The band’s unconventional choice of venues – a castle, theme park, and an 18^th Century cloth hall – have somewhat baffled fans who are delighted nonetheless with Queens of the Stone Age’s return. The shows will be the first headline UK concerts the band from the desert has played in five years.

Kicking off the tour on the 20^th June, the band will play The Piece Hall in Halifax, then head to the theme park Dreamland in Margate on the 22^nd June, and finish the run on the 23^rd June at Cardiff Castle.

Supporting the band for all three shows will be the Isle of Wight indie pop band Coach Party. The up-and-comers shared the announcement on their Instagram captioning the post, “we’ll also be riding this one for a long time”.

The dates are a welcome addition to Queens of The Stone Age’s already-packed European summer schedule. Josh Homme and his crew will be performing at a myriad of festivals this summer including Rock Werchter Festival in Belgium, Les Nuits de Fourvière in France, Mad Cool Festival in Spain, and NOS Alive Festival in Portugal. Queens of the Stone Age will also be playing in the US this year with shows in Sacramento, Louisville, New York, Boston, and Columbus.

The announcement of the band’s UK shows was shared across the band’s social media accounts on the 18^th April with the cryptic caption, “The worlds gonna end in a month or so….”, leading to some fans speculating that new music might be on the way this summer.

Back in 2019, ZZ Top founder Billy Gibbons revealed to eonmusic that he will appear on QOTSA’s next album. He also told the magazine that David Grohl would also be featured on the album. “Just one month ago I was making a record with Queens of the Stone Age“, said Gibbons in an interview with eonmusic Hellfest in France, “and Dave Grohl was also taking part and he decided to have a big barbecue. So there was this interesting gathering. So, we spent one hour telling stories, great stories remembering these lovely guys.”

It’s been nearly six years since the band’s last LP, the carefree and energetic Villains produced by Mark Ronson. The album received positive reviews and topped Billboard’s US Top Alternative Albums and US Top Rock Albums Charts. It was also nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2018 Grammys.

Listen to the lead single from Villians, “The Way You Used To Do“, below:

Tickets for the UK shows go on sale on Friday 21^st April at 9 am BST. For tickets and more information see here.

See below for Queens of the Stone Age’s UK and European dates:

16/06/23 – Southside Festival Germany – Neuhausen Ob Eck
17/06 – Pinkpop Festival – Landgraaf
18/06 – Hurricane Festival – Scheessel
20/06 – The Piece Hall – Halifax
22/06 – Dreamland – Margate
23/06 – Cardiff Castle – Cardiff
28/06 – Roskilde Festival – Roskilde
30/06 –Open’er Festival – Gdynia
02/07 – Rock Werchter Festival – Werchter
04/07 – Les Nuits de Fourvière – Lyon
05/07 – Pause Guitare Festival – Albi
07/07 – Mad Cool Festival – Madrid
08/07 – NOS Alive Festival – Lisbon

Perhaps known best for their tracks ‘Come On Eileen’ and ‘Geno’, Dexys Midnight Runners were formed in 1978 by ever-present lead vocalist Kevin Rowland and guitarist Kevin Archer. Inspired by punk (Both Rowland and Archer were previously in the punk band The Killjoys) and Northern Soul (indeed, the ‘Dexys’ in their name is short for Dexetrine, a stimulant popular with Northern Soul enthusiasts who used their drug-induced energy to dance all night), Dexys Midnight Runners released their first album, Searching for the Young Soul Rebels, in 1980 to critical acclaim. Their second, Too-Rye-Ay, released in 1982, adding new wave and folk elements to their sound, proved to be an even bigger hit as it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart.

Their third album, Don’t Stand Me Down (1985), was not as popular and preceded a twenty-seven year wait until the release of their next, One Day I’m Going to Soar, released in 2012 under the shortened name Dexys. Their latest release comes seven years after their previous, Let the Record Show: Dexys Do Irish and Country Soul (2016), featuring, as the name suggests, interpretations of Irish compositions. The Feminine Divine therefore marks a highly anticipated return to releasing original material penned by the band itself and is sure to be met with excitement and glee by adoring fans and critics alike.

Watch ‘I’m Going To Get Free‘, a single from the new album, below:

In a press release the band have stated, “After taking some time out to refocus his energy, Kevin Rowland came back to music with a fresh perspective and new-found positivity”, adding that the new record is evidence of Rowland being “a man whose views have evolved over time ” and an unlearning of “the masculinity he had been raised with”.

Tickets for all tour dates are available to pre-order from April 14th here.

See below for the September tour dates:

05/09/2023 – Barbican – York
07/09 – Philharmonic – Liverpool
08/09 – Bridgewater Hall – Manchester
10/09- O2 City Hall – Newcastle
11/09 – Royal Concert Hall – Glasgow
13/09- St David’s Hall – Cardiff
14/09 – Regent Theatre – Ipswich
16/09 – The Halls- Wolverhampton
17/09 – Cliffs Pavilion – Southend
19/09 – Dome – Brighton
20/09 – Palladium – London
22/09- Forum – Bath
25/09- 3Olympia Theatre – Dublin

(photo credit: Sandra Vijandi)

The Brian Jonestown Massacre are supporting Primal Scream at On The Mount At Wasing on 30th June 2023https://t.co/fi4bZclyBU pic.twitter.com/uKaoekq2EO

— anton newcombe (@antonnewcombe) April 5, 2023

The show is the third date of the music series event On The Mount At Wasing, which is comprised of five dates through late June and early July, and it is the latest addition to the Scottish alternative rock band’s busy summer festival schedule. The band have made a habit of performing at summer festivals the past few years since the release of their last album in 2016 and this year is no different, as they will be performing live in Cornwall, Edinburgh, Dublin, Madrid among other cities.

Formed by lead singer and only ever-present member Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie in Glasgow in 1982, Primal Scream are the epitome of an ever-changing and experimental rock outfit. Starting out with indie pop, they soon moved on to develop a psychedelic rock sound in the late 80s before, in 1991, adding an alternative dance element with the release of their most renowned album to date, Screamadelica. Their latest album, Chaosmosis, was released in 2016 and their current line up, after the sad news of the death of Martin Duffy last December, consists of Gillespie (lead vocals), Andrew Innes (guitar, keyboards), Darrin Mooney (drums, percussion), and Simone Butler (bass guitar, keyboards, percussion).

Joining them at the music series event to create a legendary double bill is the American psychedelic rock band and music project The Brian Jonestown Massacre, fronted by Anton Newcombe. The band, much like Primal scream, has undergone several transformations in terms of the music it has produced in its history and continues to be a vehicle of experimental rock music to this day. Formed in San Francisco in 1990, The Brian Jonestown Massacre initially developed a shoegaze sound, drawing on influences from similarly ethereal groups Spacemen 3 and My Bloody Valentine, before incorporating blues, folk and psychedelic sounds into their music, drawing heavily on a 60s aesthetic. The band recently released their 20th album, The Future Is Your Past, on 10th February 2023.

Tickets for the show are available now here.

See below for Primal Scream summer tour dates:

26/05/2023 – Lews Castle – Stornoway
28/05 – Catton Hall – Derbyshire
03/06 – Scorrier House – Cornwall
30/06 – Wasing Estate – Wasing
08/07 – Espacio Mad Cool – Madrid
04/08 – Crystal Palace Park – London
05/08 – Dreamland – Margate
19/08 – Escot Park – Devon
20/08 – Weston Park – Shropshire
25/08 – Royal Highland Showgrounds – Edinburgh
26/08 – Wythenshawe Park – Manchester
27/08 – Royal Hospital Kilmainham – Dublin
01/09 – Lindisfarne – Northumberland

British Lion consists of bass guitarist and keyboardist Steve Harris, lead vocalist Richard Taylor, guitarist and keyboardist David Hawkins, guitarist Grahame Leslie and drummer Simon Dawson. The band are signed to German-British record label, Parlophone. Steve Harris is best known for being the bassist in award winning British heavy metal band, Iron Maiden. British Lion were founded as a side-project by Steve Harris in 2012 and have released two studio albums, self titled album British Lion (2012) and The Burning (2020).

The British Lion tour is designed around the Iron Maiden’s 2023 tour schedule, as Steve Harris will also be touring with Iron Maiden this summer. Iron Maiden’s ‘The Future Past’ European tour will also begin in May 2023 and carry on into the August. No support acts for their shows have been released as of yet. Steve Harris has appeared on all 17 of Iron Maiden’s studio albums, self titled album Iron Maiden (1980), Killers (1981), The Number of the Beast (1982), Piece of Mind (1983), Powerslave (1984), Somewhere in Time (1986), Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988), No Prayer for the Dying (1990), Fear of the Dark (1992), The X Factor (1995), Virtual XI (1998), Brave New World (2000), Dance of Death (2006), The Final Frontier (2010), The Book of Souls (2015) and Senjutsu (2021).

Iron Maiden was created by bassist, Steve Harris in 1975, taking the band five years to release their self titled debut album. The bassist was an architectural draughtsman, in London, before finding success in the band. In an interview in 2020 for Nights with Alice Cooper, Harris explained ”Well, straight after school, really, I went straight into that job. I did my college stuff and on the weekends, two nights a week, I made sure I got qualified to a certain degree because I thought, If the band don’t work, then I’ll have something to fall back on.” 

Steve Harris has gone on to form great success in both Iron Maiden and British Lion and the upcoming tours for both bands are expected to be a triumph.

British Lion UK & European 2023 Tour Dates:

27/05/2023 – Cvetlicarna – Ljubljana

02/06 – Pakkahuone – Tampere

06/06 – Ole Bull Scene – Bergen

08/06 – Sweden Rock – Solvesborg

12/06– Kamienna 12 – Krakow

16/06 –  Hellfest –  Clisson

20/06 –  Capitol – Hannover

23/06 – Opium – Dublin

29/06 – Rebellion – Manchester

02/07 – Rescue Rooms – Nottingham

10/07 – Q Factory – Amsterdam

14/07– Legend – Milan

19/07 – Garaje Beat Club – Murcia

24/07 – FZW – Dortmund

30/07 – Backstage Halle – Munich

Tickets for the tour are on sale now. To access tickets, click here.

The new album, which was effectively announced around the same time as the musician’s divorce, is set to be officially released on June 2nd, 2023. The album revelation is coupled with an early single release “Easy Now” showcasing the guitarist’s trademark brit pop writing skills. It offers us a touch of his nostalgic sound, accompanied by a new music video featuring Milly Alcock, who recently starred in House Of The Dragon.

Gallagher explains in a Radio X interview how the album was written during lockdown and, although he considers the album should be interpreted as one desires, he recognises Council Skies as a reflective project. When Gallagher talks about the title of the release he says “It sparked off thoughts of my youth and all my dreams that I dreamt of underneath the council skies“.

It is a short tour, set to start on the Friday, 21st of July in Buckinghamshire, not long after the album release, which will run through to finally wrap up in Dublin at the end of August. If anyone knows how to put on a show it is Noel Gallagher. This is not just any other tour around the UK. He will be playing in a variety of locations such as the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham in Dublin as an outdoor show, as well as Wythenshawe Park in Manchester, not to mention Caldicot Castle in Monmouthshire, Wales, and several other festivals.

If the album release and locations aren’t reason enough already to awaken excitement and anticipation for these performances, a series of special guests will be making an appearance to jazz up the shows for us. Each performance will include a different guest star appearance, making each show just as unique as the other. We are expecting to see visits from artists such as Johnny Marr, The Zutons, Tom Meighan, Feeder, Primal Scream, Future Islands and Happy Mondays. 

Click here for tickets!

UK Tour dates:

21/07/23 – Pennfest – Buckinghamshire
28/07 – Crystal Palace Bowl – London
05/08 – Audley End – Essex
19/08 – Caldicot Castle – Monmouthshire
20/08 – Hardwick Festival – Sedgefield
26/08 – Wythenshawe Park – Manchester
27/08 – Royal Hospital – Dublin

Two of the band’s original members remain within the current lineup, frontman Jim Kerr and multi-instrumentalist Charlie Burchill. Speaking of the new deal with the major label BMG, Kerr has given the following statement, “We are very pleased to have struck this deal. It feels like the right time for us and our families. We look forward to working with everyone at BMG.“

BMG President Repertoire and UK Marketing, Alistair Norbury has also commented on the new partnership, “There are few bands who can claim to have changed music, but over a period of 45 years Simple Minds have done precisely that. It has been a long courtship, but we are delighted to have the opportunity to be custodians of their outstanding catalogue. We are thrilled that BMG is now the musical home of Simple Minds, past, present, and future.”  

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BMG (@thenewbmg)

  With a long and storied discography, the new deal with BMG will see the major company become host to a great deal of the band’s music. The band’s latest album was released in 2018 and was entitled Walk Between Worlds, released via BMG the album sired four singles and placed at number 4 within the UK album charts. Last month the band confirmed the arrival of new material and confirmed the new album’s release date. Entitled Direction Of The Heart, the album is set to be released on 21st October 2022 and will mark the band’s 18th studio album. The album sees Simple Minds collaborate with various guest artists including Sparks’ singer and former musical partner Russell Mael and songwriter Gary Clark.  

 The group’s website provides a description of the upcoming release, “Direction of The Heart’ finds the band at their most confident and anthemic best and is an inspired celebration of life, most evident on the captivating lead single ‘Vision Thing”. The album’s lead single, “Vision Thing”, was released on 14th June 2022 and was crowned BBC Radio 2’s Record Of The Week at the beginning of this month. The track was penned as a tribute to Kerr’s father who sadly passed away in 2019, the 63-year-old artist has spoken on the moving single, “How to make a feel-good ‘electro-rock’ record, during the very worst of times? ‘Direction Of The Heart’ is the result of that challenge. Who would have thought we’d have so much fun creating it?”  

 Simple Minds are currently conducting the European leg of their 40 Years Of Hits tour, the band embarked on the global tour in support of the new compilation album 40: The Best Of- 1979-2019. After 11 more European shows, the band will return to the UK for a series of concerts and events, the group’s first UK show is scheduled to occur on 9th August 2022 at Belfast’s Custom House Square. After a performance at Essex’s Audley End House, Simple Minds will perform at Edinburgh Summer Sessions on 12th August 2022. On 13th August 2022, the band will perform a special show in Edinburgh, all proceeds occurred through the event will be donated to UNICEF for Children In Ukraine. On 17th September 2022, Simple Minds will headline Radio 2 Live 2022; the band will share the Leeds stage with Tears For Fears, Craig David, Banarama, Ella Henderson, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Kaiser Chiefs. 

Simple Minds UK tour dates

09/08/2022 – Custom House Square – Belfast
11/08 – Audley End House – Essex
12/08 – Edinburgh Summer Sessions – Edinburgh
13/08 – Edinburgh New Gold Dream UNICEF – Edinburgh
17/09 – Radio 2 Live 2022 – Leeds

Click here to purchase tickets.

Click here to pre-order Direction of The Heart.

A number of people organising the events in these areas have made known their excitement to have the famous Oasis songwriter headlining their festivals. Gallagher’s presence at Dundee Summer Sessions on June 11^th had this response from DF Concerts CEO Geoff Ellis: “We are excited and extremely proud to announce Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds as the first ever headliner for Dundee Summer Sessions and we could not wish for a more iconic artist to launch the festival”. It’s a sign of changing fortunes for the city, which had recently missed out on the opportunity to host Radio 1’s Big Weekend back in 2020 due to Covid.

Some of the more unusual places Gallagher will be performing include the 9^th June Newcastle show at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus event, which will mix music with circus entertainment, seeing the likes of tightrope walkers, fortune tellers and jugglers under a Big Top roof.

The tour’s announcement comes after the release of a greatest hits album earlier this year, Back the Way We Came: Vol. 1 (2011-2021), which featured some of Gallagher’s most famous solo songs. Two new tracks featured as well, “Flying on the Ground” and “We’re on Our Way Now”, the latter of which featured Doctor Who star Matt Smith in the music video.

Also, Gallagher was seen at a recent preview screening of the new The Beatles: Get Back documentary, directed by Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings fame). In it he expressed his love for The Beatles’ classic Let it Be album and his interest in just seeing the mundane parts of The Beatles’ recording process, saying: “I’m just excited about … the things I haven’t seen … it’s just the things, the mundane stuff … what were they wearing? … Just the way they are … because … we’ve never seen them like that before …. This is a kind of fly on the wall stuff so this is gonna be fantastic”. The singer also recently admitted to his embarrassment about claiming Oasis were “bigger” than the Beatles back in his own band’s heyday, noting a somewhat possible lack of truth in the statement. For those interested in the upcoming tour dates, they’re listed below. Details about tickets can be seen here.


04/06/2022 – Margam – Wales
09/06 – Rock ‘N’ Roll Circus – Newcastle
11/06 – Summer Sessions – Dundee
12/06 – Cannock Chase Forest – Staffordshire
15/06 – Eden Project – Cornwall
16/06 – Delamere Forest – Cheshire
18/06 – Stadiwm Eirias – Colwyn Bay
19/06 – Hampstead Heath Kenwood – London
21/06 – The Piece Hall – Halifax
22/06 – Bristol Sounds – Bristol