The Vaccines had lost their way

The Vaccines admit they had individually "lost their way" before they formed the band.

The 'If You Wanna' group may have been together for less than a year, but singer Justin Young admits by the time they formed he had become disillusioned with the London music scene.

Justin - who used to perform as Jay Jay Pistolet - said: "I've been on this path for a very long time. When I was solo I knew, deep down, that my songs weren't that good. It got to the point where I was giving up hope that making music was something viable.

"So by the time The Vaccines came together I was pent up and fed up and I think everyone else was too. We had all lost our way.

"Then the band started and there was a passion at rediscovering that energy."

The group - which also includes Arni Hjorvar, Freddie Cowan and Pete Robertson - have become one of the UK's most hotly tipped acts for 2011, but admit they never dreamed of getting further than playing small scale shows when they started.

Justin added: "None of us expected any of this. When we started, I got excited and thought, 'I can definitely see us playing The Barfly' [a small London venue]. So now, all I can say is that we must be doing something right."