THE QUIREBOYS Announce New Album 'The Band Rolls On...'

Long-running U.K. rockers THE QUIREBOYS will release a new studio album titled "The Band Rolls On..." in December. It will mark their first collection of material since the departure of lead singer Spike (real name Jonathan Gray) in March. The band has since announced its decision to continue as a five-piece, with longtime guitarist Guy Griffin handling the vocals.

After the split with Spike, and in between a hectic tour schedule throughout the U.S., Sweden, Portugal, Switzerland, France, Norway and the U.K., THE QUIREBOYS have been in the studio recording a 10-track studio album of brand new material featuring some all-star collaborations.

The album, which is now available on presale, features some well-known guests, including Joe Elliott (DEF LEPPARD),Angry Anderson (ROSE TATTOO),Charlie Starr (BLACKBERRY SMOKE),Dan Reed (DAN REED NETWORK),Josh Todd and Stevie D (BUCKCHERRY),Chip Z'Nuff (ENUFF Z'NUFF),Ryan Roxie (ALICE COOPER),Scotti Hill (SKID ROW),Steve Conte (NEW YORK DOLLS) and Tim Mosher (JUNKYARD).

Griffin says: "It's great to have people we really respect and admire in the industry adding some of their magic to the new songs we've written. After twenty years of writing QUIREBOYS songs, these collaborations have not only taken a bit of the pressure off me but brought a fresh perspective to the process, another way of looking at a song. It's also been a pleasure to sing alongside such great names."

From the rocking gospel-tinged riffs of the title song to the hypnotic groove of "So Glorious" (with Dan Reed),this is something different but with no less swagger. Griffin goes on to say: "It's given us a real chance to explore other styles as we continue our musical journey."

Paul Guerin adds: "The new machine is fresh, tight, highly motivated and performing better than ever. We have been so excited we haven't stopped writing new material throughout all the tours. To be honest, we have enough new material for three albums, but 'The Band Rolls On…' will feature the first batch from THE QUIREBOYS."

"The Band Rolls On…" is now available for pre-sale on CD or vinyl via the Off Yer Rocka record store. There will only be a small run of a thousand vinyl copies available.

Earlier this year, Spike fired back at his former bandmates, saying that he had "no intention" of walking away from THE QUIREBOYS. After the British rock stalwarts announced that they had parted ways with Spike and would "continue as a five-piece with all other current members," he responded with a statement of his own, saying that he had received "a letter from three of my band members informing me that my services are no longer required to sing or perform with them." THE QUIREBOYS later released a lengthy new statement in which they accused Spike of "refusing" to speak to them and "consistently declining" to meet and discuss band issues over the course of nine months. They also claimed that they had "been trading as THE QUIREBOYS through a business registered with Companies House & HMRC for many years, a company Spike was asked to join but declined, preferring instead to be hired on a freelance basis, 'cash in hand'." They reiterated that "Spike does not legally own the band or the name." Just hours later, Spike released a response to THE QUIREBOYS' statement, insisting that he holds the trademark to THE QUIREBOYS name and accusing his former bandmates of trying to "discredit" him by "say[ing] anything about me they see fit, whether it's true or not."

THE QUIREBOYS put out their most recent album, the well-received "Amazing Disgrace", in 2019.

The band's debut LP, "A Bit of What You Fancy", was released in 1990 and included the song "Hey You", which was THE QUIREBOYS' biggest hit, reaching No. 14 in the U.K. singles chart and No. 5 in the U.S. Billboard Rock chart.

In 2020, THE QUIREBOYS were scheduled to celebrate their 35th anniversary with a tour. The trek, which ended up getting canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, would also have marked 30 years since the release of "A Bit Of What You Fancy".

Following the band's inception in London in 1984 — originally as THE CHOIRBOYS, then THE QUEERBOYS, before settling on the less controversial name of THE QUIREBOYS — there followed six years of hard graft and personnel changes.

THE QUIREBOYS played to 72,000 people at 1990's Monsters Of Rock at Donington with the likes of WHITESNAKE, AEROSMITH and POISON. They supported THE ROLLING STONES that same year in Newcastle, and opened for GUNS N' ROSES at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1987 and again a couple of years later on their "Use Your Illusion" tour.

The public's appetite for THE QUIREBOYS had returned and hasn't waned since — three further studio releases ("Well Oiled", "Homewreckers & Heartbreakers", "Halfpenny Dancer") were released on various labels from 2004 to 2009 before the band found their new, and permanent, home on Off Yer Rocka, the label of the renowned festival brand Hard Rock Hell.

An anniversary edition — fully re-recorded — of "A Bit Of What You Fancy" drew much acclaim in 2021.