After playing roughly 15,000 gigs in 2004 as support to the likes of Franz Ferdinand, The Zutons and pretty much anyone else that'd have them, you'd expect Sunderland's spiky punk pop wonders The Futureheads to see the Awards Tour as yet another trawl around a heavily-worn UK gig circuit. But with a debut album that had critics in a froth-mouthed lather and three times the frenetic energy of a large-trousered man in a ferret farm, their set is likely to resemble the most tuneful electrocution therapy you've ever seen.

How does it feel to be part of the NME Awards tour?

"It's a great privilege to be asked on the tour because the NME is a really prestigious thing and it's really well respected. It's the last remaining music weekly so it's a great thing to be asked to do the tour by them, but also to be doing the tour with such great bands. I think we fit on the bill really well and anyone who hasn't heard any of the other bands will enjoy the full bill. Touring with a band like Bloc Party is going to be great because we really respect them, and The Killers, and the Kaiser Chiefs."

What should people expect from your performance?

"There'll be a lot of energy, we'll give it our all, we'll do most of the songs off the album. We'll dance about like idiots and try to encourage others to do the same. Forget yourself, forget you're at an ordinary gig, don't be ordinary, dance about for half an hour."

How have you developed as a live band over the last twelve months?

"We're a lot more confident than we used to be. We've done 120 gigs this year, or thereabouts, a couple of support tours, a couple of our own tours and we've really learnt how to draw the songs out and try to start clapping and things like that. How to entertain a crowd a bit more, a bit more self-confidence. And hopefully it'll be more in tune. The songs accentuate the tightness because they are quite angular and there's sharp stops, so if you aren't tight you can't do music like that. We're playing really well together at the minute. The Working Men's club tour in July was really good - different venues. It wasn't different clientele like we'd hoped but there was cheap booze which was good."

What's it going to be like on tour with the other bands?

"It'll be good. I wouldn't have thought it's gonna be a rock'n'roll excess tour. All the bands seem quite quiet. I'm sure there'll be a lot of staying up all night talking with a pint but I wouldn't have thought there'd be much groupie action or drug-taking, certainly not from us anyway. We've all got girlfriends, we don't really partake in the groupie side of rock'n'roll. But I'll aim to talk about sport as much as I can. It makes a big difference when you tour with people rather than play with local supports every night. By the third or fourth dates I'm sure we'll all be good pals. It takes a lot to put our noses out of joint. The worst thing for us would be to be with a band that took cocaine every night. We like to have a shower, sit down and have seven or eight beers. Maybe play on the Playstation until three or four."

Do you feel any pressure to follow in the footsteps of Franz Ferdinand?

"It's essential that people don't try to follow them. You just have to be good at what you do and let other people decide how big you're going to be. You just release good albums, do good live shows. Franz are a freak of the music industry, bands don't get that big that quickly. Two million debut sales, it's insane, and best of luck to them because they're great and they deserve it. But you can be an excellent band and have a career without being Franz Ferdinand. It'd be lovely but it's not the only way to be successful."

What do you want people to take away with them after seeing you?

"I just hope they enjoy the show and respect what we do. Hopefully they'll have had a dance about and be really sweaty and have a smile on your face. That's one of the nicest things. Hopefully people will have a good time."

You're going to be stuck on a tour bus for a month - what'll be the hardest part?

"We've been on a tourbus for four months now, so we're pretty used to it! The only problem is we don't get to see our girlfriends, not properly at least. As regards the band, we all tolerate each other and get on really well, we're best mates, y'know. There's plenty to do - there's Playstation and films to watch and you can have a beer and chat to someone. The hardest thing is just being away from your family and friends and that I don't fit in the bunks properly, I'm too tall for them."

Of the 13 cities, which will be your favourite?

"Newcastle. It's just up the road from Sunderland and they always go nuts when we play there. We've always had a good time in Leeds and London and Glasgow - I'm looking forward to all of them. It's always nice to see how different crowds react."

Do you have a secret pre-gig ritual?

"I wouldn't say it was secret but we always do the same thing. We all go around the town during the day, soundcheck, then we have tea together then congregate about half an hour before we go on and do our vocal warm-ups. We've only started doing that this year and it's really helped preserve our voices on tour. You do three gigs in a row and if you haven't warmed your voice up it just breaks. Then we sit and have a beer before we play."

The Futureheads play at Rock City as part of the NME Awards Tour.