AN indie band from the North-East look set for the big time after building up a massive online fanbase.

The Hyads are following in the footsteps of The Arctic Monkeys, who were heralded as one of the first acts to come to the public attention through the internet.

The Darlington band, who formed three years ago, have been signed by indie label Leaping Cat Records and believe the road to success began after their Myspace page took off.

The Hyads have 11,835 friends, which made their record label even more keen to sign them.

In October, the band will feature in a Channel 4 documentary about Leaping Cat Records, leading to hopes that The Hyads themselves will attract attention from a major label.

The band, who have supported top acts such as The View and The Stranglers, were founded in 2004 by bassist Mark Dunn, 27, a joiner from Cockerton, Darlington, and lead vocalist Dave Brittle, 27, a delivery man from Whinfield, Darlington.

"It all just came together really quickly," said Mr Dunn, "One minute we were just messing around and the next we were writing songs and had a drummer and a guitarist."

The other two band members are lead guitarist Kris Di'Cascos, 24, from Newton Aycliffe, and drummer Patrick Lister, 24, from Bishop Middleham, both County Durham.

The band, then known as The Riffs, played their first gig at the Tap and Spile, in Bondgate, Darlington.

Mr Dunn said: "At that point, we were just having a laugh, but the reaction from the crowd that night really made us think that we could perhaps make a go of this."

For the past two years, The Hyads have toured the UK with their distinctive sound, which Mr Dunn describes as a weird cross between Oasis, The Stereophonics and Guns 'n' Roses.

The band believe their decision to tour the UK has made them stand out from other local bands.

Mr Dunn said: "We're not scared of graft. We want to learn and we won't ever shy away from anything."

The band will next play in the region at The Tut 'n' Shive, in Bishop Auckland on Thursday, and will embark on another mini-UK tour in October. For more information, go to www.myspace.com/thehyads