It’s been a 16 year wait, and now Ireland's SAW DOCTORS return to Australia for a tour which will have them rocking right around the country in March 2010. Starting in Perth on March 4 and finishing in Brisbane on March 19 – but Sydney’s Metro Theatre will be the place to be on ST PATRICKS DAY on March 17.

THE SAW DOCTORS have blazed back phoenix-like from almost two decades of unsung glory. Out of the blue, their rambunctious cover of The Sugababes' About You Now rocketed to #1 in Ireland, restoring them to their rightful place as that nation's best-loved good-time band.

Fronted by two criminally under-rated songwriters, Leo Moran and Davy Carton, this is the band that entered the record books back in 1990 when I Useta Lover spent nine weeks at number one, becoming Ireland's best-selling single of all time. They followed up with the # 2 hit, N17, and a chart-topping album, If This Is Rock And Roll, I Want My Old Job Back.

Irresistibly singable songs such as To Win Just Once, Hay Wrap and Same Oul' Town still flowed from Moran and Carton; their stormingly exuberant live shows remained unparalleled celebrations of the spirit of great rock; and their substantial phalanx of hardcore fans on both sides of the Atlantic never wavered in support.

Even so, the hits dried up. Instead of giving up, though, The Saw Doctors resigned themselves to the honourable tradition of keeping on keeping on. They toured America every year, building an ever-increasing fan base, released ten acclaimed albums and simply refused to go away.

"I suppose we’re a bit like an old dress," says Leo Moran with a wryly-philosophical smile. "If you keep it long enough, it’s bound to come back into fashion."

To the band’s surprise, a totally off-the-cuff performance on a late night TV show in 2008 performing The Sugababes hit “About You Now” , stirred up so much interest that they decided to record their version. Suddenly, it became a ranting, raving rock anthem. With hot releases from P!nk, Kings Of Leon and Snow Patrol trailing along in their dust, About You Now by The Saw Doctors debuted at #1 in the Irish Charts.

There's a trace of impish delight in Davy Carton when he notes that The Sugababes' original version of About You Now stalled at No 2 in the Irish Chart. "We're not pretty to look at….but we were No1."

Leo Moran is typically self-effacing when he addresses the question of exactly what went right for The Saw Doctors after almost two decades of hovering just off the radar. "Sometimes you stumble upon a bit more attention," he reckons. "Last year, with The Podge and Rodge Show, and the Meteor (Lifetime Achievement) Award, we got a lot of attention.” Even after the first flush of success faded, The Saw Doctors were never far out of earshot. Guinness, used the Saw Doctors' song Never Mind the Strangers in a multi-million dollar ad campaign for Harp Lager in the USA. The band made a film appearance in Walter Foote's directorial debut, The Tavern, which featured Same Oul' Town, and their song She Says became the theme to the BBC Northern Ireland comedy series Give My Head Peace.

Through it all, the twin planks of the band's enduring appeal have been immensely singable songs and riotous live performances. Instead of the usual swaggering rock clichés about life on the road, drug problems and easy sex, their songs range from bringing in the harvest, to running away to join the army; from the plight of Ireland’s unmarried mothers to the effect of strong religion on a nation’s youth; from playing football against a neighbouring village to loving the prettiest girl in town from a distance but lacking the courage to tell her.

Saw Doctors' fans go home glowing from a gig crammed end to end with songs about real life. They work the same live magic wherever they play, from the Royal Albert Hall to a convent, from the paddock at Sandown Racecourse to the front room of a lucky fan who won a live Saw Doctors concert as a competition prize.

The Saw Doctors - Leo Moran (vocals, guitar), Davy Carton (vocals, guitar), Kevin Duffy (keyboards), Anthony Thistlethwaite (bass guitar, saxophone), and Eímhín Cradock (drums) are currently on a UK tour that will run throughout December of 2009

And beyond that? In the words of Leo Moran, "We never look more than a few months ahead. It's tempting fate. We're just pleased to still be around." And they will be for their long awaited return to Australia in March 2010.