C86-era band The Flatmates to release debut album 34 years later — hear new single

It’s taken 34 years since their first gig, but U.K. indie-pop act The Flatmates — a C86-era band that landed a string of singles on the indie chart’s top 10 through the late-’80s — are releasing their debut album, and we’ve got their new single, “You Held My Heart.”

In their original run, The Flatmates released a half-dozen singles between 1986 and 1988, before splitting in 1989. A couple compilations followed in the intervening years before founding guitarist Martin Whitehead reunited the band in 2013 with a new lineup. The group has put out a handful of singles since then.

Now, The Flatmates — with original drummer Rocker on keyboards, plus newcomers Lisa Bouvier (vocals) and Brian Price (drums) — have recorded a self-titled debut album to be released by The Subway Organization in Europe and Happy Happy Birthday to Me in the U.S.

The vinyl is due out this Friday in the U.K. and will follow on March 13 in the U.S. — and deluxe bundles can be ordered through the band’s label, too.

Below, you can hear the new single off The Flatmates, a stomping track called “You Held My Heart” — as well as prior single “Shut Up and Kiss Me.”

The band will play a series of album-release dates in the U.K. in April, and those dates are below, too.

The Flatmates tour dates

April 8: The Thunderbolt, Bristol, UK
April 9: Paper Dress Vintage, London, UK
April 10: The New Adelphi, Hull, UK
April 11:Wales Goes Pop! @ The Gate, Cardiff, UK
April 12: Duffy’s Bar, Leicester, UK