Belly are releasing a new album next year

Belly's next record will be their first original full-length since 1995 and their third in total.

The Tanya Donelly-fronted group originally split in 1996 but got back together last year for some new live dates - although there was talk of new material at the time, it's only now that they're properly laying foundations for LP3.

"We very much appreciate all the patience regarding the new Belly material we've now promised several times!" the band write on their website. "We really have been busy writing and demo'ing new songs since the conclusion of the reunion tour last year, and we're happy to reveal that we’ll be going into the studio in just a couple of weeks with our old friend Paul Q. Kolderie working the knobs and faders. It is our hope that we’ll have a new Belly record ready for release sometime in 2018, and in the meantime we're laying the ground-work for some touring to coincide!"

We spoke to Donelly last year about the then-upcoming reissue of Star and the idea of 'the comeback'.

"That time was so evocative for people," Donelly told us. "It’s not like we were an island and people are excited about that island resurfacing. I think we were part of something people remember fondly and still resonates with people now. There is a piece to it of fondness of the era…and I’m happy to be part of that."