Bad Company - reunion concert
The iconic rock band Bad Company are reuniting for what promises to be a series of legendary performances from original members, Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke in eight shows across the UK in April 2010.
The exclusive UK concerts will take place at venues including Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Cardiff, Newcastle upon Tyne, Glasgow, Brighton and London, from 1st April to 11th April. This is the first time that the three have got together for over 30 years and the concerts also feature special guests, the Joe Perry Project.
Bad Company was originally formed in 1973 by members of the English rock band Free, still cited as one of the definitive bands of British Blues. Enjoying huge success throughout the 1970s, Bad Company was considered to be one of the first new breed of super-groups of the era. Disbanding in 1982, they were famous for their large stadium-filling live performances, although the first official live album wasn’t released until 2006.
Tickets start at £34.50 and go up to over £90 so make sure you get yours in good time if you want to hear all the old electrifying classics like Can’t Get Enough, Run with the Pack, Ready for Love and Feel Like Makin’. It’ll be goosebumps all over.
Lady Gaga has announced first-ever UK tour
The pop artiste, Lady Gaga is embarking on her first UK tour from 10th February to 10th March, showcasing her inimitable style of music at a host of venues across the UK including Brighton, Bournemouth, Aberdeen, Manchester, Belfast, Liverpool, London, Glasgow, Cardiff, Newcastle, Birmingham, Sheffield and Nottingham.
Following the phenomenal success of her debut album, The Fame, Lady Gaga’s driving pop has captured the imagination of the novelty satiated British public like no-one else this year. For an audience who thought they had seen it all, it’s only just begun – Lady Gaga has reinvented pop music and created an image that’s stylish, slick and sometimes downright scary.
With an arty and flamboyant performance influenced by the likes of David Bowie and Freddy Mercury (her stage name stems from the Queen song Radio Gaga), la Gaga’s formidable talents also include songwriting. She started her career writing for Akon who was responsible for persuading Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine to sign her for a joint deal with Akon’s Kon Live Distribution label.
Since that time, Lady Gaga’s electronic brand of music has topped the Billboard charts in the US with the singles, Just Dance and Poker Face becoming worldwide number one hits. She has now sold over 20 million singles and more than four million albums worldwide. Intensely fashionable, intelligent and controversial, this is the kind of concert that will go down in the annals of history and you should be there.
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Athlete
This concert is going to be a sell-out so get your tickets while they’re still available.
The indie rock band from Deptford, London earned a Mercury Music Prize nomination for their first album Vehicles and Animals and sold over 250,000 copies.
A second album Tourist, which reached the number one spot in the album charts, contained the emotive single, Wires which was a massive hit and secured them the Ivor Novello Award for best contemporary song. Inspired when lead singer, Joel Pott’s baby was born prematurely and rushed into intensive care, Wires was one of the major songs of 2005.
This tour is in support of their 4th studio album, Black Swan with Fiction Records and release of the first single Superhuman Touch which is also to be released in America.
Concerts are guaranteed to go down a storm. Pott’s voice has a gritty edge that compliments the sensitivity of many of the tracks. Singalong anthems and great lyrics will mix with catchy indie rock and electronic music with integrated organic sounds.
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Gary Numan
Calling all Numanoids – the “godfather of electronic music”, Gary Numan is back to perform in a mini tour in cities including Edinburgh, Norwich, Cardiff, Brighton and Manchester.
Gary Numan’s songs like Cars and Are Friends Electric are still as fresh today as they were in the late 70s and 80s but the king of electro-pop is still evolving as an artist and songwriter, writing new tracks that combine industrial and electronic with rock guitar.
Numan has always inspired strong loyalties in his followers who supported him through a hiatus in the 80s and 90s and called themselves Numanoids, reflecting Numan’s own slightly alien and otherworldly persona created by his flamboyant sense of style and make-up. Now, however Numan is back on planet earth with a host of bands and artists like Jarvis Cocker, Damon Albarn and Matt Sharp, David Bowie, Marilyn Manson and Noel Fielding queuing up to cite him as a major influence in contemporary music.
Composing songs from the age of 15, Numan rose to prominence with Tubeway Army. New wave oriented tracks included Down in the Park which didn’t reach the charts but became one of his most frequently covered songs, featuring in moves like Times Square. In 1979, the single, Are Friends Electric? climbed to number one after seven weeks in the charts and an album, Replicas followed suit. When Cars also peaked at number on in the UK and in the US, Numan set off on a schedule of sell-out tours.
Recent chart successes with Rip and Crazier mean that he is back in vogue and back on tour. But he is also an evolving performer who is not content to ride of the back of nostalgia. Recent projects like the highly successful Replica and Telekon tours have seen him performing classic albums in their entirety thus celebrating the works themselves rather than trotting out hit singles. In doing so he’s gone a long way to shedding the 80s pop star label and has established himself as Gary Numan, musician and performer.
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a-ha
Back in the eighties, a-ha brought a whiff of fresh air straight from the Norwegian ffords to the London music scene and held a unique place in the hearts of many. Now they’re back on top form and raring to go with a series of concerts scheduled across the country. Fresh from the success of their headlining spot at iTunes Live festival, a-ha’s latest album, Foot of the Mountain has gone straight to the German no 1 and no 5 in the UK charts, demonstrating that the band still has a huge following worldwide.
Mortan Harket (singer), Magne Furuholmen (keyboard player) and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitarist and songwriter), shot to fame after leaving the land of trolls to seek their fortune in the recording studios of London. Less troll-like individuals would be hard to find – Mortan Harket, of the finely chiselled good looks and soaring vocals, had a voice that was instantly recognisable and the band offered a welcome change from the besuited, callow youths who dominated the music industry at the time, with a style that was unashamedly upbeat and passionate.
They gained their biggest success with their debut album, Hunting High and Low, which spawned the singles; Take on Me and The Sun Always Shines on TV; a UK no 1 achieving massive international success in Europe and America. Later albums like Scoundrel Days were less successful as synth pop began to fall out of favour but the band still had notable successes with the single The Living Daylights from the album Stay on These Roads that was used as the title track theme song to a James Bond Film – something the band is proud of to this day. Another hit, Summer Moved On went to no 1 in 17 countries and was notable for securing Morten Harket the world record for the longest held note in a UK hit song, coming in at 20 seconds.
Since the band’s appearance at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 2000, a-ha have been on the up and up with a return to the synth-based styles of the initial albums. Morten Harket describes Foot of the Mountain as an album “that incorporates the key elements that first defined the band: soaring vocals, synth hooks, yearning lyrics and melodic melancholia.”
Prepare to be shaken and stirred by a-ha’s music for passionate pop people everywhere.
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Green Day
The American neo punk-rock trio return to various venues throughout the UK in London, Sheffield, Birmingham, Glasgow, Wembley and Manchester.
Originally part of the punk-rock scene in California, the band with its line-up of Billie Joe Armstrong (vocals, guitar), Mike Dirnt (bass, vocals), Tré Cool (drums, percussion) debuted with their breakthrough album, Dookie in 1994 that sold 10 million copies in the US and 15 million worldwide.
Three follow-up albums achieved double platinum and gold status and the band’s politically charged punk-rock opera, American Idiot was lauded as a masterpiece, reaching number one on the Billboard charts.
An eighth studio album released in May 2009, 21st Century Breakdown, received rave reviews from the critics and hit gold or platinum in 14 different countries whilst a host of other awards including Record of the Year for Boulevard of Broken Dreams, ensured the band’s continuing pre-eminence throughout the world.
Expect fireworks at a live show, fast-paced guitar, manic drums and tight playing with classic songs from the back catalogue like Basket Case, Jesus of Suburbia and Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).
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Basement Jaxx
As NME music magazine said; “… we can confidently say that there’s still no-one who throws a party quite like the Jaxx.”
If you haven’t experienced a Basement Jaxx concert, do it now. The two deceptively normal looking guys from Brixton Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Burton are taking to stages across the UK to choreograph and conjure up their customary carnival of events mutating across genres of house music, breakbeat, dance, two step, regga, samba, soul, jazz, punk and rave and conjuring up exotic dancers, guest vocalists, extravagant costumes in the chaotic frenzy that defines a Basement Jaxx show.
The duo got together in Brixton in 1994 where they famously held a nightclub called Rooty which later became the name of their second album. The 1999 album Remedy was critically acclaimed, featuring singles Red Alert and Rendezvous, but it was with the release of Rooty and tracks like Romeo that the duo became a huge international success. The single Where’s Your Head At from Rooty, was subsequently included on the Tombraider soundtrack. The 2003 album, Kish Kash received recognition at the Grammy Awards and with impressive singles like the fast-paced Good luck belted out by Bellray’s Lisa Vennum-Kakaula plus mixes like Justin Timberlake’s Like I Love You and She Wants to Move by N.E.R.D., firmly tucked under their belt, the Jaxx became a British institution appealing across generations.
With their latest album including guest appearances by Yoko Ono and Yo! Majesty, it’s fair to say that the duo never fails to surprise and entrance. A live performance from Basement Jaxx, as their legendary headlining act at Glastonbury demonstrated in 2005, is something never to be forgotten.
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Depeche Mode
Tickets are on sale now for kings of electronics, Depeche Mode who are performing in a UK tour.
Depeche Mode has been described as Britain’s largest cult band but they can still sell out arenas. With bands like Radiohead, Linkin Park and The Pet Shop Boys citing them as major influences on their music, the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher have emerged from the 80s as one of the most influential bands of the era.
And they still can pack quite a punch. Widely credited with introducing the concept of sampling and industrial sound, Depeche Mode’s music is popular with the current generation of DJs as mixes. Their musical style has come a long way from the electro beat of Just Can’t Get Enough which peaked at number eight in the singles charts. Material has become darker and moodier and more atmospheric, lyricism focuses on political and social issues and heavy metal elements have inspired artist like Marilyn Manson’s to create their own version of hits like Personal Jesus.
Depeche Mode songs seem to take on a meaning for many. People Are People was adopted as an anthem for the LGBT community and is played at gay pride festivals everywhere. More recently the band has become associated with the gothic subculture, seduced by the serious and dark tone in many of the ballads.
With the release of their new acclaimed album, Sounds of the Universe in 2009, Depeche Mode are on top form and still at the height of fashion. Take the opportunity to see this iconic band who never fail to fascinate.
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La Roux
Tickets have been released for three concerts at Leeds, University, Newcastle University Union and Warehouse Project in November.
The androgynous star entered the UK charts at number 2 earlier this year and currently commands over 63,000 sales of her self-named album while her third single Bulletproof soared straight to the top of the charts. La Roux bring a new meaning to electro-pop with catchy ditties influenced by 80s bands like Depeche Mode, The Human League and The Eurythmics and clear-as-a-bell vocals and attitude in bucket loads supplied by Elly Jackson.
The daughter of actress Trudie Goodwin who plays June Ackland in The Bill, Elly, whose auburn quiff has been likened to the 80s group Flock of Seagulls, is a fiercely individual, unconventional performer and is fast developing a cult following across the UK. The other half of the creative duo is Ben Langmaid who co-writes and co-produces songs.
With roots in folk and acoustic music, their second single In for the Kill, peaked at number 2 in the charts and was quickly followed by the success of Bulletproof. The duo commenced an action packed tour that included performances at Glastonbury, Reading and Leads as well as North America.
Seize this opportunity to see them now while they’re performing at smaller, more intimate gigs because in the future, La Roux is going to be massive.
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Echo and the Bunnymen
The Fountain World Tour is scheduled to take place featuring the seminal band Echo & the Bunnymen in cities across the UK including Glasgow, London, Oxford and Liverpool.
They may have been around for a long time in one form or another, forming in 1978, but the English post-punk/alt rock group have enjoyed cult success and critical acclaim throughout the changes in line-up and musical fashion.
The band formed in Liverpool and made a triumphant return to their home city captured on their disc Live in Liverpool in 2001. Early top ten hits came with The Cutter and The Porcupine, but Ocean Rain in 1984 was widely regarded as their masterpiece after which the band went through several reincarnations eventually returning as Echo & the Bunnymen in 1997 with another top 10 hit, Nothing Lasts Forever and a well-received album Evergreen. A new album, The Fountain, described by Ian McCulloch as “the best one we’ve ever made apart from Ocean Rain,” is to be released in October with the first single being Think I Need It Too.
If you haven’t yet seen Echo & the Bunnymen you need to do so; not only are they a part of rock history, they’re a cracking good band.
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