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After playing together for 15 years, you'd probably expect the popular Westcountry acoustic duo Show of Hands to have accumulated quite a few fans but I don't suppose there are many local acts who would even contemplate booking a 5,000 seater venue.

The historic 5,000 seater Royal Albert Hall

So it makes it all the more impressive when you learn that next year's visit to the historic Royal Albert Hall will be their third!

Steve Knightley and Phil Beer first played the South London venue in 1996 when their sell-out gig was an unprecedented success for a band of their ilk. In 2001 they did it all over again.

Perhaps booking the 'Hall' and selling all the tickets becomes slightly less of a headache when you have a fan base of around 17,000 people?

"Hiring somewhere as high profile as the Albert Hall is obviously not something you undertake lightly," says Knightley, "but it's a challenge we relish.

"Our fans come from all around the world. Not only the UK but also France, Germany, Holland and beyond and hopefully a lot of them will want to help us celebrate 15 years as Show of Hands."

Devon Roots

Despite their global popularity, the pair are still firmly rooted in Devon.

They grew up on opposite sides of the River Exe and still both live in the county, Steve near Exeter and Phil on Dartmoor.

Outside looking in: Show of Hands

They put their success down to a unique sound and a classy, almost theatrical delivery of material, about 90% of which is penned by Knightley who is looking forward to completing the hat trick.

"It's hard to describe the high you get from playing to a capacity audience in one of the world's most famous concert halls," he says.

"Our first appearance there was a dream come true and the second time around there was even more of a buzz.

"The 2007 gig will be a big thank you to our fans, many of whom have followed us since we began."

And Phil Beer, a dazzling multi instrumentalist who has guested with The Rolling Stones, agrees.

"We've had two hugely memorable nights at the Albert Hall- not bad for a band that used to play the Albert Inn in Bristol.

"Both great venues but the SW7 one is somewhat larger!"

In 2004 the public voted Show of Hands "Best Live Act " in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Before the Albert Hall gig on Easter Sunday, 8th April 2007, Show of Hands face one of their busiest years on record, playing two 40-date UK tours, summer festivals and touring Germany and Canada.

Their spring tour starts on April 6th 2006. Tickets for next year's Albert Hall celebrations go on sale mid-May. Box Office 0207 5890 8212