Members of a Barrhead band have shared their excitement after earning a ringing endorsement from a Trainspotting star.

Kardo couldn’t believe it when they realised Robert Carlyle, who played hardman Begbie in the cult film, had Tweeted his followers to recommend their song ‘Things Will Never Be The Same.’ After finding a new fan in the Scottish actor, they thanked him...and then received a message telling them: “My pleasure guys.”

They hope 60-year-old Carlyle, who now lives in Vancouver, Canada, will take up their offer of free gig tickets when he is back in the UK.

Barrhead News: Scottish actor Robert Carlyle Scottish actor Robert Carlyle

Sam Carlton, Kardo’s guitarist, told the Barrhead News: “It came up saying Robert Carlyle had tagged us in a post and we were like ‘What? Robert Carlyle, as in Begbie?’ “I was shocked. Apparently he was going through his top songs he really enjoyed in 2021 and liked ours, which is great.

“It actually shot up our plays on [streaming service] Spotify by quite a bit because lots of folk saw he had tagged us in a post. It was a good wee boost.

“Music and movies are kind of my thing, so I was quite excited by it.

“It would be pretty cool to see him at one of our shows.”

Carlyle’s support is another exciting development for the band, which consists of former Barrhead High pupil Sam, ex-St Luke’s High pupil James Wiseman on vocals, Kilsyth woman Courtney Campbell on drums and Callum McFadzean, who joined recently after bassist Ollie Carswell announced his departure in October.

The song, described as like “a rockier, modern version of American indie band MGMT and Coldplay mixed together,” appears on Kardo’s second album Joy of Existence, which was released in December.

It starts with “a long, distorted guitar riff” and is a tragic tale of young love gone wrong – a guy or girl rushing to get somewhere in the rain, crashing their car and dying while wishing they had more time to spend with someone special.

The praise from Carlyle follows the thrill of hearing another one of their songs, Tired, being played on BBC Music Introducing – a radio platform that supports unsigned, undiscovered and under-the-radar UK music talent – in December.

Kardo have also been gaining regular airtime in the US through Amazing Radio and are looking forward to playing a headline slot at Glasgow’s King Tut’s venue in July, when they hope to have some new music to showcase.

Sam added: “It’s reassuring when different people outside friends and family say they really enjoy your stuff.”