Elles Bailey unveils “Take A Step Back”
Elles Bailey has released her new single “Take A Step Back,” the second track from her forthcoming album Can’t Take My Story Away, due January 16 via Cooking Vinyl and Outlaw Music.
“Sometimes relationships can be all fire, all pleasure and all pain simultaneously and you either have to embrace it – or take a step back,” Bailey said of the new single. “This truly is one of my favourite moments on the album. I love the sound we captured in the room. It’s so live, so full of swagger, so soulful and yet equally just as playful. It’s definitely the kind of song that puts a strut in your stride.”
Produced by Luke Potashnick, Can’t Take My Story Away was recorded with a new lineup of musicians separate from Bailey’s regular touring band. The eleven-track album was developed over a three-year period, featuring songs that date back nearly a decade. Bailey described the record as “an honest and vulnerable glimpse” into her life and career.
“There’s definitely an empowerment to this record,” she said. “I feel like that has actually evolved since I first started making it – as though I was a different person. There is a quiet strength running through this album and a deep-rooted honesty and whilst there are some moments that reflect on some of the hardest chapters of my story, there’s a feeling of joy threaded through every note. It’s like a kind of light has found its way in, even in some of the darkest moments.”
Although the album features new studio collaborators, Bailey’s longtime touring band will join her for live performances in 2026. She will embark on a UK and European tour in February and March, preceded by a series of acoustic in-store performances in January.
Bailey will also host The Story By Candlelight, a special event exploring the themes of the album, at Rough Trade in Bristol on November 24.
Elles Bailey 2026 UK & EU Dates
Instore Shows (January)
Jan 16 – London, Rough Trade West
Jan 17 – Oxford, Truck
Jan 17 – Leamington Spa, Temperance
Jan 18 – Leeds, Vinyl Whistle
Jan 18 – Liverpool, Jacaranda
Jan 19 – Bury, Wax & Beans
Jan 20 – Nottingham, Rough Trade
Jan 21 – Southampton, Vinilo
Jan 21 – Brighton, Resident
Jan 22 – Marlborough, St Peters Church
Headline Tour
Feb 20 – Stuttgart, Im Wizemann
Feb 21 – Munich, Ampere
Feb 22 – Nuremberg, Hirsch
Feb 23 – Aschaffenburg, Colas-Saal
Mar 19 – London, Islington Assembly Hall
Mar 20 – Warwick, Arts Centre
Mar 21 – Bristol, Electric
Mar 24 – Manchester, Band on the Wall
Mar 25 – Glasgow, St Luke’s
Mar 26 – Gateshead, Glasshouse 2
Mar 27 – Holmfirth, Picturedrome
