Design Rewind: Pop-rock duo playing special Burnley Mechanics gig to celebrate 20 years of making music

A statement that will no doubt resonate with artists the world over. For Burnley pop-rock duo Design Rewind – Billy Strahan Jr and Jonathan Towers (both 35) – it's all part of a life they love. A marriage with an industry that for all its rocky periods has produced milestone moments they will cherish forever.

Burnley Mechanics on Friday will be the latest. The gig marks Billy and Towers’ 20-year anniversary; 20 years since they first played together, at the Concert Artistes Club in Burnley, as part of metal covers outfit Seem. Having played in numerous bands over the years (which they continue to do), the pair decided just under a decade ago to form Design Rewind; an outlet for their original material. Two albums [Through The Night and Room 96] have followed, with a third on the way, and countless gigs the length and breadth of the country. But nothing quite comes close to playing in their hometown.

"When we realised it was 20 years since our first gig together, I said to Bill, we should book a gig at the Mechanics to celebrate," said Towers. "We wanted to do it in Burney because that's our hometown, and we've never played the Mechanics before. We're playing the Front Room. It'll be all original Design Rewind stuff, and we'll be playing a couple of new songs that no-one has heard as well."

It would be easy to be downcast; selling just 30 tickets for a gig in a town where both have invested an incalculable amount of time, effort, and money, into helping keep the live music scene alive.

And yet, Towers possesses the exact opposite outlook. When he and Billy were pupils at St Ted's, they dreamed of being rock stars – world tours, stadium gigs, chart-topping albums. Twenty years on, and it may be the Mechanics over Madison Square Garden, but that hasn't made their dream any less of a reality.

"We've sold 30 tickets, but a lot of people are asking, 'Can I pay on the door? – which they can. People are living week-to-week; we completely get that. With the original thing – it is hard – and it would be nice to get people out for it. But me and Bill are both 35 now – we've had 20 years in the industry. When you grow up, you dream about being rock stars – but then you don't actually realise you're doing it - because you think you need to be on a big stage, in the MEN or something like that. And then 20 years go by, and you're like, 'Wow, you know what, we've actually done really well' – just to even stay alive in this industry – that's a win these days.

"People have no idea how hard it is behind the scenes. People who are self-employed will understand. It's so hard. But I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't love it. I'm doing it because I'm married to it. I'm fully in love with music and I don't think I ever won't be."

The Mechanics gig may be a career milestone, but there's a career highlight on the horizon this summer. Design Rewind will be performing at Beat-Herder for the first time after years of unsuccessful applications.

"We're well excited," said Towers. "We've both played it as part of other bands but never as Design Rewind. We've been trying to get on there for years, so this is definitely going to be a career highlight."

As for the future, Towers said Billy and him want to keep on championing original live music because it's a scene that is worth supporting.

“I think there are people around here that are into it [original music] – they just don't really get a lot of it around where we live. That's why we just want to champion it as much as possible.

"There's so much talent around here – and it can be a shame that so much talent goes elsewhere – like to Manchester – which I totally get because there's not a lot of opportunity for that kind of stuff. And we do that – even though we play Burnley – we travel to Preston, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Carlisle, Clitheroe – you have to travel to make a living.

"There really is something about the live music scene, though. It's that human for human thing. I know I will be playing live for as long as I live."

Design Rewind play Burnley Mechanics Front Room on Friday, with support from Lina and The Lions. Tickets can be bought here.