PICKING up the phone, Garry Christian barks down the line to me: “What?”

I am stunned into silence and there’s that awkward moment before I explain who I am and Garry tells me he was joking with his recording studio, thinking I was someone else.

He apologises profusely and it is clear this softly spoken Liverpudlian with a dry sense of humour really does like a good laugh.

The Christians – named after the three brothers in the original line-up –- burst onto the scene in the late 1980s with hits like Ideal World and Harvest for the World.

The band has seen a change of line-up in more recent times, with lead singer Garry the only remaining original member.

Russell Christian left the band in 2005, and tragically, Roger Christian died of a brain tumour in 1998 11 years after leaving the band.

The group is now embarking on an 11 date UK tour with 80s stablemate Andrew Roachford, better known as Roachford.

The current line-up is Garry, Neil Griffiths (rhythm guitar/vocals), Joey Ankrah (lead guitar/vocals), Lionel Duke (drums), Cliff Watson (bass guitar/vocals) and Mike Triggs (keyboards/vocals).

Garry tells me the idea for the tour with Roachford, best known for hits Cuddly Toy and Family Man, came about organically.

“We did a tour back in 1989 and Andrew supported us. Emma, our manager and my partner, thought it was a good idea to bring it full circle as it seems.

“She phoned the band Roachford and asked them if they wanted to do a tour with The Christians and it built into this tour.

“Andrew is a brilliant singer –- I think this tour is one of those ideas that could be really terrible or really great.

“It’s the first time we’ve done this kind of thing. We’ll see how it goes.”

With the tour due to call into Bridport on October 3, Andrew tells me he is not very familiar with this part of Dorset.

“We’ve been there a couple of times and I remember going to Dorset and going to Sandbanks, but I remember we realised we couldn’t really afford it there!”

The Christians have just recorded a new album We, which was made possible by a crowd funding website.

Garry explains: “We don’t have a record company these days, so we got in touch with a crowd pledging website.

“It then became possible to get into the studio and put these songs together.

“From that we had an album of 10 songs and it’s kind of an eclectic mix.

“I’m quite proud of it, it’s taken a while but those are the costs of working when you are touring.

“I’ve got a studio in my home and it’s a bit of a cottage industry.

“We’re just doing a few final tweaks to it right now. Joe is a perfectionist!”

Those distinctive and stirring vocals Garry is very much known for have lasted the course.

I ask him how he keeps them sounding so raw, yet polished and powerful.

“I get asked that a lot,” Garry says.

“I don’t exercise my vocal chords, it seems to come naturally, I suppose I’ve always thought ‘if it’s not broken why fix it?’”

I ask Garry if he’s aware of the influence The Christians have had on music, in particular with their use of socially conscious lyrics.

“I think there’s a certain amount of respect out there for the group.

“We haven’t sold out and we’ve remained in Liverpool, it’s my home and I think a lot of people respect that.

“We haven’t tried to be anything other than we are."

“I suppose the people I’ve been most influenced by are the Temptations, David Bowie and The Beatles.”

The Christians’ 1989 hit Harvest for the World, a cover of The Isley Brothers song, was a charity single and highlighted world hunger.

Garry said: “I suppose now our lyrics are a bit more subtle,. B but I think even back then we were pretty subtle, we weren’t ones for standing on our soapbox.

“Without being too political there’s always an awareness with our songs.”

Father, written in 1991 by Garry, is a deeply personal track with soaring violins and moving lyrics about father/son relationships.

“A lot of people have come up to me and said Father really touched them.

“Not many songs are written about these kind of relationships."

“I also wrote a song called Mother. I came back from a funeral and sat down and wrote this song. It’s kind of weird that there aren’t that many songs about family relationships.”

The Christians have worked with many other music industry greats over the years, including the producer William Orbit and Paul McCartney.

There have been so many collaborations that there is no one left whom Garry is still desperate to work with, he says.

And hHe’s perfectly content right now, he tells me.

“It’s a busy time for me,. B but we’ve had some relaxation, we went on holiday to Portugal with my 11-year-old son.

“It was lovely to get away from it all.

“But I suppose right now you could say I’m really happy.

“I may not seem it but I am.

“We’re all getting fired up for this tour and we can’t wait.

“We hope that fans of Roachford will become our fans and it will work the other way round.

“Even if they haven’t come to see us and they’ve been dragged there by their friends I hope they like it.

“We’ll see if we can convert them to Christianity with a small c!”

n The Christians and Andrew Roachford are at the Electric Palace, Bridport on Saturday October 3.