Comedian turned musician Adrian Edmondson is returning to the punk rock spirit that made him famous, when he appeared in TV show The Young Ones, but with folk instruments.

Adrian, who used to play punk student Vyvyan in the classic BBC comedy is now taking his new musical career very seriously ... well, as seriously as he can be, having come up with the idea when he bought a mandolin from a shop after a boozy pre-Christmas lunch in Soho.

After trying out different sounds, he got a band together with Andy Dinen on fiddle and Troy Donockley on uillean pipes, cittern, whistles and vocals. Adrian does vocals and thrash mandolin.

Since 2008, they have toured England to packed houses.

Adrian said: "The Bad Shepherds play punk songs on folk instruments.

"Not as a gag, but because we really like the noise.

"We think the songs are better than people remember. We love folk instruments. It works.

" We do songs by The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Stranglers, The Jam, Sham 69, The Undertones, The Buzzcocks, The Ramones, The Specials, Talking Heads, Squeeze and others, even Kraftwerk!

"Alright, they're not all punk, but they come from roughly the same era.

"We've mostly given the songs a kind of Celtic feel, and we've stuck in the odd reel and jig here and there.

"But occasionally we just thrash. I've always thought the excitement of a reel taking off is the nearest thing to the excitement of watching punk live in the '70s.

"I was 19 in 1976 when punk arrived. Those songs were the soundtrack to my life as I went through uni and started pretending to be a comedian.

"I loved the noise, the faces and the attitude.

"I love making music. Got my first guitar when I was 13 and along the way I've picked up ten other guitars, a banjo, a ukelele, two trumpets, a banjolele, a mandolin, an autoharp, a charanga, two pianos, a tenor guitar, a triangle and even made myself some Coconuts.

"I also love folk music, I love the noise – at its live best its the most exciting music to be in the same room with.

"It occurred to me that punk was the folk music of its day.

"I decided to form a band to reflect all of the above.

"It would be great if you came along for the ride."

And people can catch the ride when it hits Bath's Komedia tomorrow at 7.30pm.

Support comes from Ella Edmondson, a contemporary singer songwriter based on Dartmoor, who has been playing her trade around the UK for a few years.

Ella has recently finished recording her debut album Hold Your Horses produced by Andy Seward (Kate Rusby, Roddy Womble, Eddi Reader).

The album includes stunning performances from a host of award winning UK folk musicians, who between them have been largely responsible for the enormous popularity of the genre today.

Never shy of a performance, and eager to grasp opportunities, Ella has crossed the country many times, achieving rave reviews and building up an army of loyal fans.

Visit www.komedia.co.uk/bath for more information.