Believe it or not, there was a time when Simon Fowler wasn’t the front man of a successful Brit Pop band with nine studio albums and 11 top 20 singles over two decades.

“Before starting Ocean Colour Scene I was a journalist for five years on the Birmingham Post,” he says, in standard Brummie tone.

“I got into that because I wanted to be a sports reporter like John Motson, but after a while I realised I wanted to be like John Lennon.”

Following this epiphany, Simon swapped his pen for a guitar, rounded up some mates and decided to form a band.

“There were several times in the first seven years of OCS that we could have split up. We were living in dumps with holes in the walls and damp everywhere,” he recalls.

“We were always in it for the long haul though – we knew that right at the start.”

Twenty years later and the band have just released their ninth studio album, Saturday.

“Originally it was going to be called Rockfield, because that’s the studio we recorded it in, but that would only have been relevant to about a hundred people.

“Saturday is the best day of the week – everyone loves it, it’s relevant to everyone.”

Since 2001 OCS have been consistent in releasing new material every couple of years, but the gap between this latest offering and their previous album was over three years.

“Well, Steve did his own album last year and toured with Paul (Weller) so we’ve had to fit around each other’s schedules,” says Simon.

“In those three years I’ve just been relaxing and writing. I’ve moved to a nice little Warwickshire village in the countryside so there’s not much to do aside from relax and write,” he laughs.

On the new album, Saturday, there is a song dedicated to Paul Weller’s father, John – a big influence on Simon’s career.

“It’s called Harry Kidnapped and it was originally about Harry Redknapp and other “London geezer” types, but after I’d written it and John died I realised I’d actually been writing about him.

“It was John and Paul that made things real for us. Until we hooked up with them we were just kids messing about.”

The last 20 years have been strewn with great memories for Simon, but there are a few that stick out for him.

“Playing Knebworth with Oasis was massive. Aside from that though the first time we headlined the Albert Hall with Noel and Liam and Paul Weller as support was pretty special too.

“We also played to 500,000 people at a festival in Zaragoza – that was ridiculous.

“One of my personal favourite memories was a gig at Aston Villa’s Leisure Centre in our home city where it was a 3,000 people sell out, yet we managed to convince the bouncer to let another 800 in on the guest list. Those were the days.”

OCS have always had a close relationship with Oasis’s Gallagher brothers, but Simon hasn’t seen either of them since the band split.

“Steve still sees them because he’s touring with Paul, but I haven’t seen either for a while. I hear they’re going to carry on without Noel, but I’m not sure how that can work.”

Simon will be no stranger to Dorset when he and his band play the second night of their tour at the O2 Academy Bournemouth next Wednesday.

“Oh I’ve got plenty of great memories of Bournemouth and Dorset,” he says.

“I moved to Corfe Mullen as a kid to live with my Nan when my Granddad died. She owned a shop down there and I went to Lockyers School for a year.

“My auntie Kath lived in Bournemouth until she recently passed away. She used to come to all our gigs on the south coast – she was the oldest rocker in town. We also used to holiday in Sandbanks as kids, until it got too expensive.”

So when Simon takes a trip down memory lane next week, what sort of set list can fans expect?

“We’ll probably play about five new songs – any more and you’re taking the mick really,” he quips.”

Ocean Colour Scene will be supported on February 3 by The Moons.