It was 1979, and 19-year-old Eric Morgan spent his weekends packed into a van with his friend’s band members and all their kit, travelling up and down the country with them as they played gigs, and having the time of his life.

Three years later and The Mods, a group of four 19- and 20-year-old lads from Mill Hill, Edgware and Borehamwood, disbanded and the members, and their biggest fan Eric, also from Edgware, went their separate ways, starting families and getting ‘proper’ jobs.

But Eric, who now lives in Hemel Hempstead, never lost his love of all-things mod – “I still wear all the gear now, my wife thinks I’m going through a mid-life crisis!“ laughs the 53-year-old – and was inspired to get the band back together after attending the Mods Mayday Weekend in Cambridge last year.

“I mentioned to the promoter that I used to be friends with The Mods and he said he’d been trying to track them down for years, with no success,“ says Eric. “I hadn’t seen them for about 25 or 30 years, but when I got home I tracked them down and suggested they do a reunion gig for the festival this year.“

Eric managed to get hold of Mark Casson, the original vocalist, from Mill Hill, Ian Guthrie, the drummer from Edgware, and Dave Ross, the bassist, who lived in Borehamwood. Alan Robson, the band’s original guitarist, had emigrated to Australia, so Mark’s brother David was brought in as a replacement, and now the reformed The Mods are busy preparing for their appearance at the festival, their first performance in about 35 years.

“It was fantastic, seeing them in the rehearsal room again after all these years,“ says Eric, who now acts as the band’s representative, “it gave me goosebumps. The last time I heard them play live was when I was about 20. Even they can’t get their heads around it!“

The band had originally intended to reform only for this one-off performance but, having been rehearsing together once a week for some months now, it seems they’re getting the bug again and are considering doing more gigs – hopefully around Mill Hill, Borehamwood and Edgware.

Eric can’t wait. “It’s fantastic how it’s coming together. They’ve all still got it, they’re amazing. I’m reliving the best years of my life.“

  • The Mods play the Mods Mayday Weekend in Cambridge on Saturday, May 3. Details: search Facebook for The Mods (north London band)