor and former Mayor of Cockermouth Andy Semple, have in recent months experienced something of a revival as they prepare to take on a gig at the iconic Hope and Anchor pub in London on November 23, a pub which was a haven for anyone connected to the English 1970s rock scene.

The band's recent success has been largely down to an American writer and director writing to the band to ask if they could use their track on the upcoming film Snack Shack, a coming-of-age film set in early 90’s Nebraska City.

Times and Star: The Limps now decades on from their formationThe Limps now decades on from their formation (Image: Supplied)

The director Adam Rehmeier asked the band if he could use their song ‘Someone I Can Talk To’ to play at the end of the movie.

Andy said: On July 23, 2023 Chuck rang me. He lives in Cardiff now and also works quite a lot in the USA. 'An American film director wants permission to use a Limps song in his new film'.

“So I checked out two things: that Chuck had not been on the drink and most importantly I checked IMDb and found that, yes, Adam Rehmeier was an award winning director from Nebraska.”

The film was released in America in March and has received many positive reviews, with the Limps also finding success on Apple music and Spotify following its release.

Speaking about the newfound success, Andy said: “It’s only taken us 45 years to be an overnight success! Our listens on Spotify have gone from a handful a week to over 6,000.

"And now we have six months to practice for the gig at the iconic Hope and Anchor. Good thing about our songs is that they are very short - as they all were back in the day- so despite us all having a bus pass now we are still young at heart."