IF it is an evening of wacky, musical entertainment you want then the hKippers are right up your stream. Catch them at the Hatherleigh Festival on Thursday, July12.

Film composer Steve Warbeck founded the band 12 years ago and while it can muster up to 20 enthusiastic players it normally consists of a hard-core of around 10 musicians.

At the first get together Steve's wife Sarah was very hungry so they cooked kippers — and someone said that was a good name for the band.

'Someone then pointed out there was already a band called the Kipper Family which could cause confusion. He suggested, as our music had a slightly eastern flavour, we should put a silent "h" in front of Kipper!' says Steve.

Silent letters seem to proliferate in the Warbeck household.

'Mathilda, our third child, has a silent "h", so does my wife Sarah. There is also the gNippers — formed by children of the band.'

Steve writes virtually all the music and lyrics for the hKippers — and describes the band as a cross between the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band, Kurt Weil and French cafe music.

The players are all freelance musicians or performers — and the Hatherleigh gig will include the vocals of actor Paul Bradley, best known as Nigel from Eastenders.

There is also likely to be a guest appearance from Steve's seven-year-old son Herbert — no silent "h" here.

'He loves playing with the hKippers — but he hasn't decided what instrument to play!' says Steve.

The original idea for the band was to revisit Duke Ellington's music but Steve says they could have never bettered the original. So, they decided to go their own up-beat, surreal way.

'Doing this is a safety valve for me. If you are writing music for films you have to take it seriously. You are creating things to a brief and collaborating, which is nice, but at the same time it is nice to sit on a beach and write songs that I fancy writing.'

His film work includes writing music for Captain Correlli's Mandolin and Shakespeare in Love. Steve is currently working on a film version of the novel Charlotte Gray.

Two days after the Hatherleigh Festival he flies out to Bondi Beach because the film is being edited in Australia.

But he will be back — and the h-Kippers will continue to delight the discerning with their swimmingly splendid musical madness.

l Hatherleigh Festival box office:01837 810823. Festival enquiries: 01837 811116.

ROGER MALONE