After releasing their first studio album last year, more than 40 years after disbanding, The Loft return in May 2026 with their second record. Badges, featuring ten tracks, captures what defined The Loft then and what continues to define them today. As pioneers of an entire genre, they have nothing to prove – neither to themselves nor to anyone else – and that ease and quiet confidence resonate through every song on the album. The record features 10 new songs, recorded at producer Sean Read’s (Dexys, Edwyn Collins, Iggy) Famous Times studio in Hackney and is released on the Tapete Records label. The Loft notoriously split up mid-set at the Hammersmith Palais 40 years ago after climbing to the top of the indie charts and are now releasing their second album of new materia following on from the Top 20 vinyl chart success of last year’s debut, Everything Changes Everything Stays The Same.

The original four members, Pete Astor, Dave Morgan, Bill Prince and Andy Strickland have produced an album that continues, and moves forward, the story of The Loft, the band that helped define the sound of the Creation label and the emerging Indie genre. Badges has a sound that comes from a band who’ve been together, touring and playing consistently over the past two years – relaxed, vibey, assured.

‘It feels good to be in a real band again, and for the first time I’m co- writing songs with Andy, earning to manage and negotiate all the things that split the band apart all those years ago,’ says singer and songwriter Pete Astor. ‘We just naturally started writing the new album as soon as we finished touring last year,’ says guitarist Andy Strickland, ‘it feels more organic - it’s a real privilege to still be able to get together and do this.’