Pristine pop meets Irish soul to follow The Script for hits.

WHO ARE THEY?

Three young Dubliners just about to conquer the UK charts. Now based in London, their soft, melodic rock anthems should appeal to fans of Coldplay, Maroon 5 and The Police.

WHY THE FUSS?

The trio's two hit singles  -  We Cry and The Man Who Can't Be Moved  -  are a good introduction to their debut album Rusty Halo, out on Monday.

WHAT'S THE SPIN?

The band's polished brand of Celtic soul has been touted as a cross between U2 and Timbaland. Rusty Halo does feature some subtle dance influences, but pristine pop is their forté;, with Danny O'Donaghue's passionate vocals a bonus.

Not so rusty: The Script polish their haloes

WHAT'S THE STORY?

Vocalist Danny and guitarist Mark Sheehan met in the St James Street area of Dublin. A love of U.S. soul music kept them off the streets 'where the other kids were out stealing cars'. They formed a boyband, MyTown, before moving into record production.

WHAT NEXT?

The pair were invited to L.A., where they worked with R&B producers Dallas Austin and Rodney Jerkins, remixing tracks by Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears.

A visit from Dublin pal Glen Power, a drummer, led to the start of The Script  -  the name refers to their Hollywood home-from-home.

AND THEN?

Drawn back to Dublin by family bereavements, the band signed to Sony BMG and made Rusty Halo before touring with Newton Faulkner and The Hoosiers.

Danny says: 'Irish people have soul, and there's a lifetime's worth of emotions in our songs. We seem to touch people when we play.'

WHERE CAN I SEE THEM LIVE?

On tour now, The Script play Manchester Academy tomorrow and the Carling Academy, Liverpool, on Sunday.

Next week finds them in Sheffield, Glasgow and at the V Festival, before a London gig at The Scala on August 21. For details, visit seetickets.com.