A BAND’S debut album which was never released will finally go on sale to the public – more than 30 years after it was recorded.

The Motorcycle Boy were tipped for big things at the end of the 1980s and were signed to Rough Trade Records, home to iconic bands such as The Smiths, The Fall, and Stiff Little Fingers.

But the band, who featured in music magazine NME, drifted apart, with debut album Scarlet never released.

Now, Michael Kerr, who was a guitarist in the band, has set up Forgotten Astronaut Records and plans to release 1,000 copies of the album later this year.

Michael, a nurse at the East Lothian Community Hospital, said: “The past few years, I have been trying to hunt down the master tapes.We were then signed to Chrysalis Records but they were taken over and eventually that company was also taken over by BMG. I have contacted a lot of people over the years and I either did not get a reply or nobody had any idea what happened to the tapes.”

The band, which was made up of Alex Taylor (vocals), Paul McDermott (drums), Eddy Connelly (bass) and David Scott (guitar), as well as Michael, went their separate ways. However, while watching a video online, Michael was given the tiniest bit of hope of finding the master tapes of the album.

He discovered that a company called Blue Raincoat Music had possession of the back catalogue from a number of musicians, including The Motorcycle Boy.

Now, after getting in touch with the company and securing a deal to publish Scarlet, the album will be released, featuring the dozen unreleased songs plus two bonus tracks.

Michael, of Haddington’s Bothwell Avenue, is aiming to release the album in the autumn on vinyl and CD, with 500 copies of each.

The 55-year-old, who previously lived in North Berwick and Ballencrieff, told the Courier that as the years had gone by he had drifted out of music.

He said: “Life, kids and family take over but the kids grew up and I had a little more time.

“I had not played the guitar for years. After playing in the band, I became a photographer and sold all of my music equipment to buy camera equipment.

“I keep calling it a midlife crisis but I went and bought a guitar and started playing again and it got me thinking.”

For more information, email forgottenastronautrecords@hot mail.com