THE SHINS - VAMPIRE WEEKEND 'WELCOMED BACK TO LONDON'

VAMPIRE WEEKEND 'WELCOMED BACK TO LONDON'

VAMPIRE WEEKEND enjoyed a good reception from London audiences, after kicking off a three-night residency at The Forum in Kentish town.

The New York outfit brought along an all-female string section, with frontman Ezra Koenig saying he was happy to be back in the UK.

Drummer Chris Thompson told BBC 6 Music it was "exciting" that the band could sell out the three nights at the popular venue.

"We definitely did a lot of festivals this summer, and I think that helped us play for a lot more people than we otherwise would have. The UK's been very good for us, since we came over last year with The Shins," he said.

He added that these dates will be the last time they tour with their current album, as they already have studio time booked in January to record new material.

"There's a couple of new ones in the show and I think at the start of next year we're going to hit it hard and put out the next record as soon as we can," he said.