The synchronicity between the Stones’ legend and, locally, that of You Am I is striking: the band of good mates from the suburbs made good, pausing occasionally to wonder at their good-fortune in making a career of their first love, rock and roll. “We’re just the same band who sit around in the rehearsal room cracking jokes and playing covers. I don’t think we’ve set out to be anything other than the best band we can possibly be”, says Hopkins. Did they ever dream it would be thus? “[Back then], the thought that ten years later we would be still hanging out together, playing gigs and making a living out of what we love doing was just incredible”.

Not everyone has always understood the band’s dedication to their chosen sound, given the music industry’s obsession with Moving With The Times. They found themselves under fire for this reason during the recording of their previous record, Dress Me Slowly. “We had people at record companies saying ‘you need to contemporise your sound’”, says Hopkins. “Well that’s the thing, you get told things like that, and the problem with a lot of bands as they get older, they feel like they’ve got to keep up with the kids. We’d feel stupid if we suddenly started getting samplers and sequencers and a DJ, or trying to make records that sound like Radiohead purely because that’s what you’re supposed to do to keep up. We’ve never been like that, because we’re stubborn old buggers – we like to play rock and roll music”.

Do they feel vindicated now that rock and roll is the new black? “We just do what we feel like doing”, Hopkins laughs, “and as it turns out we’re probably more contemporary now than we ever have been in our entire careers!”

Perfect timing then, with the album [and newly released title single] Deliverance, for a return to the simplicity of the grubby rock that made You Am I so vital when they first appeared on the scene all those years ago. “We just said to the record company, ‘we’re going to make a record and we’re going to make it really cheaply, do it really quickly, and have fun’”, recalls Hopkins, “and that’s basically what we did. We didn’t give anyone any demos or give anybody a chance to second-guess what we were doing, it was like ‘we’re just going to go and make a record’. And I really love the record, I think it’s great”.

The band’s talent - and ability to trust in the relevance of their art - has inspired reverence from both fans and critics alike, so much so that it is hard to write about the band without coming on all ‘An Essay About My Heroes’. In the absence of any other local heroes, You Am I have found themselves elevated to the status of National Patriarchs of Rock. Again, it mirrors the philosophy of their idols, The Stones: Keith Richards talks about ‘passing on’ music to the next generation in the same way that artists like Muddy Waters did for The Stones, that you must always support and nurture new talent rather than put your defenses up to it. Do You Am I feel they are keeping the flame alive locally? “I think we always like to play with bands who are interesting and that we like, and also feel good about having on the bill and helping out”, says Hopkins, “I guess there is a sense of [passing the baton], though I think it’s an unspoken thing more than anything”.

Clearly, You Am I are happy to serve as touchstones for newer bands that name-check them as influential. But is it confronting to be thought of as role models, when you show no signs of slowing down to let your protégés overtake you? “It’s really nice to be thought of like that, but it's quite hard to think of yourself in those terms”, laughs Hopkins, though he admits, “it is nice to be thought of as being culturally relevant to someone somewhere. I know that there have been people throughout the years who have listened to our band and loved it, then started their own band. It’s incredibly humbling to hear things like that, because it’s what you aspire to be, more than anything. Not getting number one records or selling out shows, but to leave a legacy - and if we [do] leave a legacy then that’s incredible”.

But before that day comes, You Am I will add another page to the greatest rock and roll legacy ever – that of The Rolling Stones - as it rolls on inevitably into legend and myth. Perhaps then, having been - let’s be honest here - one of the last few bands to play with them, You Am I can forge their own rock dreams for eternity. Hopkins is optimistic: “I’d like to think that if there’s going to be a rock and roll scene we can remain a part of it. We love it, even after all these years, it’s still an incredibly entertaining way to live your life”, he says. “We still believe in the magic of rock and roll. We all love a good rock and roll story whether it’s a band from the sixties, some obscure Asian psychedelic record or the latest young band out of Detroit, there’s a kind of magic there that we all really love – and that’s what appeals to us most. And You Am I is our chance to live out that magic and come out with our own tour stories. It’s only what you make of it, you know, and we enjoy it, and I think we will continue to enjoy it because it’s something that’s a part of us, and we are all good friends”.

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