AN indie rock band knew exactly where to head to record “finishing touches” for their long-awaited and currently untitled fourth album – a dale village hall.
Boldron Village Hall has hosted all kinds of events over the years, from WI meetings, and domino drives to music nights, but earlier this month it became a make-shift recording studio when the band Unkle Bob rolled into town.
The band, made up of Rick Webster, Stuart Cartwright, Geoff Widdowson, Chloe Peacock and Rob (Ron) Yeadon, toured with headline acts such as The Proclaimers and James and produced three albums before they went their separate ways a decade ago, with lead singer Mr Webster continuing to record and perform under the band’s name.
The group’s first album, Sugar and Spite, was critically acclaimed and several songs were featured in American television series, such as Grey’s Anatomy and CSI Miami, and on film soundtracks.
Prior to lockdown last year the group reformed and have been working on their fourth album ever since.
Drummer Mr Yeadon, who grew up in Boldron and where his parents David and Hazel still live, said: “We decided to get back together mainly to play music for ourselves.
“We’d done the whole chasing fame and music contracts, and staying in hotels.
“We got back together to play mainly for ourselves and we thought why not make an album for us?”
An online Kickstarter campaign raised enough money to cover the costs of recording.
Then during lockdown band members worked on the new music from their homes in London, Glasgow, Manchester and Bath.
They each recorded demos and passed them between each other until they had something they were all happy with.
Mr Yeadon added: “We normally go to a studio in Wales.
“We’ve been there twice this year and that was mainly for the drums as they need special set up, but we needed to get together to do the finishing touches.
“We needed somewhere near the middle of all of us where we could stay without having to pay for hotels.
“I just thought of Boldron – my parents are there so no need for hotels, and I thought maybe we can do the recording in the village hall.”
He added: “It worked really well and we were considering if we could do a big band set up in there and would come back again.”
The album is expected to be released in March next year.
“We tried to think of a name for the album.
“But we haven’t come up with anything yet.
“However, there is one song though – What Would We Be Without Each Other – about us as a band,” said Mr Yeadon.
