FOR a band named after a curry house, you might expect Bombay Bicycle Club to have had their fair share of free Indian food.

No such luck. Rather than embracing what has surely become a celebrity endorsement, the eponymous chain of Subcontinental London eateries appears to be trying to distance themselves.

“We only once got invited for a curry, and we have never been asked to play there,” says drummer Suren De Saram. “I think we may have upset them, because now they’ve changed their name.

“To be honest, we regret the name now too, but we are probably stuck with it anyway.

“People who haven’t heard our music think we are something different. But while we don’t sound anything like an Indian band, we should go to our ‘homeland’ and play. In fact we’ve already had offers of gigs in Bombay – so it is our destiny.”

Fortunately, while the Crouch End lads appear to have curried little favour with tandoori chefs, their blend of kicking indie-pop has gone down better among their fans.

A surprisingly hard-working outfit, Suren, frontman Jack Steadman, guitarist Jamie MacColl, and bassist Ed Nash have turned out three albums in as many years. And not many bands can match that. More importantly, they have refused to stick to a template.

Their breakthrough second album, last year’s Flaws, was a work of sparse folk, complete with covers of John Martyn and Joanna Newsom songs, which was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award. It stood in stark contrast to the youthful indie-swagger of their debut I had the Blues but I shook them loose, and follow-up A Different Kind of Fix, which is surely a return to what they do best.

“We always intended to go back to our original sound with this album,” says Suren, who is at home in north London’s Tufnell Park. “We saw the second album as a side project and never thought it would get as big as it did. It just blew up. “We made a little problem for ourselves too, as some people would come to the gigs expecting to hear that quieter stuff, while we were playing heavy, electric stuff. I think most people get us though.”

This is my second stab at trying to talk to the illusive Suren… the first aborted attempt coming at a crucial moment in a tennis game the day before.

“I still won!” he laughs, before explaining the benefits of regular sport.

“It is really nice to get a bit of exercise, especially doing the job we do, where we are indoors a lot or cooped up on a tour bus. In fact, me and Ed, the bassist, do exercise quite a bit, and have just been researching swimming pools for the tour, to keep fit.”

He agrees that things are happening quickly for ‘BBC’ – who originally came together as a school band called The Canals, aged just 15.

Their break came when they won Virgin Mobile’s Road to V contest, five years ago, making it onto Channel 4, and opening that year’s V Festival. The previous winners, out of interest, were Oxford’s very own Young Knives – a band they went on to support.

They were blessed with plaudits, earned a slot at the NME’s annual awards show, and winning slots at Reading and Leeds festivals. Not bad for a bunch who had not yet finished their exams.

After leaving school, they were snapped up by Island records and beat the XX, Mumford & Sons and La Roux to win the Best New Band prize at last year’s NME Awards. The band are now on tour in support of their new album.

“It is a big thing for the band,” he says.

And it has had unexpected benefits. Like seeing the world. “The best place was New York,” says Suren. “It was incredible, but we went to some weird places, like a fetish club where I spent the most bizarre night of my life – complete with stripping transsexuals, knives, fake blood and other things I can’t mention. One thing’s for sure though: I’ll never forget it.

“There are definitely worse jobs to have.

“We are having an amazing time and we are really enjoying it.”