Band praises Neville over viral bass player gag

Gary Neville met The Reytons after attending one of their gigs last month

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville is generally better known for having a ball at his feet than a guitar in his hands.

But the footballer-turned-TV pundit has caused a stir after he jokingly agreed to join chart-topping indie band The Reytons as a bassist for their upcoming tour.

The four-piece, who scored a number one album with 'What's Rock and Roll?' last year, posted a spoof video online showing Neville taking part in a mock audition trying to demonstrate his credentials.

The Rotherham band's lead singer described Neville, who they met when he attended one of their gigs in the Lake District, as "dead sound" for his willingness to take part in the joke.

Jonny Yerrell told the BBC the online reaction to the gag, which was his wife's idea, had been "crazy".

"We did a gig at Kendal Calling a few weeks ago and he came up to the side of the stage to say he was a fan," Yerrell said.

"We got chatting, and we've always done some daft content to market ourselves going on tour, so we invited him to Stockport to do some filming."

In the mock video Neville is seen perfecting a steady hand buzz wire game as evidence of him being "cool under pressure"

The online video shows the band in a town hall hosting auditions to replace bass player Lee Holland, who has supposedly injured his arm, for the tour.

Among the challenges Neville has to complete to prove he is suitable for a life of rock and roll are downing a pint in seconds, sniffing out a McDonald's meal while blindfolded and screaming into a camera.

He is also seen playing a round of the UK gameshow Play Your Cards Right, demonstrating his risk-taking abilities, and completing an electronic steady hand game to show he is cool under pressure.

But the clincher for joining the band is Neville's confession that he has "never played bass before".

Neville was a "great sport" and bought into everything the band asked of him, Yerrell said

Yerrell said Neville was a "great sport" and bought into everything the band asked him to do.

"He was just a really likeable guy and really got into it," he added.

"He didn't question anything. He was just up for having a laugh and he was dead sound.

"I had a feeling it might go viral, but you never know and it's hard to know what viral is these days.

"But then I woke up this morning and saw (the) Sky Sports Premier League (TV channel) sharing the video, so it's been crazy."

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.