A BASINGSTOKE-BASED rock band are excited to be releasing their debut album later this month, after a ‘tough’ year.

Redhead were formed in 2013 by frontman and lead vocalist Ellis Crewe-Candy, and have released multiple EP's over the years.

The group - which also consists of Lee Blackburn (lead guitar); Alex Murray (bass); Nathan Haynes (drums); and Matt Hitching (guitar) - finally started laying down the tracks for their debut album in 2019, and most of the album was complete by early 2020.

However, their plan had been to finish recording at the end of March 2020, which was thrown out the window by the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, with Ellis having to shield.

Speaking to the Gazette, Ellis said: “We had decided we would try and be as proactive as we could be within the new restrictions and in the following month we had recorded a lockdown music video for a track called ‘Girl’ which was all very tongue in cheek but we were desperate to keep busy and still share what music we could.

“Like everyone else who is in a band, we were frustrated because music is our release and something you want to share with others. We spent the weeks sending ideas and demos to each other and have written album number two already. We managed to recruit a second guitarist through lockdown and this was done with videos being sent back and forth which was a very new way of doing it but we found our guy and Matt joined the band.”

The band found a “small window” of time in between lockdowns in which to record the remaining tracks, and in January 2021 started talks with Flicknife Records who signed the group.

“The past year has been really tough for everyone in many different ways but as a musician when you spend your time being creative and performing for people, it is a mental blow when that gets taken away and we all did struggle,” said Ellis.

However, he added that, in some ways, the stressful process has helped them to develop as a group.

He continued: “We used that to spur us on and it turned into a very productive year for the band. Would all of these things have happened if we were living as normal? Probably not, as the album would have been finished early last year and we wouldn't have necessarily crossed paths with Flicknife, we may not have been in contact with Matt.

“We are all in a very good place knowing what we have done through the pandemic and I think having the band to focus on, but in a different way, has actually helped us become a better band.”

Redhead’s debut album, ‘Broken Hourglass’ will be available through Flicknife Records from April 30 2021 and can be pre-ordered at www.flickniferecords.co.uk