Did you know that legendary synth-soul act Yazoo were called Yaz in the States? Something to do with milkshake, apparently.
The odd couple of Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet sold an enormous amount of records in the early Eighties, and are now reuniting for a full-on world tour to publicise some long-awaited reissues. A snazzy box-set featuring their two albums ‘Upstairs At Eric’s’ and ‘You And Me Both’, plus a B-Sides/remixes album and a DVD is all set to drop.
They’ve never actually played ‘You And Me Both’ live before, having split up before it was released, and so twenty-five years on they’re finally getting round to it. The full list of the June gigs is –
Wed 04 Glasgow Clyde Auditorium
Thu 05 Newcastle City Hall
Sat 07 Manchester Apollo
Mon 09 Sheffield City Hall
Wed 11 Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
Thu 12 Wolverhampton The Civic Hall
Fri 13 Bristol Colston Hall
Sun 15 Brighton Centre
Mon 16 Plymouth Pavillions
Wed 18 London Hammersmith Apollo
Thu 19 London Hammersmith Apollo
On a similar theme, Lou Reed has announced a mammoth tour of his classic 1973 album ‘Berlin’, following last year’s initial jaunt. He didn’t bother gigging the album on its original release because sales were so dreadful, but it’s since become a genuine classic and he’s now gotten the full horn section, string section and children’s choir on board. The full dates in July are –
Wed 25 Edinburgh Playhouse
Thurs 26 Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Mon 30 Royal Albert Hall London
And finally, growing into their name with every passing year, veteran scuzz-rockers Dinosaur Jr continue their comeback with a few choice UK gigs this summer. The original trio of J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph have a bit of a tempestuous history, to put it mildly. Mascis and Barlow are one of the great feuding rock partnerships, in the classic Ashcroft/McCabe, Jagger/Richards tradition.
Barlow was fired from the band in 1989, but remained a thorn in his old partner’s side, slagging Mascis mercilessly both in interviews and the lyrics of his side-project, Sebadoh. Hence their reformation in 2005 was one of the more unlikely comebacks, but they managed to remain communicative enough to produce a new album last year, ‘Beyond’, and have now announced two new UK dates.
They play a one-off gig at London’s Koko on May 15th, then All Tomorrow’s Parties in Minehead across the weekend of May 16th, 17th and 18th.
Dinosaur Jr at Butlins, eh? Who would have thought it?
