LEGENDARY rocker Pete Agnew says that he feels as excited about touring with Nazareth now as when the band were first formed. 

The bassist was speaking ahead of the Dunfermline group's homecoming gig in the Glen Pavilion on Saturday, their first in the town since their star turn at the 'Legends of Rock' concert at East End Park last year.

Although they are now without singer Dan McCafferty, who decided to call it quits in 2013 after 45 years because of ill health, guitarist Pete said his replacement, Carl Sentance, was the right choice to fill his shoes.

It has given Naz a new lease of life as they get set for a busy period touring Europe between now and Christmas, with Moscow, Munich and Vienna among the cities they will perform in.

Pete told the Press: "We've been very lucky to find a guy who is a great singer but who has a different style.

"We didn't want a Dan sound-a-like; when people knew we were looking for a new singer, I got all sorts of demos sent to me and the amount of people who try to do it like Dan is something you wouldn't believe.

"He has a different sound to his voice and way of singing, and it's worked. He was definitely the right choice and is having a great time, which you can tell on stage.

"His enthusiasm rubs off and I'm finding that we are always looking forward to the next show.

"It feels like we're a band who have just formed because we have that excitement. I'm probably a bit late in life to be excited about a new band, and we're still at the honeymoon stage, but every night I'm looking forward to the gigs.

"It's like footballers; some nights you go, 'Is there somebody who can come off the bench?' but I've not felt like that lately. It's a good feeling.

"It's always a bit of a nail-biter seeing how it's going to be. Bands can change guitar players or drummers and people don't notice but it's different when you change the singer; they're the sound of the band.

"The band was always well-known in Brazil and we went there earlier in the year so we wondered how it was going to be. We got good reviews and are going back there again next year so they weren't disappointed."

Pete, who is Naz's last founding member, may have turned 70 recently but says that he is as busy as ever in taking their string of hits to fans across the world.

So far this year they've performed in Canada, Brazil and even Israel but Pete admits he wasn't sure what the future held for the band three years ago.

"After so many years, especially with Dan as the lead singer, I wondered whether we could possibly continue but it has turned out better than I'd hoped," he continued.

"We hummed and hawed and three years ago I wouldn't have said I would still be doing this but we've had had tremendous business and are busier now than we were 20 years ago.

"We played at Olenfest, a big Belgian festival, and it felt like I was going on the stage for the first time. When I started playing my first guitar when I was 12, I never thought I'd be doing the same at 70!

"When we're playing, we still have the older crowd there, but new people are coming because they want to see rock bands. You've got a lot of young rock bands coming through – thankfully – who know its roots and that it started in the 70s.

"Those bands are still popular now and they can go and see them.

"It's been a busy year; we've already done Brazil and a Canadian tour, so we've never stopped. It's all about playing live; records don't sell so we've got to play live. That's where the rewards are.

"We've had a busy year but we're going to be even busier next year. We're going back to places where we first played with the new line-up so that's exciting."

Whetting the appetite for Pete and fellow band members Carl, Pete's son and drummer, Lee Agnew, and Jimmy Murrison, is returning home for the gig at the Glen Pavilion which he reckons is "going to be a hoot".

He said: "The night before Dunfermline we're in Stuttgart to do a huge show with an audience of 9,000 people; we've got a 6am flight so we'll not be going to bed.

"We'll get home, have a couple of hours and then get ready for the gig. We leave the next day to go and play in Moscow so it's going to be a hoot!

"People can see we're still enjoying it and you can't fool a crowd; they know when a band are happy.

"It's nice to play at home but for me, it's funny when the lights go up and you're nodding to everyone you know and know the first names of 75 per cent of the audience! 

"I like to do it every couple of years. We've played a couple at Alhambra and a couple in the Glen, which are two great venues and totally different places, but I fancied doing the Glen again. It should be a good night."

Nazareth will play at the Glen Pavilion on Saturday and tickets, which cost £22.50 plus a booking fee, are available online at www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/219027. Doors open at 7pm.