North of Scotland hard rockers, Bad Actress, are back with an explosive brand-new single and video release this month (June).‘Dynamite Lover’ is the band’s first release since ‘Hot Stuff’ in November 2022 and the first track to feature new lead singer, Toby Michaels.The single’s release was put on hold when former vocalist, Vinnie Vexx, stepped down from the band in February. Michaels was confirmed as the preferred choice after a series of auditions. The behind-the-scenes focus meant a seemingly quieter start to the year for Bad Actress, publicly at least.This was in stark contrast to 2022, which saw a string of releases and shows up and down the country. These included two UK tours with the legendary Marco Mendoza, festival appearances, support slots with the likes of Hardline and Gun, and a series of headline shows.‘Dynamite Lover’ and the accompanying video were recorded inApril and May, and as drummer Lui Q insists, is all about Dutch courage.He said:“Dutch courage means different things to different people who go about finding it in their own way. Of course, it’s completely fake so the ‘dynamite lover’ is basically the explosive sting in the tail from whatever form of Dutch courage you find.“We’ve had great fun working on this new song. It’s been in the pipeline for a good few months, so it’s great to finally get it out there and we really look forward to hearing what people think of it.”Toby Michaels is well-known in the Highlands’ rock scene and beyond, having fronted bands such as the Broken Ravens and Greater Than Fear.Commenting on his work with Bad Actress so far, he said:“I have so much respect for Bad Actress and what they’ve achieved, and I’m a big admirer of Vinnie Vexx who is a brilliant vocalist and a good friend. When I heard she was stepping down from the band, I immediately got in touch to let them know I wanted a shot at it.”By this time the band already had Mikey Roberts, lead vocalist with Scottish Borders rockers, Wild Fire, lined up to fill in for headline shows in March. However, Mikey had to pull out due to his own band’s commitments, so Toby was drafted in at short notice.“I think it’s fair to say I was thrown in at the deep end,” he says. “I had just two weeks to learn the whole set, and time to run through it with the band a couple of times. It was tough but definitely worth it, and great to be on the stage with the band. The audiences were brilliant and the venues were awesome too. We have slots lined up over the summer and I just can’t wait to get back out there, playing ‘Dynamite Lover’ and the rest, having had a bit more time to settle in.”Bad Actress have shows lined up for the rest of this year in locations including Inverness, Nairn, Bathgate, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Newcastle, Troon and Newton Stewart. On 15 July they’ll be playing at desTINAtion, an event at the Corporation in Sheffield to celebrate the life of Tina Sherwood, who sadly passed away in December 2022. Tina had mentored the band as part of the Forge Ahead Initiative.