Absent Elk to support Girls Aloud

Absent Elk have been drafted in to support Girls Aloud on their upcoming 'Out Of Control' tour.

The Shoreham-based band, who signed a six-figure recording contract with Sony last year, will hit the road with the girl group next month.

Absent Elk caught the attention of Girls Aloud's management after their cover of 'The Loving Kind' was viewed over 50,000 times in a week on YouTube.

"We recorded the cover in my living room in Shoreham Beach with a hand held camera," band member Ross Martin told The Argus.

"It was tongue in cheek and fun more than anything, but a lot of people watched it and our record company entered in to talks with Girls Aloud record company and eventually they chose us as a support band.

"We haven't met the girls yet but will start the tour on April 24 and finish May 8.

"We're excited but at the moment we're concerned with making it good. We'll be playing to an arena of 22,000 or more so there are new and different issues to think about."

The group consists of Norwegian singer Kjetil Morland, drummer Ric Wilson, guitarist Mike Hillman and bassist James Penhallow.

Absent Elk release their debut single 'Sun And Water' on May 18.