The late Overtones singer Timmy Matley, who passed away in April, will posthumously appear on the vocal harmony group's next album as they pay tribute to the Cork man.
Matley was just 36 when he died in April, having been diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer, in 2016.
Speaking to The Press Association, The Overtones' Mike Crawshaw said his late friend and colleague would appear on their sixth album - which is due in October - but did not say on which song.
We are excited to announce that we are heading out on tour! Tickets go on general sale Friday, 24th at 10am! Not only that but you can also pre-order our BRAND NEW ALBUM now!! https://t.co/ZApR5kWBtZ #busyboys pic.twitter.com/6KnBvXhiF5
— The Overtones (@the_overtones) August 20, 2018
"There are a lot of songs on the album that Timmy would have loved," said Crawshaw. "We've spoken about My Girl for a long time, and he would have loved that one.
"Timmy's voice does actually feature on the album. We recorded a song a long time ago - I'm not going to name the song, because I want it to be a surprise for people - and we were waiting for the right moment to dust it off anyway, and Timmy's voice is on it.
"We're thrilled that Timmy is involved in the album, and that will be an emotional moment."
Crawshaw said he and his bandmates - Mark Franks, Darren Everest and Lachie Chapman - felt there was "no decision to make" about continuing following Matley's passing.
"We were kind of in the preparation process of the album before Timmy passed away, and once we'd had that time, those few months or so of mourning, and the shock of everything else, we got together for a beer in a pub garden," he recounted.
"We sat there and said, 'What are we going to do lads?' and we had a really open and honest conversation about it.
"The two options were, we either hang up our microphones and our dancing shoes and that's it for The Overtones. Or we honour Timmy's memory and we move forward and do what we know best.
"There was no decision to make. We all felt strongly that we owed it to ourselves, we owed it to Timmy and we owed it to our fans to continue."
Originally from Farranree in Co Cork, Matley began performing at the age of 14. He moved to London at 17 and in his early twenties he auditioned for The X Factor, making it to the bootcamp stage of the competition.
He joined The Overtones, originally called DYCE, in 2010. The five-member vocal harmony group were discovered by a talent scout, who heard them singing while working as decorators on London's Oxford Street.
