The Ronains tell of fears after Russian death threat over song cover art

The band opted to use pictures of world leaders to illustrate new release Lunatics - including a drawing of Vladimir Putin.

Just hours after the release of the image, a sinister message appeared on Facebook threatening that their drinks would be spiked.

And more bad news was to come as the artwork was also banned from a raft of streaming services and outlet stores. 

Frontman Jim Ronain said the band has been left "really concerned" and "scared" by the message.

He reported the incident to cops on Saturday and said the foursome will now be extra vigilant at future gigs.

Jim said: "We actually have filed a police report on the matter because it is considered a serious threat.

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"It’s actually really scary, particularly because they said they know what we look like. 

"With us gigging and touring they could access us at any time really and we are concerned because we do like a drink, and don’t always think about what we are gulping down."

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Enquiries, which are at a very early stage, are ongoing following a report of threatening online comments.”

The cover art for the new single features a line up of world leaders from Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Joe Biden and Kim Jong-Un with Russian president Putin holding a bottle of wine.

Dubbed Lunatics, the new song questions how people with mental health problems are treated by society.

Not long after the teaser release of the artwork, they were sent a message that said: “Watch your drinks you Ukrainian British f**k, we know what you look like and will track you. 

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"Russia forever." 

Jim added: “We always like to question the norm and have a bit of a laugh at other people’s expense so we put out the artwork to accompany our single for its pre-sale release.

"But we couldn’t believe it when we got a message in Russian from someone who took our message way too seriously."

More bad news was to come for the band, which also features Debi, Linzi, and Ciaran.

The artwork, which was mastered by U2 and Oasis producer John Davis, got banned from all outlet stores, including the biggest names such as Amazon, Facebook, Spotify, TikTok, Instagram and iTunes.

The controversy is a far cry from the success of the band's last single.

The Ronain's cover of Flower of Scotland beat Noel Gallagher to the number one spot on the UK Rock charts, a highlight for the group.   

New single Lunatics is out on pre-sale release on August 5.