Wrexham: From local gigging to supporting Kings of Leon

The Declan Swans have been writing songs about Wrexham for more than 20 years

Hollywood magic has not just rubbed off on Wrexham's footballers, but also on some of its musicians.

The Declan Swans have gone from local gigs to a date supporting Kings of Leon at the Racecourse ground in May.

Made up of Michael Hett, Mark Jones and Ben Jones, the band have been together for more than 20 years.

Their song It's Always Sunny In Wrexham was featured in the Welcome To Wrexham documentary and promoted by club owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Fans have even been known to sing it to the superstar club owners.

Following the club's return to the Football League with a 3-1 victory against Boreham Wood on Saturday, singer Michael Hett said he "nearly shed a tear".

"I still pinch myself, I still can't believe what's going on," he added.

"The owners, they're just like us, they're good people, they can sit down and have a conversation you know, they're both comedians.

"Going into Wrexham, everywhere was bouncing, everyone was happy and singing, the shops were full. It's just a happy place to live, it really is."

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The band have surged in popularity since Reynold's and McElhenney's takeover of Wrexham, with their single, It's Always Sunny In Wrexham, now boasting more than 200,000 streams on Spotify.

The club's owners have even been serenaded at the ground by fans singing the lyrics: "Less than a mile from the centre of town, a famous old stadium's crumbling down. No-one's invested so much as a penny, bring on the Deadpool and Rob McElhenney."

The Declan Swans are made up of Michael Hett (middle), Mark Jones (left) and Ben Jones

When the band agreed to play a show at Wrexham's Racecourse ground on 28 May, they were not even aware who they would be next to on the bill.

Guitarist Mark only found out that the "well-known band" they had agreed to support was Grammy-winning US rock band Kings of Leon when his daughter saw the official reveal during a road trip.

"She said 'you'd better pull the car over, dad, it's the Kings of Leon'," he recalled.

"We stopped in a McDonald's in Uttoxeter, I rung the lads and said 'Have you heard? It's Kings of Leon."

Drummer Ben added: "When I was younger it was one of my favourite bands. I've been to see them three times."

Kings of Leon play Wrexham's Racecourse ground, supported by The Declan Swans, on 28 May

The band have been writing comedic songs about the club's fortunes - and misfortunes - for more than two decades and Michael has said the feeling around the club has never been more positive.

Wrexham have been outside England's top four divisions since 2008.

"When we went 3-1 up (on Saturday)… I nearly shed a tear, I was just thinking '15 years of this'," he said.

"And prior to those 15 years, they weren't very good years either, it's just unbelievable."

He said that in pubs in Wrexham he now find Americans, Canadians and "even Colombians were in there yesterday, everybody wants a piece of Wrexham, you just can't put it into words".

"It's a fairy-tale, that's exactly what it is," he added.

Wrexham won promotion back to the Football League following a 3-1 win against Boreham Wood on Saturday

On preparing for what will be the biggest show of their career, Mark joked that he's "trying to block it out of his mind".

"It would drive me up the wall if I keep thinking about it," he added.

Michael added: "After [Wrexham's promotion], we've got three months of partying now, well actually we'll get Kings of Leon out the way first.

"Normally we just mess about and have a few beers, but I think we better practice before Kings of Leon."