A young Dublin band has just beaten U2 and Snow Patrol to the winning post and bagged themselves the Best Album award at the Meteor Irish Music Awards.

Front man, Danny O’Reilly joked, "Bono's probably using the awards as paperweights and doorstops, it doesn't really mean much to him, but to a band like ourselves, it could mean a lot."

The four-piece rock group formed at the tender age of 15, while still in high school together. Coincidentally this is exactly how Bono, the Edge, Larry Mullins and Adam Clayton started out.

Pitted against massive bands such as U2 for the best album award the band we taken aback when they heard their name being read out.

"We didn't expect to win at all, with the caliber of bands,” said O’Reilly.

“We were unbelievably shocked. And none of our friends came to the awards, so we got up the next day and went down to our local pub and put the award in the middle of the table and all our mates came down."

The band could be described as a heavier sounding Kooks sound or perhaps Razorlight, but what the boys believe they, regrettably, lack is the “cool” that goes with being a rock star. In fact in the beginning they avoided the spotlight.

"We were never really a 'cool' band, there wasn't any crucial hype about us; we were sort of ignored in the early days by music magazines because we weren't involved in that scene," O'Reilly said.

Happily the record companies finally came knocking and now backed with an international management team the band are starting to mark their mark worldwide.

"Ireland's small enough that you can promote yourself; you don't need major-label pushing.

"But that's why we found trying to break out of Ireland probably a little more difficult than we first hoped, because we don't have any label connections with overseas majors."

The album “Heroes and Ghosts” was recorded over six weeks in a remote studio with British producer John Cornfield.

“John really stepped back and let us play, which was what we needed. We'd spent so long on tour together we had a sound and we had the songs, we just needed to let loose and enjoy it – and we think the energy of the gigs comes across," said O’Reilly.

The album debuted at number three in Ireland.

In 2006 having sold out gigs in Dublin they were snapped up by indie label 3u Records. They signed for a single and an album and soon they were back in the studio recording their current album “Tony Was and Ex-Con.”

“Recording the album, I'd just finished my final exams and Dave (guitarist Dave McPhillips) was literally in the studio finishing off his thesis,” said O’Reilly.
 
It seems they literally are the hardest working band in the world but are they going to be better than the real thing?

The band will tour throughout Australia and Britain over the summer.