Without The Declan Swans, no party in Wrexham is complete right now. The local band’s song lauding the arrival of Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has become a hugely popular fan anthem.

The three band members, Michael ‘Scoot’ Hett, Mark Jones and Ben Jones are incredulous at what lies ahead this weekend: two dates supporting American rock legends Kings of Leon at the Racecourse Ground on May 27 and 28 as part of their European tour. The event seems certain to double as a victory lap for the club following promotion back into the EFL (English Football League).

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The Athletic has joined the band in the popular stop-off, The Turf pub (now so famous due to the ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary that Hollywood stars Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd have called in for a pint already this year).

“I still can’t believe this is really happening,” says lead singer Scoot, who is also a residential childcare worker. “I keep having to pinch myself. Same with promotion back to the Football League. Things like this just don’t happen to us.”

Drummer (and full-time electrician) Ben is equally taken aback at this turn of events for a band who describe themselves as ‘comedy Indie’ and have been together for more than 20 years.

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“I was made up when I found out who we were supporting,” he adds. “I had it in my mind it was going to be Justin Bieber, as someone had said he was coming to north Wales this summer.

What a weekend! What a game! ⚽️🤯👏 What a gig! And what a couple of legends joining us on stage. #alwayssunnyinwrexham #DeclanSwans @VancityReynolds @RMcElhenney @Wrexham_AFC @thehumphreyker @DisneyPlus @michaelkhett @chuffer67 @benjoneselec @welshy1000 @losh_me

— Declan Swans (@DeclanSwans) April 11, 2023

“But this is fantastic. I’ve seen the Kings of Leon a few times. I went to their first tour, then I saw them again at the Manchester Arena.” Mark, the band’s guitarist (and Royal Mail worker by day), jumps in. “And now you’re playing with them!”

Cue this trio of life-long Wrexham supporters shaking their heads in wry bemusement. Before this, The Declan Swans’ biggest audience was in front of 1,000 people at last year’s Wrexham Lager Festival.

Twenty times that number is expected to pack the Racecourse on Saturday and Sunday to watch a line-up featuring Far From Saints (Stereophonics star Kelly Jones’ latest musical venture).

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The two shows will crown a remarkable 18 months for The Declan Swans who, after Easter’s nerve-shredding 3-2 victory over Notts County, were joined on stage at The Turf by Reynolds and McElhenney for a singalong to ‘It’s Always Sunny in Wrexham’.

“We didn’t know who was headlining these two gigs when we agreed to play,” says Scoot, who wrote the lyrics to the song that helped turn the band into breakout stars of the documentary.

“Or even where they were taking place. The original phone call from the promoter came on the Friday. He said a big band was coming to play a two-day festival in north Wales.

“On the Monday, he rings again. He said the band will be announced today, adding ‘I can’t say who it is but they are a big band and they are playing at the Racecourse for two nights. Oh, and the owners want you to open the show’.”

Confirmation the gigs would be on home turf was big enough. But then came the announcement about who would be topping the bill.

“I was off work that day,” adds Scoot. “So, I came in The Turf with my dad for a pint. There were two Americans sitting at the next table. One of them had his phone out when he suddenly starts jumping up and down, shouting, ‘Brilliant, it’s the Kings of Leon!’.

“My dad is 84 and he’s saying, ‘Who?’. Then, my phone starts lighting up. Everything went a bit mad after that.”

Less than a mile from the centre of town,

A famous old stadium crumbling down,

No one’s invested so much as a penny,

Bring on the Deadpool and Rob McElhenney.

Lyrics that clearly resonate with Wrexham supporters. ‘Always Sunny in Wrexham’ has become such a staple part of a Racecourse matchday that it is played over the PA system before and after the game.

The song has been streamed almost 270,000 times on Spotify — a number that guitarist Mark still finds it hard to believe. “We’ve had another 1,200 this week,” Mark says with another shake of his head, after checking his Spotify account.

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At this point, landlord Wayne, another breakout star from the documentary, wanders over for a word about the upcoming gigs.

“Have you got your stage times yet, lads?”

“Funnily enough, we’ve just found out,” replies Mark. “We’re on at 6.20pm.”

“That’s good,” adds Wayne. “What isn’t so good is the turnstiles don’t open till 7pm!”

The band fall about laughing. The afterglow of promotion is still in the air as talk turns to the inspiration behind their biggest hit.

Tonight’s episode includes the song they’ll play at my funeral. This and “Whoomp! There It Is” #WrexhamFX

— Rob McElhenney (@RMcElhenney) September 7, 2022

“We’d done songs about previous owners,” says Scoot, so named for his love of scooters as a teenager. “Some featured very colourful language because we’ve been screwed that many times. But these owners, you just knew from how they were talking at the beginning that they were in it for positive reasons.

“So, this time, we decided to write a positive song. It is great that people seem to like it. I wish I’d made it clearer in the lyrics that we weren’t talking about the Supporters Trust or fan ownership when saying no one had invested so much as a penny.

“We meant previous owners. Not the Trust, who we did a lot of fundraising gigs for over the years. The Trust did everything they could. They kept us afloat while sticking to the mindset, ‘We’ll sell to the right buyers but they have to be right’.”

Always Sunny in Wrexham’s catchy chorus may be an ode to the club’s owners, but the song also tackles other subjects, including Wrexham recently being dubbed ‘Spice Town’ by the tabloids after photographs appeared of drug users left in a zombie-like state.

“I remember the front page was, ‘Wrexham — Spice Town’ with a picture of someone slumped over a flowerbed. When writing ‘Always Sunny…’ I thought I’d take the mickey out of that; be a bit tongue-in-cheek. I appreciate it does happen, but it happens in every major town or city,” said Scoot.

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Wrexham’s reputation on the global stage has been transformed since Reynolds and ‘Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ co-creator McElhenney bought the club in February 2021. So, too, has the profile of the band, who met the new owners during their first visit.

“We were invited down here before the Torquay game that was going to be the owners’ first appearance at the Racecourse,” says Scoot. “The landlord’s sister came up and said: ‘You won’t believe this, Ryan Reynolds has just shared your song on TikTok’.”

Mark adds: “Everything went a bit crazy after that. It got seen something like 17 million times in a week. The next thing we know, they are walking in here. I thanked Ryan for sharing the song.

“Totally genuine blokes who seem to be loving it here. They are constantly grinning.”

Such is the popularity of ‘Always Sunny…’ that it is used locally to teach kids a variety of instruments, including the ukelele and cornet. Gary Lineker couldn’t resist quipping to Match of the Day viewers, “Bring on the Deadpool and Rob McElhenney” when previewing the following week’s FA Cup fourth-round tie between Wrexham and Sheffield United.

But this was eclipsed on the big day — live BBC cameras caught Reynolds singing along to the chorus and then turning his phone to the crowd, showing McElhenney on the other end of the call in the United States.

“It’s hard to explain what things like that mean to you,” says Scoot, whose cancer diagnosis was featured in the first series of Welcome to Wrexham.

Scoot underwent chemotherapy and two emergency operations after discovering a tumour in his colon. In an emotionally charged scene filmed for the documentary at his home with wife Wendy, he revealed how, while drawing up his bucket list, “seeing Wrexham get promoted back to the Football League” was at the very top.

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With that scene still fresh in the mind, we wonder how he felt when the final whistle blew against Boreham Wood last month to signal the 15-year wait to escape the National League was finally over.

“A little bit tearful at the end and just relieved we’d got over the line,” Scoot adds, whose all-clear from cancer was shown in the final episode of series one.

“It was really fitting that the Boreham Wood game was 15 years to the day since our relegation had been confirmed. Going out of the League was horrible. I went to Hereford when it was decided. And Shrewsbury a week or so earlier, when we lost 3-0 on an awful day.

“A local derby on a Sunday afternoon and we barely lifted a leg. No fight about that team at all. We’d nearly gone down the year before but stayed up by beating Boston (on the final day). We should have learned our lesson.”

June 22 is written in every Wrexham fan’s diary. “If we get to the play-offs,” says Mark, “I’ll be happy. I don’t want to get carried away.”

Before that, there is, of course, the less-than-trifling matter of this weekend’s two gigs supporting Kings of Leon. How are the preparations going?

“We’ve had a few practice sessions lately, but we don’t usually,” says Mark. “Over the years, we’ve had five or six pints and then played the gig. But this time is different.”

Ben adds: “I’m looking forward to it. I found last year’s Wrexham Lager Festival easier than our usual ones, as you couldn’t see any of the faces.”

The final word goes, fittingly, to the band’s lyricist. “We just want to have a big party,” says Scoot. “We are expecting Saturday to be more localish, more of a Wrexham thing.

“That should be good, especially as that gig is sold out. The great thing, though, is we then get to do it all over again the following night.”

(Top photo: Richard Sutcliffe)