Huey Lewis & The News have inked a deal with BMG to record their first album of original songs since 2001’s Plan B. “We’re very excited about our new album, and honestly feel that it’s among our best work – we cannot wait to get it out to fans!” Lewis said in a statement. “We’re equally excited to be with BMG, whose reputation as a ‘music-first’ label precedes them admirably.”
Less than a year ago, Lewis was forced to cancel a 40-date tour after experiencing sudden hearing loss. “I haven’t come to grips with the fact that I may never sing again,” Lewis told the Today Show in May. “I’m still hoping I’m gonna get better. They say a positive attitude is important.” Doctors believe that he is suffering from Meniere’s, which causes severe disorientation, feelings of intense vertigo and hearing loss. Lewis first experienced the symptoms at a show in Dallas last March. “As I walked to the stage, it sounded like there was a jet engine going on,” he said. “I knew something was wrong. I couldn’t find pitch. Distorted. Nightmare. It’s cacophony.”
Lewis did get onstage to sing “Hip To Be Square” at a golf event in October, he hasn’t done a full show in well over a year. “I can’t hear enough to sing, so we have no gigs booked,” he wrote on his official website earlier this month. “I hope I can get better.”
But his hearing problems didn’t to prevent him from recording a new album. The disc is due out in the spring.