RYDE musician Steve Love has put the lockdowns to good use — by coming up with an album of 20 upbeat original songs about the ups, downs and quirks of Isle of Wight life.

The CD, Living on Isle of Wight Time, is being launched on Sunday.

It will also mark the end of the live music lockdown he has been hosting.

The launch is taking the form of a live-streamed performance of a dozen of the songs from the album, at 7pm on Sunday on Facebook at his page “Stevelovesiow”.

Steve said: “All my songs are about the Isle of Wight — its daily life, history, landscape, people.

"I used the first lockdown to make a 20 song CD called Isle of Wight Girl but they are nearly all gone now so I thought I should do another.

"The title track has a humorous take on the Island’s pace of life. In the course of the next 19 songs you will find crab pasties, the Umbrella Tree, a trip to the Donkey Sanctuary, noisy boats, the Spanish Armada, a crash-landed German pilot, the Beer and Buses Weekend, the Floatie (of course!) and lots of other affectionate pokes at our Island’s life and story.

"But it isn’t enough just to write the words and come up with a tune, a good song has to be knocked into shape by performing it regularly live. So whenever lockdown rules have allowed I have been out there playing and busking — and then in the lockdowns doing live streamed shows and hosting a regular Monday online open mic night.

"The Isle of Wight is an endless inspiration for songs. Whenever I think there can’t be anything else to write about, I open the County Press and something else has happened that just needs to be in a song.

"I’ve got a few more ideas coming on nicely for next year’s CD.”

Steve has been active on the Island live music scene for much of the last decade and is a regular at folk, charity and community events as well as compiling the local music guides for Vectis Radio and the County Press.

His CD is available for £5 via stelov1@yahoo.co.uk