Today sees the release of Aslan’s newest single almost four decades after their first single dropped in 1986 – and members of the legendary rock band are feeling the same buzz they did back then! And the single, A Hand To Hold, will be getting its debut live performance tonight in Perth as they kick off their Australian tour.
It is the band’s second release from their upcoming album following on from Hear Your Call, which dropped in March, and the latest to feature vocals from new singer Lee Tomkins. The four piece are also currently working on a new album which is due out later this year.
They described their new single as having a “new sound” saying it’s about life and how sometimes you feel like nothing is going right, like there’s “A Devil in Heaven and a God in Hell.”
“At times, when feeling that way, we don’t realise there’s a hand to hold, to show us not everything in life is as bad as it feels. Sometimes you need to open your eyes, to see there is still good amongst all the bad.”
“Like with all songs, the message that resonates with each individual, can be different, as we all have different thoughts, experiences and views in life. For us, it’s a feel good song, a positive song.”
“There are a number of singalong parts in it, which we see as a way of bringing people together and this is something we really love when performing live, strangers, friends, singing together, singing back to us and with us.”
New lead singer Lee Tomkins is thrilled about performing the single live for the first time tonight saying “It feels good to be getting more new music out and for it to have a different sound to anything the band has done before, it’s exciting. It’s great to hear everyone singing along. That’s the aim of the song so performing it in Australia for the first time is going to be special.”
Guitarist Billy McGuinness added “Having released our first single with Lee in March this year, it’s great to be releasing our second one so quickly as it lets people who haven’t seen the band live hear the direction we are going in. I think the last single ‘Hear Your Call’ had the Aslan vibe but with this new single, it’s definitely different for us. But different is good in my opinion.”
“It’s great playing a new song for the first time, there is excitement and nervousness in the air. Like when we played ‘Hear Your Call’ for the first time in the Olympia. We will be playing ‘A Hand To Hold’ live for the first time on our tour of Australia which starts in Perth on July 11th. I think because it has such a singalong chorus it will go down very well.”
And speaking to The Star’s Scene, Billy said the excitement the band felt waiting to hear their first single is still felt now. “We're as excited about it. Like we're over 40 years doing this and I remember back in 1986 when we released our first single This Is and the excitement of waiting to hear it on the radio or waiting to play it live, that hasn't changed. Fast forward 40 years, and we've still, I'm dying to hear it on the radio, and what do people think of it and dying to play it live. And I think that's a great thing, that we haven't lost that excitement or drive or buzz.”
