A CLYDEBANK band has told how coronavirus has cancelled many of their big plans for 2020 – but they are optimistic they will be able to play in America later this year.

The Ronains had a string of gigs lined up for the spring and hoped to introduce their fans to new guitarist, Lyndsey Punton.

Lead vocalist Debi Ronain told the Post: “We have lost five gigs in the next few weeks and all the summer festivals we were involved in have been cancelled too.”

The band is well known in Clydebank and Glasgow but has not played live since the tragic death of guitarist and singer Shaun Scott last year.

Shaun passed away in August, just days before the scheduled release of the group’s new single, ‘Funtime Frankie’.

Debi told how excited the band had been to launch their comeback gigs and reveal their newest member to fans.

She said: “Lyndsey came into the studio in February and she blew us away.

“She was extremely talented, very compassionate and just so easy going – we knew within 10 minutes she would blend in well.”

Lyndsey was due to have played live with the band for the first time this month, before the Covid-19 crisis put all the group’s plans on hold.

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Debi said she knows many bands will be struggling, but feels it is even more frustrating for her band because they have missed out on a comeback gig.

Even rehearsing together online is difficult as Lyndsey, who lives in Dunbar, is a security guard – a key worker.

Debi said: “Lyndsey has worked tirelessly to nail our tracks, so we decided by April we would be ready, we immediately got booked up through April and May.

“We were all really nervous – these would have been our first gigs without Shaun.

“On April 5 all four of us did a live Q&A where we finally introduced Lyndsey – we chatted away with everyone for 90 minutes, without even playing a tune.

“We are hoping to go live again soon and have received some requests for a live quiz, so we are working on that.”

Despite their best efforts to rehearse through video calls when Lyndsey isn’t working, the lockdown has put added stress on the band as they had only just got used to performing together again. Debi said: “We feel like we have hid away as we were stuck in the studio rehearsing, and now our rehearsal time is down to zero.

“We have tried to rehearse online with the likes of Zoom, Streamyard and those types of apps but there’s a delay on all of them – playing as a four piece just doesn’t work online.”

Although the group’s spring and summer plans have been dashed, they remain hopeful that ‘Go-Gold’, a fund-raising concert at the Barrowlands in Glasgow on September 4 in aid of five children’s charities, will still be able to go ahead.

And in the autumn the group – Debi, Lyndsey, drummer Linzi Ronain and bass player Jim Reid – plan to tour the US, with gigs in Memphis, New Orleans, Alabama, Nashville and Atlanta.

Debi added: “Hopefully, this horrid virus runs its course as soon as possible.

“The number of deaths has been devastating for so many, we hope everyone will recover from this episode kinder and more respectful of everyone.”