INDIE band Ten Stone Dead have announced details of their forthcoming UK tour and secured a national distribution deal for their debut album.

The Clayton-le-Moors five-piece have just confirmed the final dates of their 20-date jaunt, when they will visit venues across the country including London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Belfast.

And this week they agreed a deal with Vista Distribution, which will see their debut album being made available in shops throughout the country later this year.

Unsigned but highly motivated, the group -- Pete Norman, Rebecca Norman, John Briggs, Mick Bamford and Dan Pinder -- have turned down offers from two small independent labels to keep control of their music.

Lead singer Pete Norman said: "Because this is our first album, we wanted to release it on our own label and then just see where we can take it."

With their own label -- Elaborate Sounds -- now registered, they return to the studio next month to start work on the album, provisionally titled Drawn To The Deep End.

Having written much of the new material on the road last year, their music-- which is a cross between Embrace and The Charlatans -- will be recorded at Darwen's Cue Music.

Pete said the plan was to put down 20 tracks with a number of producers and then select the best 10 from the collection.

He added: "We know who we want to bring in to work on the album but we'll be using more than one producer so we can get some different angles on the music."

The next big step for the band is to get a manager on board.

Peter concluded: " It's the next step for us but we won't be rushing onto any decisions.

"We want the right man for the job -- someone whose heart's really into it."

The last chance to catch the band locally is tomorrow night when they play Preston's Corner Club with admission £1 on the door.