One of British music’s rarest treasures, Doves’ reputation as a committed and consistent albums band is gilded by timeless singles including There Goes The Fear, Pounding and Black And White Town.

The Manchester band’s four albums to date, the Mercury Prize-nominated brace of Lost Souls and The Last Broadcast, followed by Some Cities and Kingdom Of Rust stand as monuments of refined song writing craft. Each recalls the band’s broad span of musical reference points, from the glinting riches of golden age soul and gritty garage to the woody rhythms of folk. Beyond their dancefloor-friendly singles, Doves’ universe moved around emotive soundscapes and gently sparkling love letters. Demand for their sell-out live performances saw them routinely headlining festival stages, from repeated Glastonbury appearances to 2003’s Teenage Cancer Trust concerts and the BBC Electric Proms.

Doves stepped off stage in 2010 and Jimi Goodwin, Andy and Jez Williams went their separate ways for an indefinite period. Yet the lines between them remained connected and their three-decade long friendship persisted as the hiatus drew on.  In the absence of a plan, the next chapter began to fall into place and in 2018 they announced their long-awaited return. The deafening response to the news that Doves would play their cherished songs again has set the optimistic course for what lies ahead.  

Doves promise a superb night of entertainment.  Be sure to get your tickets for a perfect Summer’s evening, gigs not to be missed…

Support for the Birmingham – Perry Park show now includes Johnny Marr and The Coral plus more to be advised.

JOHNNY MARR

“Don’t ask me why I obsessively look to rock ‘n’ roll bands for some kind of model for a better society . . . I guess it’s just that I glimpsed something beautiful in a flashbulb moment once, and perhaps mistaking it for a prophecy have been seeking its fulfillment ever since.”

Lester Bangs, 1978

“This is the most complete thing I’ve ever done”, says Johnny Marr. “There are no songs I’m not sure about. And for me as a listener, it’s made up of entirely the music I like, and have liked.”

Call The Comet is his third solo album. Recorded over nine months in his new studio and HQ just outside Manchester, it’s a vivid, immersive, brilliantly evocative record, which develops the music explored on its two predecessors – 2013’s The Messenger, and Playland, released in 2014 – and adds a new emphasis on atmosphere and drama. In response to our confused, fretful times, many of its songs look to ideas of an alternative society and utopian futures, while retaining an all-important openness and sense of mystery. Most obviously, the album is also full of the pre-requisites of compelling music, which Marr understands as a matter of instinct.

“Everybody who knows about rock music knows who I am,” he says. “They know what my values are. So they don’t need my songs to be any kind of exposition. They want good riffs, and good singing, and good guitar music.”

THE CORAL

The Coral’s past speaks volumes having sold over a million UK albums since their debut EP release in 2001, five of those hitting the top ten, including the chart-topping Magic and Medicine (2003) and eight top 40 singles. Without so much as a glance over their shoulder, James Skelly (vocals/guitars), Ian Skelly (drums/percussion/vocals), Nick Power (keyboard/vocals), Paul Duffy (bass/keyboards/vocals) and Paul Molloy (guitars) stride into the future to fortify their indefinable position in modern music. There are no full stops in The Coral’s story, but their return with a seventh album, Distance Inbetween in 2016 turns a distinct new page within it after an unapologetic five year hiatus.

Picking up the band’s story from the release of 2010’s Butterfly House, theirs is a tale of uninterrupted individual creativity punctuated by the surprise release of their lost album, The Curse of Love (2014).

A collective for whom permanence is defined by bonds stronger than music, The Coral encouraged each other to go exploring alone after a relentless decade of activity. James Skelly wrote and recorded Love Undercover (2013), establishing his Skeleton Key record label and producing songs for bands including Blossoms, Sundowners and She Drew The Gun. Nick Power revealed literary talents with a book called Small Town Chase (2013); Ian Skelly found a kindred spirit in Paul Molloy (formerly of The Zutons) forming Serpent Power and Paul Duffy turned to soundtrack composition. Founding member, Lee Southall continues his own personal and artistic journeys separately while The Coral regroup, leaving his foot in the door for when his ambitions have been fulfilled elsewhere.

Of the break and return, James Skelly says: "We decided the band had hit a brick wall. We had to stop and take a breath. We had been doing the same thing of touring, doing an album and then touring again for twelve years and it had become a habit everyone was scared to step away from. Looking back now, from the point of view of a reinvigorated band, it was the best decision we could have made."

Tickets for DOVES – Birmingham Inner City – July 2019

Sunday 28th July 2019   

BIRMINGHAM – Perry Park, 281 Aldridge Road, Birmingham   B42 2EY

Box Office No:  0844 249 1000

Website – http://www.innercitylive.co.uk/birmingham/

General Ticket price from £37.50

For further information on DOVES, check out the following websites / social media links:

Website – https://dovesofficial.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Doves/

For further information on JOHNNY MARR, check out the following websites / social media links:

Website – https://johnnymarr.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/officialjohnnymarr

For further information on THE CORAL, check out the following websites / social media links:

Website – http://thecoral.co.uk/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TheCoral