HIGHLY-RATED Tompaulin have agreed to release their debut album with Manchester's underground label Uglyman Records, Pulse can exclusively reveal.

The deal, which has been agreed over the last fortnight, will see the Blackburn band release two singles and their debut album with the label.

Uglyman Records is a small, truly independent label which was established in 1986 by Guy Lovelady and has a roster of 18 other artists. Many of the label's musicians have a strong leaning towards an acoustic sound that seldom gains mainstream recognition.

But over the years they have worked with better-known bands like I'am Kloot and more recently the critically-acclaimed Elbow, who will release their second EP on Uglyman in January before moving to Richard Branson's V2.

Uglyman boss Guy Lovelady said: "We'd had two singles from Elbow and yet someone else got the album.

"But with Tompaulin we get the album and any money made will be ploughed back into the other artists."

Delighted Tompaulin singer/songwriter Jamie Holman said: "The deal virtually happened overnight.

"Guy offered us complete creative control over the music, which was the most important thing to us." Having discovered the group through through Andy Woods, who works from Manchester's Night and Day Cafe, he has booked Tompaulin into the studio in spring. Returning to Northern Line studios in Liverpool, where they recorded their Slender EP -- which reached number five in the indie charts -- Tompaulin's album will be produced by Rob Ferrier and Vinny Peculiar. Jamie also revealed that the band's third release, It's A Girl's World, which should have been out now on the Track And Field label, has been put back until the New Year after the wrong B-side was pressed.

Fellow Blackburn band The Burn signed to Hut records earlier in the month and the East Lancashire's music is buzzing with record label interest Not even in the early '90s, when A and M discovered Colne's Milltown Brothers, were so many of our bands been watched by industry A and R men.

In the autumn Jive records snapped up new band Big Dog, which features former Black Grape rapper Kermit alongside Mark Jones and Ged Lynch, both of Oswaldtwistle.

Mark, who ran MJM Studios in his home town until having to go full time with his band, is now busy in South Wales as the group put the finishing touches to their debut album, set for release next year.

CLIVE LAWRENCE