TRYING to explain to people why I would want to go and see The Subways do a DJ set is a tricky one.

After all, it is not their mixing skills I spend my hard-earned money on in the record store.

But it was The Subways DJ set I went to at Dirty South rather than a The Subways gig.

I went because I was intrigued to see how they work as a DJ outfit and what songs they would choose to play.

They are musically tight on stage but DJ-wise there was just one of them – Charlotte Cooper.

She’s normally on bass and vocal duties for the band but here she appeared with her husband as a mixology duo.

Chatting to Charlotte before the show she told me the band’s lead singer Billy Lunn does sometimes lend a hand on the decks but for The Subways first Lewisham DJ set he was sadly absent.

Instead, the intimate audience, with far fewer people than for the bands which played before Charlotte’s set, had no option but to listen to her choices.

They were eclectically poppy with an indie-style tinge but with a soulful twist rather than the harder rock stuff you might imagine her band playing on the tour bus.

There were no obvious floor fillers, instead seemingly carefully chosen songs which were well received by those who had not left when their friends had picked up the last bits of their drum kits.

This worked though and she pulled off a great set.

She would be welcome back to the South to DJ again or, even better, as the band with Billy and drummer Josh Morgan.

For the latest gigs and events coming up at the Dirty South in Lee High Road, Lewisham, visit dirtysouthlondon.com