It's been three decades since Fat Mike and Eric Melvin formed NOFX in Los Angeles. Erik Sandin joined, as drummer, shortly after and, apart from a short break in the mid-eighties when Sandin briefly left the band, the trio have been at the heart of NOFX ever since.

In the 29 years after they first got together, and despite never having signed to a major label, NOFX has shipped more than six million records and, more importantly, provided a crucial narrative on America's west coast punk scene. From hardcore through to pop-punk, NOFX have changed with the times and the times with them.

NOFX are widely credited as an important influence in early nineties pop punk. As the movement emerged from indie, hardcore, grunge and eighties' glam/hair rock to become a force on the global music scene, the baton was picked up by bands including Blink-182, The Offspring and Green Day. The rest, as people like to say, is history.

And NOFX are a vital part of that American punk legend. Trips to Europe have always been a cause for excitement and the band are dusting off their passports for a summer vacation to this sceptred isle.

Fat Mike and the boys kick off their UK tour in Bournemouth on 5th June, followed by Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds, before the final gig of the run at the Shepherds Bush Empire on Saturday 16th June 2012.

We will have tickets available when they go on sale at 9am on Friday 17th February, priced £20 for London and £18.50 for all other dates.

It's been three years since NOFX's last headline UK tour. Those dates sold out and demand for tickets for the foursome's return to these shores is also expected to be high.

In between the tour, the band head to Donington Park as part of Download 2012, along with the just-announced Killswitch Engage, Shinedown, Black Veil Brides and Nightwish.