THE BAND that continues to put Carlisle on the musical map have just announced that a new album will be dropping on June 9.
Hardwicke Circus, the five-piece band formed by brothers Jonny and Tom Foster who have over 1,000 gigs under their belt, will be releasing Fly The Flag on their own label Alternative Flag Records.
The album is as much an ode to the great border city as its artwork, created by the contemporary British painter Humphrey Ocean.
The album's cover is perhaps the clearest indication of their northern roots; the green and blue of Cumbria waving amongst Carlisle's brutalist structure, the Civic Centre.
The announcement comes on the back of a recommendation from Sir Paul McCartney to play at Glastonbury last year, a UK prison tour and a support slot with Bob Dylan in Hyde Park.
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Produced by Dave ‘Stiff Records’ Robinson, it features guest appearances from Earl Slick, known for collaborations with John Lennon and David Bowie, Snake Davis, Terry Edwards who has played with PJ Harvey, Seamus Beaghan from Madness as well as the collected under-12s choir of Cumbria.
Fly The Flag is a testament to the positive power regional identity plays in shaping the country’s art and music scenes, and Hardwicke Circus are certainly flying the flag for Carlisle.
In the track Our Town, they encounter the deprivation many northern towns are facing and the conflicting nature of being so detached from the rest of the country: "it’s a rough neck, blank cheque, silent howl, but I call it my town" sings Jonny Foster.
Night Train to London reflects the band’s reluctance to even ‘get out’: "the ungodly hour, platform 4, steam trumpets reach Carlisle", writes drummer Tom Foster.
In the pipeline, the band are also recording a live acoustic album at the famous PizzaExpress venue in Holborn on May 16.
They are currently touring around the UK, with dates lined up at Kendal Calling and Brampton's Wild on the Wall.
Fly The Flag will be available on digital, CD and vinyl formats, and you can pre-order and pre-save by visiting their website.
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