Liverpool’s Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band have announced details of the follow-up to 2022’s acclaimed Dear Scott, entitled Loophole.
Set for release of May 3 via Modern Sky, Loophole was produced by Bill Ryder-Jones at YAWN Studios in West Kirby, and features Phil Murphy (drums), Tom Powell (bass), Nathaniel Cummings (guitars/backing vocals) and Martin Smith (trumpet).
This morning, Head shares the lead single and album opening track, Shirl’s Ghost, which you can listen to below.
Speaking of the song, Head says: “Shirl was a neighbour of mine, living in the flat above me. She was a collector, with sequinned dresses from her dancing days around the world hanging around the place. Amongst these piles of stuff was her mum’s ashes, but she couldn’t find them. Before getting evicted, she asked me to find them. I did that, handed them to her and shortly after weird things started happening around the flat. My son, Arlo’s theory was that I’d disturbed her and we were living in a Toxteth ghost story.”
It marks a big day for those close to the Liverpool songwriting master, who also announces details of Ciao Ciao Bambino: A Magical Memoir, Head’s long-awaited autobiography, which is set for release on Thursday, August 15 via Nine Eight Books. The memoir will be released on hardback, with audio and eBook formats also available.
Lastly, in support of Loophole, Head will embark on a U.K. tour in May, which will culminate with a December show at Liverpool’s Philharmonic.
Loophole tracklist:
- Shirl’s Ghost
- Ambrosia
- Ciao Ciao Bambino
- Tout Suite
- The Human Race
- You Smiled At Me
- A Ricochet Moment
- Connemara
- Merry Go Round
- You’re A Long Time Dead
- Naturally It’s You
- Coda
U.K. tour dates:
- Thursday May 2: Mackintosh Church, Glasgow
- Friday, May 3: Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle
- Saturday May 4, City Varieties, Leeds
- Wednesday May 8: Chalk, Brighton
- Thursday May 9: Earth Theatre, London
- Friday May 10: Gorilla, Manchester
- Friday December 13: Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
Tickets for all shows go on general sale this Friday at 10am. Purchase as well as pre-order Loophole (Modern Sky) and Ciao Bambino: A Magical Memoir (Nine Eight Books) from Michael Head’s website.
