A DEARNE indie rock band held their last gig together to mark the end of an 11-year era.

Huulen - formerly named Starkins - started performing more than a decade ago as a group of teenagers, the youngest of whom was then 14-year-old drummer Joe Elliss.

In 2012, Starkins performed in a rock club in Bergen, Norway - built in what was once a mountainside bomb shelter.

The venue was named Hulen, meaning ‘cave’ in Norwegian, and became the inspiration for their new name.

After announcing they would be parting ways in January this year, they held their final show last Friday at The Imperial, a music venue in Mexborough.

A total of £250 was raised for Mexborough Food Bank from ticket sales.

The group - made up of Andy Daniels, Will Campbell, and brothers Matt and Joe Elliss - formed when they were teenagers, and the split came as a mutual decision, partly due to Covid-19 and their lives naturally outgrowing the band.

Lead singer Andy - who also managed one last crowd surf at the gig last Friday - said: “I want to say thank you to everyone who came to Huulen’s last gig.

“The support from everyone on the night and over the past 11 years has been absolutely phenomenal and I have nothing but love and memories to look back on.

“Thank you so much to a special few for all the support coming to gigs, getting us gigs, giving us lifts and just being there throughout.

“Finally, thanks to Matt Elliss and a cock up in work experience in 2009 - where we met and became mates and went on to form these bands.

“He’s one of the best guitarists around hands down - can even play on my shoulders or falling off and face planting the stage - without missing a note.

“Thanks to Will Campbell, for helping me become a better lyricist and giving me the confidence to write whatever came out naturally.

“Thanks to Joe Elliss, for being one of the best drummers I've come across - I always think back to that 14-year-old kid blowing my mind with a drum solo.

“That, and him falling off the back of the stage mid set - absolutely priceless.”