"Did you not get the memo? It was leather jackets for this shoot, not denim..."

We ask Northern Ireland's The Answer some questions and they, er...answer...

There was a time when Belfast was not the most desirable place on the planet to spend some time. Not so these days. In recent years Belfast has re-invented itself as a happening city, its thriving music scene testament to its new status as a great place to be. We speak to Cormac Neeson, lead singer of one of Northern Ireland's most successful acts, The Answer. He gives us the lowdown on touring with ACDC, waiting for a Gladiator and kicking the ass of the good old US of A...

Hello Cormac, what's your craic? We have a few questions for Answer (see what we did there?) Ok if we just fire away?

No problem there, I am ready and waiting, fire at will.

Ok, cheers Cormac. First of all, happy to be back home, you guys have been on the road for a while now with ACDC, bet that was an interesting tour?

You can say that again! We have been away for 14 months with those guys, it has been a long slog. They actually presented us with a plaque the end of the tour to confirm we had managed to do 118 shows with them. We are really proud of that, apparently some other bands that tour with them are lucky to last two weeks!

118 shows with ACDC?! Nice work Cormac, that sounds like a feat indeed. Was it as crazy as you would imagine? Groupies, drugs,  booze, wild parties and maybe the occasional scrabble session? Does the guitarist wear his schoolboy suit the whole time?

Aye, it was bit crazy like but it was great fun. And we got to play to over two million people which is just mental. Sometimes you can go on tour with a big band and never really get to meet them. Like the time we supported the Rolling Stones, it was a military exercise just trying to get a photo with them. But we really got on with the ACDC guys. They might be one of the biggest bands on the planet but they are really down to earth guys and we would hang out with them a lot.

So, after spending so much time as a support act, are you looking forward to going back on the road as the headliners?

Definitely. It was great to do such a big tour and the ACDC crowd seemed to enjoy our stuff but it's great to be playing in front of your own fans. Our new single is out on the 30th of November an the reaction to it so far has been great. We are looking forward to getting out there and touring the album on a UK tour.

Your tour finishes on the 14th December back in Belfast. Is that the gig your looking forward to most, a bit of a triumphant homecoming so to speak?

That will be an amazing night, to be back playing in Belfast after so much time away from home. But there are so many other cities we are looking forward to playing on the tour. Places like Glasgow and Manchester always have brilliant atmospheres.

And we are sure that it's no coincidence at all that the good folk of places like Manchester and Glasgow like to have a good drink before a gig, sometimes for three days before. It does indeed make for a great atmosphere, damaged liver is a small price to pay. So Cormac, hate to bring it up but a little birdie (aka band biography) tells me you are a Liverpool fan. How is that working out for you?

Not great at the moment if I am honest. I have had better times as a supporter of Liverpool.

I bet you have mate, it's not exactly been like the halcyon days of Bill Shankly. Or even Gerrard Houllier. So what's you opinion on old Rafa, should he stay or take his goatee back to Spain?

I am definitely a supporter of Benitez. We have had a bad run recently but I don't think you can just blame the manager for all our problems. Our players haven't been performing either. They have got to take a good look at themselves too, it's not just the manager's fault. And just sacking the manager won't necessarily make things better. If you look at all the really successful clubs, stability is a big factor in their success.

Wise words indeed Mr Neeson, you should get a job on Match Of The Day. You would definitely be a better on the couch than that knob Hansen. The league looks beyond you now, do you reckon you will even get a top four place?

I do. If you look at our injuries this season, it really hasn't helped. We have had Torres and Gerrard out a lot and Benayoun and Riera are injured as well. If we get these guys back we can start to climb the league. And if Aquilani is as good as Rafa thinks he is, he could really help us too.

Ah, the non-playing Gladiator Aquilani. Let's just hope for Rafa he has the heart of a Roman Gladiator and not like one of the guys from the TV show. Apparently Wolf is really shit at football. So what about you Cormac, in terms of football, do you have the skills to pay the bills?

Aye, I am not bad like. I used to play for a Saturday team when I was younger and I used to play winger. But as I got older I started playing sweeper and basically had to do bloody everything on the pitch as the rest of the team weren't that good like.

Nice. Northern Ireland's version of Redondo, we can see it now. So do you not get to play much these days?

Actually we do. Over the summer when we were on tour we played at a lot of big football stadiums and most of them had full size indoor pitches. So us and ACDC crew would get together and play Europe versus the American crew. We would kick their ass' every time. The Americans are so competitive so it was a real pleasure to kick their ass on a regular basis.

The Answer release their new single Comfort Zone on November 30th. Catch them live on tour at the following venues:

November - 25th, Manchester Academy; 26th, Glasgow ABC; 27th, Edinburgh Picture House; 28th, Newcastle Academy; 30th, Sheffield Corporation;

December - 1st, Nottingham Rock City; 2nd, Wolverhampton Wulvern Hall; 4th, Bristol Academy; 5th, Oxford Academy; 6th, Portsmouth Pryramids; 8th, Cambridge Junction; 9th, London Forum; 10th, Liverpool Academy; 12th, Dublin Academy; 14th, Belfast Ulster Hall