The late Bernie Marsden's final album 'Working Man' will be posthumously released later this year.

The former Whitesnake guitarist passed away peacefully, aged 72 on August 23, and had been hard at work finishing the record in the weeks before his death.

Bernie oversaw the artwork, sequencing and mastering of the LP, which was finished in June.

The tracks are all original songs and come after Bernie's trio of covers albums, 'Kings', 'Chess' and 'Trios'.

The first track 'Being Famous' is out now.

His widow Fran Marsden said: "Bernie was really excited about his new album, Working Man, and proud of the tracks featured on it.

"After the last three albums of covers he was keen for his fans to hear some new, original songs. He loved working on them in the studio during lockdown and he couldn't wait to get the album out into the world.

"Conquest Music were considering delaying the release until 2024 out of respect but knowing Bernie's eagerness to get the album out there, we want to follow his wishes and release it as planned."

Conquest's Alan Bambrough added: "Bernie Marsden was far more than an artist to Conquest Music.

"He has been a great friend and mentor for many years and was a huge part of our decision to form the label.

"His Kings album was our first release, and we are proud to work with his company, Little House Music in releasing some of his finest ever work. We are heartbroken at Bernie’s passing and thought the right and respectful thing to do would be to postpone the release until next year. Fran Marsden convinced us that Bernie would want the Working Man album to come out as planned."

The collection is available as a limited edition 2CD or vinyl and there is the bonus disco with an additional 10 new songs from Bernie plus reworkings of Whitesnake classics.

'Working Man' is the follow-up to 2018's 'Tales Of Tone And Volume' and will be released on November 24.