EMI Gospel has signed Aaron Neville to his debut album

POP/R&B star Aaron Neville has been signed to EMI Gospel to record his debut gospel album. The release, scheduled for late August in the States, will feature both original Neville compositions and several spiritual classics. "The project is labour of love," said Neville. "It's something we've talked about doing since 1989. The record company wasn't ready then, so I sort of put a spiritual song on each of my records. Now the opportunity to get to do some material that I really love takes me back to my roots, when I was a little boy sitting on my grandmother's knee and listening to spiritual radio stations."