YORK singer-songwriter Alistair Griffin is releasing his new album, Albion Sky, this week.

Those with déjà vu as their middle name may think they read the same announcement this time last year.

Well, yes, you did, but then along came a novel form of chequered career: the rise and rise of Alistair’s motor-racing anthem, Just Drive.

First it had been used as the soundtrack for the closing montage of BBC1’s coverage of the 2010 Formula One season, after presenter Jake Humphrey, his friend since Fame Academy days, suggested he should tender it for consideration.

iTunes sales took it into the Top 40 – number 38 to be precise – giving Alistair his first hit since 2004, and in June last year it was re-issued with a new video.

The album was ready to go for an August release last summer on Alistair’s own label, Elbow Grease, after recording sessions with Suede, One Night Only and White Lies producer Ed Buller. Then, however, Alistair delayed it until the autumn, when he issued Blinding Lights – co-written with fellow York singer-songwriter Benjamin Leftwich Francis – as a single.

What happened next? “It came to a point where, one, I didn’t think the album would get the exposure it needed, and, two, I started writing more songs, so I thought it was a good idea to wait, and while I did that, I got wind that Sky Sports were interested in Just Drive for their theme tune for their new Formula One channel.”

Alistair’s instincts were right. Just Drive’s adoption by Sky Sports has given him his highest profile since he finished runner-up in Fame Academy nine years ago, after which he released the single Bring It On and his Top 20 debut album of the same name.

“When Just Drive became the Sky Sports theme, we had a lot of interest from loads of labels, as Sky made a big deal of their Formula One coverage and I think the labels realised it would make a splash,” says Alistair, in a quiet corner of the City Screen café bar earlier this week.

“We talked to six labels, the major labels, the big fish, and you have to be very careful with them as it can be very short term, but Dramatico – Mike Batt’s label – seemed the most interested in the music.”

Alistair met Dramatico’s MD, Andrew Bowles, and came away feeling the label best known for Katie Melua’s big-selling albums was the ideal route forward. “The deal is for this album only, but there’s definitely a broader picture too,” he says.

The album’s profile will be bolstered by Just Drive’s latest reissue as a single, this time through Dramatico on July 16.

Better still, he will be performing it twice at this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone. “I’m playing there tomorrow evening after the qualifying laps, in the Entertainment Zone, and then they have a post-race party on Sunday when, all being well, about 20,000 people stay on for that if the weather’s good,” says Alistair.

“I’m trying to rope in Eddie Jordan [BBC motor-racing analyst and former Formula One team boss] to play drums with me on Sunday. I’ve asked Jake Humphrey to ask him!”

Alistair will also be undertaking a radio tour to promote the single and album, calling in at both BBC Radio York and Minster FM as well as other stations from next Monday.

The album has undergone a few changes since its original proposed incarnation last year. Blown Away, co-written by Alistair with Shed Seven guitarist Paul Banks, has not made the cut this time, replaced by Always No. 1. “But Albion Sky, which I also wrote with Paul, is still the title track, and that really was the key song for the record. It’s a special song,” says Alistair.

Always No. I took its place among the 12 tracks after Alistair “tested the water with it”, playing it acoustically at gigs. “People loved it so I’ve put it on the album,” he says. He also has re-recorded Save This Day, this time at his own Oakwood Studios in Strensall. “With the passage of time, I wanted to do something more bombastic with it, more drum heavy, and I just preferred that one in the end.”

Albion Sky is a mature pop album, full of emotive songs in the mould of Take That Mark II or Run-era Snow Patrol. “The thing that’s always at the heart of the music for me is the songs. I’ll take Take That and Snow Patrol and whoever else as a comparison as I’m not ashamed to admit my pop heritage.

“Through experience, you have more to write about and I now probably take more risks with my lyrics. There aren’t many tracks you could class as love songs on this album, though there’s a romantic hint or two, and musically, I personally believe the more you write, the better you get.”

• Alistair Griifin’s new album, Albion Sky, is released this week on Dramatico. He plays Hard Rock Calling, in Hyde Park, London, on July 14 and Guilfest, Guildford, on July 15. Watch this space for any news of a York gig.