KEANE, the rejuvenated East Sussex chart toppers, are off to the East Coast for a Friday night out at Scarborough Open Air Theatre this summer.
Tickets for their July 17 gig go on general sale on Friday at 9am at scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Singer Tom Chaplin, sparring partner Tim Rice-Oxley, bassist Jesse Quin and drummer Richard Hughes returned from a six-year hiatus last September with the album Cause And Effect.
The birth of their fifth studio album came as a surprise even to the band from Battle. Chaplin had released two solo albums, 2016’s The Wave and 2017’s Twelve Tales Of Christmas, but nevertheless missed working with Rice-Oxley.
So, when Chaplin, Quin and Hughes heard the songs Rice-Oxley had been composing, they were immediately drawn to them, both sonically and lyrically, and Keane were reborn. “We’re not some heritage act,” says Rice-Oxley. “We’ve got a lot of great music in us.”
Ahead of Cause And Effect’s release, Keane returned to the stage last summer with a string of live shows, not least two nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
The comeback album peaked at number two last autumn, adding to the success of a career that had chalked up 13 million album sales, four number one albums, two BRIT awards and one Ivor Novello award before coming to a halt in 2013 with The Best Of Keane compilation.
Their 2004 debut, Hopes And Fears, elicited the hits Somewhere Only We Know, Everybody’s Changing, This Is The Last Time and Bedshaped en route to being ranked among Britain’s 40 best-selling albums of all time. Next came Under The Iron Sea in 2006, Perfect Symmetry in 2008 and Strangeland in 2012.
Promoters Cuffe and Taylor are delighted to have added Keane to this summer’s Scarborough OAT programme. “As soon as Keane announced last year they were back and ready to take to the stage again, we knew we had to bring them to Scarborough,” says director Peter Taylor.
“This special arena was created for artists like Keane. Their songs are beautiful, anthemic, the soundtrack to many people’s lives over the last 20 years, and I’m sure their army of fans cannot wait to see these songs played live here. I know I certainly can’t.
“Keane are an incredible live band and this is unquestionably going to be one of the gigs of the summer.”
Tickets for this summer’s shows can be booked in person from the Scarborough Open Air Theatre box office, Burniston Road, and the Discover Yorkshire Coast Tourism Bureau, Scarborough Town Hall, St Nicholas Street; on 01723 818111 and 01723 383636, as well as at scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
SCARBOROUGH OPEN AIR THEATRE: 2020 LINE-UP
- Tuesday June 9 – Lionel Richie
- Wednesday June 17 – Westlife
- Saturday June 20 – Supergrass
- Saturday July 4 – Snow Patrol
- Friday July 10 – Mixtape (starring Marc Almond, Heaven 17 and Living in a Box featuring Kenny Thomas)
- Friday July 17 – Keane
- Tuesday July 21 – Little Mix
- Friday August 14 – McFly
More artists are to be announced.