MEMBERS of the Outcast Band are hoping the man who discovered pop princess Pixie Lott can put them on the road to the Big Time.

The legendary Phil Tennant has produced and mixed the first album in 15 years for the Five Valleys-based band.

The disc The Longest Mile is being launched with a tour which kicks off in the county.

"We are fired up about giving our new material a first play in our home county of Gloucestershire before it hits the music stores and downloaders," said the Outcast Band's lead singer Damien Kay, 39, from King's Stanley.

The tour starts at Cafe Rene in Gloucester on April 9 and reaches The Queen Vic in Stroud on April 30. The Gloucester gig will see the group's first live performance of the band's latest single Orphans.

"The Cafe Rene gig will be a night to remember ahead of what promises to be a massive year for the band," said Damien.

Phil Tennant has produced for the likes of The Levellers, The Waterboys and The Saw Doctors.

He produced The Longest Mile at the famous Rockfield studios near Monmouth – where Queen recorded Bohemian Rhapsody in 1975 – after getting in touch with the band via the social networking website Facebook.

The band has toured with groups he has produced for in the past.

It is the Outcast Band's first album since the The Devil's Road in 1995. It is a modern mix of alternative folk and roots rock with added punk influences.

Since reforming as a five-piece in 2008, the Outcast Band has taken the local and national gig scene by storm with high-energy performances bringing crowds to a floor-stomping climax throughout Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, the Home Counties and London.

The band also played on the main stage at the Acoustic Festival of Britain 2009 alongside Chris Difford from Squeeze, Supertramp's Roger Hodgson and Adrian Edmondson's folk-punk outfit The Bad Sheperds.

The rest of the Outcast Band is drummer Andrew Wickson, 29, from Brockworth, guitarist Tom Price, 37, and zeta fiddle player Paul Godfrey, 36, both from Surrey, and bass player John Forrester, 40, from Kent.

Entrance to the Cafe Rene gig is free before 11pm and £2 after.

Actress, dancer and singer-songwriter Pixie Lott, 19, hit No1 with her debut single Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)in June 2009, following it up with chart-topper Boys and Girls three months later.