A ST IVES man has been given the chance to see one of his favourite musicians perform a private gig for him ... in his garage. The former lead singer of 80s band The Icicle Works is to perform in the St Ives garage as part of his MySpace tour. Ian McNabb

A ST IVES man has been given the chance to see one of his favourite musicians perform a private gig for him ... in his garage.

The former lead singer of 80s band The Icicle Works is to perform in the St Ives garage as part of his MySpace tour.

Ian McNabb, who formed The Icicle Works in 1980, will perform in front of 25 people on Friday, April 13, in a garage in Green Leys.

Homeowner Jo Labriola, who is a huge fan of the band and has been tracing their work for 25 years, said the gig was a dream come true.

"Ian is so great. I have seen him before and met him briefly but it will be amazing to see him perform at my house."

The star will arrive at 8pm and stay for most of the night, taking questions from the audience between sets.

The singer was supposed to be staying at Jo's home but is instead intending to check into a nearby hotel.

The opportunity came about after the musician advertised for places to play gigs which were "not the usual tour circuit".

Jo applied and his garage will provide a more unusual, intimate musical experience.

On his MySpace page, Ian jokes: "Standing in the middle of a living room with 25 people singing my music in a 360-degree sweep is overwhelming. Round up the troops, get the booze and food in and I will rock your curtains."

He started in a band called Young World and when they split worked with City Lights. He later met Chris Sharrock and Chris Layhe to form The Icicle Works and they started gigging around Liverpool.

In October 1982, their single Nirvana was released by Troll Kitchen records, reaching No.15 in the UK independent chart and, two years later, their hit Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) rose to No.37 in the US charts.

After leaving the band, drummer Chris Sharrock played with The Lightning Seeds, Dave Stewart and World Party. Bassist Chris Layhe left the music business, and singer and guitarist Ian forged himself a solo career releasing his "best of" album Potency in 1999.

INFORMATION: Although the event is limited to 25 people it can be viewed at wwwmyspace.com/ianmcnabbtheicicleworks