CULT Harrogate band Wally are to release their first studio album for 35 years.

Montpellier was recorded in Leeds in the wake of last year’s hometown reunion concert at the Royal Hall and will be available from this weekend at Rock Steady Music, in Regent Parade, and The Blues Bar, in Montpellier Parade, and from wallymusic.co.uk

In keeping with Wally’s second album, 1975’s Valley Gardens, Montpellier has been named after the area in Harrogate where most of the band members lived and played in the Seventies.

During that decade they had two successful albums on the Atlantic Records label: their self-titled debut in 1974 and its aforementioned sequel, both produced by radio and television presenter Bob Harris and Yes keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman.

Their single Nez Perce featured Madeline Bell on backing vocals and was a Johnnie Walker record of the week on BBC Radio 1, while further highlights included appearing on Harris’s TV show, The Old Grey Whistle Test.

The band folded in 1975 and plans were being put in place for a reunion last year when word came that keyboard player Paul Gerrett had died in his sleep in Thailand. Original guitarist Pete Cosker had passed away in 1991 from a drink and drugs-related illness, and these tragic deaths signified that the concert in April, 2009, would be not only a re-grouping but also a tribute.

The five remaining members – Paul Middleton, pedal steel and bass; Pete Sage, violin; Roger Narraway, drums; Nick Glennie-Smith, keyboards; and Roy Webber, lead vocals and guitar – duly recruited two new musicians to complete the Wally wall of sound.

The new line-up, incorporating Frank Mizen on pedal steel, banjo and bass and Will Jackson on lead guitar, will play in Harrogate for a second time when reconvening at the Royal Hall on April 17 at 7.15pm. Introduced by Bob Harris, Wally will perform material from Montpellier plus all their old favourites.

As can be heard that night, the new album “retains the spirit and sound of the Seventies’ band while also reflecting the changes in music over time to ensure Montpellier is current for today’s audiences”.

Tickets for April 17 cost £17.50 on 0845 130 8840.