A JOHNSTONE guitarist has told how music has helped her stay upbeat during lockdown.

Shannon Loughlin is the bassist with up-and-coming band St. Clement’s, who released their new single, Carwash Disco, last month.

And although she admits that being unable to perform to a live audience, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, has been tough, she hopes the track will bring some joy to fellow music lovers during these difficult times.

Shannon, 20, has largely relied on FaceTime sessions to keep in touch with bandmates Natalie Mollon, Cammy Gallacher, Cameron Connor and Daanyaal Mohammad during lockdown.

She told The Gazette: “With the first lockdown, we obviously couldn’t do much but we’re all really good friends, so we were on FaceTime and keeping in touch.

“Cammy got his head down and has written quite a lot of songs during lockdown, which has been really good for us.

“He has a programme on his laptop that he can send to us so we can have a listen, which has been helpful at a time when we’re unable to meet up.”

St. Clement’s, who have been likened to The Wombats and Two Door Cinema Club, were formed after Shannon and the others met through college, where they were studying for a NC (National Certificate) in Music.

Natalie is the vocalist, with singer-songwriter Cammy playing guitar, while Daanyaal is also a guitarist and Cameron plays drums.

Shannon said: “We have been together for almost three years. Our college class was put into bands, with myself and Natalie put together at the beginning. We then broke off and formed our own band with the others.

“St. Clement’s was actually a temporary name but it just stuck.

“We’ve played in Paisley before and we practice in Glasgow, as it is central for us all. I’m from Johnstone and the others are from Kilmarnock, Uddingston, Glasgow and Cumbernauld.

“We recorded Carwash Disco back in January, along with five other singles.”

The end of the first lockdown meant band members were able to meet in person again, much to Shannon’s relief, although the tougher restrictions currently in place have been another challenge to overcome.

Shannon said: “The practice room reopened and we were getting to go in every week, when restrictions were lifted, to work on our new material.

“We recently recorded another new single which will be coming out in the new year.”

To download St. Clement’s new single, visit distrokid.com/hyperfollow/stclements/carwash-disco.

You can also follow the band’s journey by liking their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/st.clementsband.