It's a long way from Penzance to Los Angeles. And it takes a special kind of talent for a group of indie-hopefuls from deepest Cornwall to sell out one of coolest venues in town.

For Haven, though, it is all part of the crazy rollercoaster ride which has seen the band taste the dizzy heights, plummet to the depths of despair - and bounce back.

The story is one of fateful meetings in record shops, wild parties and triumph over personal adversity.

But to understand the band who sold out LA's Troubadour while still virtually unknown, you have to understand where they came from.

Call it fate, but Gary Briggs and Nat Wason walked into the same Penzance record shop, on the same day five years ago, spotted the same Quicksilver Messenger Service album (Happy Trails) and got talking about how neither of them could afford it.

As they talked, Nat realised that Gary was the Gary from St Ives with the stunning voice that everyone had been telling him about.

And Gary realised that Nat was that Nat, the guitarist from St Just he'd been told to hunt down.

They went halves on Happy Trails (although Nat still thinks it belongs to him) and retired to the pub to talk.

They realised they had a lot in common, including a shared love of The Grateful Dead, Loudon Wainwright, Johnny Thunders, Buffalo Springfield and The Velvet Underground.

Soon, they were writing together and, with bassist Iwan Gronow and drummer Tom Lewis providing the rhythm section, Haven were born.

Initially receiving attention thanks to the backing of former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, the band relocated to Manchester, rehearsed like crazy, and released their debut EP Til The End in late 2001. Their Marr-produced debut album Between The Senses arrived the following year, showcasing frontman Gary's soaring falsetto vocals, and selling 150,000 copies.

It also took them to the USA, which Gary describes as "a pilgrimage".

"America definitely stood out," he said. "It was amazing, seeing where our favourite bands came from. To sell out the Troubadour was an achievement and playing Detroit was a great one. We had no idea how we'd be received out there. Fortunately, there's a lot of people out there that like listening to good songs.

"We are classical songwriters," he adds. "We are not jumping on a trend or a fashion."

But while there were high points, the band had more than their fair share of problems.

While they were touring, Iwan had to be rushed into hospital for emergency dental surgery - to stop impacting wisdom teeth from shattering his jaw.

On returning to the UK, the band were hard at work on their second album, when sessions came to an abrupt halt after Nat fell ill to a rare complaint.

"One morning Nat woke up and couldn't move his face and he was slurring his words," Gary explains. "At first he thought he'd slept on it funny, but it didn't go away. It freaked him out."

Diagnosis showed Nat was in fact suffering from Bell's Palsy - a stress-induced condition that prevented him from moving the muscles in his face.

With Nat forced to hide behind sunglasses and unable to shut his right eye, it was clear that despite their success, Haven would have to take a take a break and wait for him to recover.

"When Nat got ill, we put everything to bed while he got better," says Gary.

When he did recover, last autumn, the band reconvened with Johnny Marr in Clear Studios in Manchester to finish the work they had begun in London earlier in the year.

"His health has now improved," Gary adds, "and we have gained time rather than lost it."

Called All For A Reason, Haven's second album is a soulful, powerful work.

"This album is all about travel and movement and voyaging into the unknown," says Gary.

"We didn't know how it would turn out, but it did work and there is a buzz because it's a great album."

By Tim Hughes