911 have joked they will be swapping the rock and roll lifestyle for herbal teabags as they prepare to head out on their 20th anniversary tour.

The 1990s boyband – Lee Brennan, Jimmy Constable and Simon ‘Spike’ Dawbarn – will hit the road for eight shows in October to celebrate the milestone. The tour starts in Glenrothes in Scotland on October 9, and finishes at Liverpool’s O2 Academy on October 17.

“The build-up has been exciting. There’s been a lot of questions on social media and we haven’t been able to say anything, although it was planned months ago,” Spike said.

Lee added: “Our 20th anniversary, it’s quite amazing. It’s a huge milestone. We’re just excited. We can’t wait until October when we do our first date. We’ve been getting all the ideas together and we want to celebrate the 20 years with some pictures and video.

911
Spike, Jimmy and Lee (Phil Noble/PA)

“We’re always known for our energy so we’ll be doing the 90s dance moves. We’re going to be doing the greatest hits and maybe throw in some sort of medley.”

Lee also admitted the new gigs could take their toll on them, now that they are in their 40s.

“With The Big Reunion tour, we’ve been doing four to five songs because each band has their allocation. With these shows, we’ll probably do an hour and a half to two hours. We’ll probably be more out of breath on this,” he said.

Asked what will be in their tour bus this time around, Jimmy said: “Lots of herbal teabags! But also, a big bottle of Jack Daniels. We’re quite boring. We’re not diva-ish on stage. We’re happy as long as there are three mics and mic stands.”

911, who had hits in the 1990s with Bodyshakin’ and A Little Bit More, reunited in 2012 for ITV2′s The Big Reunion after splitting in February 2000. Jimmy, 43, battled alcoholism and drug addiction while his bandmate Spike, 40, began to suffer agoraphobia.

“We got the producers hammered and they agreed to sign us on,” Lee joked. “That’s not true, but we told them our stories and said we would be honest about how we felt about each other. It was an incredible experience. The show was great for raising our touring profile.”

But they reckon they’ll get homesick when they’re on the road.

911 in 1999 (Michael Crabtree/PA)
911 in 1999 (Michael Crabtree/PA)

Jimmy said: “That’s the worst part of the touring now – missing the kids and not doing the school run and that lifestyle. You feel grounded when you’re doing it. But probably, as soon as we get back to the hotel, we’ll be on FaceTime and Skype.”

Tickets for the tour are available on pre-sale from today, and go on sale from 9am on March 7.