Jerry Dammers Returns

Specials founder Jerry Dammers has confirmed a new UK tour with his group The Spatial AKA Orchestra.

Ripped apart in 1981, The Specials could not continue in their fun lovin' 2-Tone form. Leader Jerry Dammers hid himself away from public view, crafting a series of ground breaking singles which successfully missed the charts.

Just to show he could still pull a pop punch when he wanted to, The Special AKA returned with the euphoric 'Free Nelson Mandela'. A Top Ten hit, it helped turn the ANC leader into a hero in the eyes of the British public.

Since then, Jerry Dammers has rarely ventured out into the public domain. The one time Specials songwriter has started a series of projects, which have rarely led to anything.

Last year The Specials reformed for a series of celebratory tour dates. Charming the nation all over again, founding member Jerry Dammers was sadly missing from the line up. Arguments between the two parties raged, with ClashMusic refusing to take sides. Talking to both sides of the barricade, you can read the outcome HERE!

Now Jerry Dammers has confirmed details of a new UK tour. The songwriter has formed the Spatial AKA Orchestra, a tribute to legendary jazz outlaw Sun Ra.

Famed for claiming he was in fact from outer space, Sun Ra's music is merged with rock, reggae, funk and more on the Spatial Orchestra AKA. Jerry Dammers describes the music as "nostalgia, not for the past, but for a future…at least we can try and remind people that there was once a time when musicians and artists were trying to invent a better world”.

The Spatial AKA Orchestra are set to play the following dates:

March
4 Coventry Warwick Arts Centre
5 Brighton Dome
7 Poole Lighthouse
10 Basingstoke The Anvil
11 Leicester De Montford Hall
26 Gateshead The Sage
30 Manchester Bridgewater Hall
31 Edinburgh Usher Hall

April
1 Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
7 Bristol Colston Hall
9 Northampton Royal and Derngate

Click here to buy tickets to The Spatial AKA Orchestra!