Anne-Marie: Scarborough Open Air Theatre debut this summer
ANNE-MARIE will head to the Yorkshire coast on August 29 for a headline concert at Scarborough Open Air Theatre.
The chart-topping Essex singer-songwriter will be joined at her Sunday show that August Bank Holiday weekend by Hrvy and Gracey. Tickets will go on general sale at 9am on Friday, April 2 via ticketmaster.co.uk.
Nine-time BRIT Award nominee Anne-Marie Rose Nicholson, from East Tilbury, near Thurrock, is a former West End child star who has notched four UK top ten singles and 4.5 billion global streams.
Her 2016 breakthrough, Alarm, has been followed by further lead-artist hits Ciao Adios and Friends, with Marshmello, in 2017; 2002, with Ed Sheeran, and Rewrite The Stars, with James Arthur, in 2018, Birthday in 2020 and Don’t Play, a number two success with KSI and Digital this year.
Hrvy: Singing Holiday in Scarborough over August Bank Holiday weekend
Anne-Marie, who will turn 30 on April 7, has been a featured artist, alongside Sean Paul, on Clean Bandit’s 2016 number one, Rockabye; Artists For Grenfell’s 2017 number one, Bridge Over Troubled Water; David Guetta’s Don’t Leave Me Alone in 2018, Live Lounge Allstars’ 2019 chart-topper Times Like These and Rudimental’s Come Over in 2020.
On March 20, millions tuned in to witness Anne-Marie’s debut Grand Final win on ITV’s The Voice UK as she mentored Scotsman Craig Eddie to victory.
Further buoyed last year by his cheeky-chappie performances with Janette Manrara on Strictly Come Dancing, Hrvy already had progressed from singing in his bedroom to signing his first record deal at 15 and achieving hits with Holiday, Phobia, Personal, Me Because Of You and Good Vibes.
After two sell-out British and European tours, Hrvy – real name Harvey Leigh Cantwell – has signed a new global record deal at 22 with BMG.
Gracey: Supporting Anne-Marie at Scarborough Open Air Theatre
Gracey, a platinum-selling songwriter since the age of 16, has written for Rita Ora, Olly Murs and Kylie Minogue and had a top ten smash with Don’t Need Love, her 2020 collaboration with 220 Kid.
Gracey – 23-year-old Grace Barker from Brighton – has since released Empty Love, a collaboration with Australian singer Ruel, and her second EP, The Art Of Closure.
Peter Taylor, of Scarborough Open Air Theatre (OAT) promoters, says: “We are absolutely delighted to announce a headline show this summer with Anne-Marie, supported by Hrvy and Gracey.
“Anne-Marie has had hits around the world, and we’ve had so many requests to bring her here to Scarborough OAT. This is not only going to be a very popular announcement but one of the must-see shows of the summer.”
UB40, featuring Ali Campbell & Astro: New date for Scarborough show
UB40, featuring Ali Campbell & Astro, is the first concert of the Scarborough Open Air Theatre summer season to be rearranged after the Government’s roadmap roll-out.
The Birmingham reggae-pop stalwarts will play on August 28, switched from June 19, with tickets remaining valid.
Promoters Cuffe & Taylor say: “We now have a roadmap for live shows to return and we cannot wait to welcome audiences back to Scarborough OAT this summer. However, due to new Government guidelines, a number of shows scheduled to take place before June 21 will need to be rescheduled.
“Rest assured we are working with artists to find alternative dates for these shows, so please bear with us and we will announce further details very soon. Take care and stay safe x.”
Should pandemic lockdown-easement measures be lifted fully on June 21, the other concerts now in need of a new date are Crowded House on June 8; Lionel Richie, June 12; The Beach Boys, June 13 and RuPaul’s Drag Race: Werq The World, June 20.
In the Scarborough OAT diary for this summer too are Bryan Adams on July 1; Snow Patrol, July 3; Duran Duran, July 7; Keane, July 9; Olly Murs, July 10; Kaiser Chiefs, July 11; Lewis Capaldi, July 25; Westlife, August 17, and Nile Rodgers & Chic August 20.
UB40 founding members Campbell and Astro, re-united seven years ago and will play with a seven-piece band on their second visit to the Yorkshire coast, following their 2017 debut.
They have been active during the pandemic-enforced hiatus, writing songs for their forthcoming album and reassembling their touring band remotely to record a lockdown single, a poignant cover of the late Bill Withers’ Lean On Me, in aid of NHS Charities Together.
Campbell and Astro will return to the road in 2021 with bassist Colin McNeish, guitarist Winston Delandro, keyboardist Michael Martin, drummer Paul Slowly, backing singer Matt Hoy and a brass section of trumpeter Colin Graham and saxophonist Winston Rose.
A handful of new songs will complement multiple UB40 classics, notably King, a hymn to the legacy of American Civil Rights leader Dr Martin Luther King and One In Ten, a paean to the rising tide of unemployment in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain, both as resonant today as they were when first sung in 1980 and 1981.
Campbell says: “We wrote King 40 years ago, but it’s still representative of what’s happening in America. It’s depressing that nothing has changed. It’s the same with One In Ten in the UK. With the impact the Coronavirus could have on jobs, we could soon be looking at unemployment figures on a par with the early Eighties.”
Campbell adds: “Those songs will feature in a show we’ve been honing for the past 12 years. We’ll always play the classics, like Red Red Wine and (I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You, but we like to change the beginning and end of the show.
“We’ll play Lean On Me and maybe add three or four new songs. The band members are all fantastic musicians and we’ve climbed back up to the biggest venues.”
Tickets for the Scarborough OAT season are on sale at scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Kaiser Chiefs: Never missing a beat at Scarborough Open Air Theatre next July
I PREDICT a trio!
First came Crowded House’s confirmation for June 8, next, Kaiser Chiefs for July 11, and now, this new rising morning, Bryan Adams for July 1, as Scarborough Open Air Theatre announces another burst of big signings for Summer 2021.
New Zealander Neil Finn’s re-grouped Australian band Crowded House will open the British leg of their first European travels in more than a decade on the Yorkshire coast to showcase Dreamers Are Waiting, next year’s fruits of Lockdown labours: their seventh studio album but first since Intriguer in June 2010. The release date is yet to be confirmed.
Leeds lads Kaiser Chiefs promise a “no-holds-barred rock’n’roll celebration” on their much-requested return to Scarborough OAT after their May 27 2017 debut. “We cannot wait to get back to playing live shows again and it will be great to return to this stunning Yorkshire venue,” says frontman Ricky Wilson. “We had a cracking night there in 2017, so roll on July 11!”
Expect a Sunday night of such Yorkshire anthems as Oh My God, I Predict A Riot, Everyday I Love You Less And Less, Ruby, Never Miss A Beat and Hole In My Soul from the Chiefs, whose last album, 2019’s top-five entry Duck, marked their return to their original label, Polydor.
Crowded House: Always take the Scarborough weather with you next June
That summer, they played Leeds United’s stadium, Elland Road, and this summer they were booked in for another open-air headliner at Dalby Forest, near Pickering, until Covid-19 said “No”.
Scarborough OAT venue programmer Peter Taylor, of promoters Cuffe and Taylor, says: “Ever since their show here in 2017, fans have been asking for us to bring Kaiser Chiefs back to Scarborough OAT.
“We are delighted to oblige, and this is going to be another all-action rock’n’roll show that no fan will want to miss.”
Completing the new additions to Scarborough OAT’s ever-expanding 2021 diary, Canadian singer Bryan Adams will play there as part of his ten-date UK outdoor tour that will conclude at Harewood House, near Leeds, on July 10.
Adams, 61, will be making his second appearance at the Scarborough arena after his sold-out debut on August 8 2016. Once more, he will do Run To You, Cuts Like A Knife, Summer Of ’69, I Do It For You et al for you.
Bryan Adams: Scarborough return next July after 2016 show
Programmer Taylor says: “Bryan Adams is one of the world’s best-selling artists and an international music legend. We are beyond thrilled he is returning to Scarborough Open Air Theatre next summer.
“Bryan joins an incredible line-up of headliners for 2021 and we cannot wait for the season to start!”
That list now runs to: June 8, Crowded House; June 12, Lionel Richie; June 13, The Beach Boys; June 19, UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Astro; June 20, Ru Paul’s Drag Race: Werq The World; July 1, Bryan Adams; July 3, Snow Patrol; July 7, Duran Duran; July 9, Keane; July 10, Olly Murs; July 11, Kaiser Chiefs; July 25, Lewis Capaldi; August 17, Westlife, and August 20, Nile Rodgers & Chic.
Still more artists and dates are to be confirmed. Meanwhile, tickets for Crowded House, Kaiser Chiefs and Bryan Adams all will go on general sale at 9am on Friday, December 11 via ticketmaster.co.uk and scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Tickets for Adams’s Harewood House show will be available from the same time at ticketmaster.co.uk/bryan-adams-tickets/artist/734390 and aegp.uk/ba2021
Bryan Adams’s poster for his July 1 concert in Scarborough
Three Finns you should know: Dad Neil and sons Liam and Elroy plus the other two that make up a Crowded House line-up for 2021’s first album and European tour in a decade
DO dream it’s over! Let’s hope Crowded House can live up to their name when Neil Finn’s band play Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Britain’s biggest purpose-built outdoor concert arena, next summer as we pin hopes on the Covid vaccination in the months ahead.
Crowded House, largely the family Finn, will be undertaking their first European tour in more than ten years in 2021, heading to the Yorkshire coast on June 8 for their first UK show. Glasgow, Birmingham, Cardiff and London await.
Formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1985 by New Zealander Neil Finn, they will line up next summer with Finn, fellow founder Nick Seymour, Mitchell Froom and Finn’s sons Liam and Elroy.
Familiar favourites such as Don’t Dream It’s Over, Weather With You, Four Seasons In One Day, Distant Sun and Fall At Your Feet will be bolstered by new material. On October 15, Crowded House released their first single in a decade, Whatever You Want, accompanied by a video directed by Nina Ljeti, starring Mac DeMarco.
Fresh from Finn touring as part of the latest line-up of Fleetwood Mac, he had begun recording a new studio album in Los Angeles in January but once the Covid-19 lockdown was imposed, Finn and co switched to exchanging new songs via online files.
More fruits of those lockdown labours, the album Dreamers Are Waiting, will be released early next year.
Scarborough OAT venue programmer Peter Taylor, of promoters Cuffe and Taylor, says: “When we learned Crowded House were touring Europe, we just knew we had to try and bring them to Scarborough OAT. This is a real coup for the venue and the Yorkshire coast.
“Crowded House are regarded as one of the most influential bands of the past 40 years and their fans are utterly devoted. This will be an incredible show.”
To view Crowded House’s single Whatever You Want, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZggTaHMoQYs&feature=youtu.be
The Beach Boys line-up for their 60th anniversary tour, visiting the Yorkshire coast next summer
WHO better to play Scarborough Open Air Theatre than The Beach Boys as they mark their 60th anniversary next year?
Tickets for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers’ June 13 2021 show will go on general sale on Friday, December 11, at 9am at scarboroughopenairtheatre.co.uk
The Beach Boys formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California, with a line-up of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine.
Next summer’s line-up will be led by Mike Love, who, along with long-time member Bruce Johnston, musical director Scott Totten, Brian Eichenberger, Christian Love, Tim Bonhomme, John Cowsill, Keith Hubacher and Randy Leago, continues the veteran band’s legacy.
Mike Love fronting The Beach Boys at Scarborough Open Air Theatre in 2017
The Scarborough OAT concert will be preceded by Beach Boys shows at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on June 11 and 12. Please note, none will feature Brian Wilson, Al Jardine or David Marks.
The Beach Boys previously played the Scarborough venue on May 24 2017. Once more, the sea air will be filled with Surfin’ USA, Surfer Girl, Fun, Fun, Fun, I Get Around, California Girls, Help Me Rhonda, Barbara Ann, Good Vibrations, Wouldn’t It Be Nice, Kokomo and more rays of sunshine besides.
Scarborough OAT programmer Peter Taylor, of promoters Cuffe and Taylor, says: “The Beach Boys are true music legends and we are so excited to be welcoming them back here to the Yorkshire coast.
Fun, fun, fun in the Scarborough sun as The Beach Boys play the Open Air Theatre in 2017
“Since forming in 1961, they have written some of the biggest pop songs of all time, so it’s brilliant their fans will be able to join in their 60th anniversary celebrations here at this wonderful venue.
“Next year’s Scarborough OAT line-up is already looking amazing and we are delighted to now be adding the amazing Beach Boys to our stellar group of headliners.”
In the diary for 2021 are: June 12, Lionel Richie; June 13, The Beach Boys; June 19, UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Astro; June 20, Ru Paul’s Drag Race: Werq The World; July 3, Snow Patrol; July 7,Duran Duran; July 9, Keane; July 10, Olly Murs; July 25, Lewis Capaldi; August 17, Westlife, and August 20, Nile Rodgers & Chic.
We face the second wave…but somewhere on the horizon….
AFTER the tiers of a clown, now comes the even greater frustration of Lockdown 2 from today, knocking the growing revival of arts, culture and life in general back into hibernation.
Nevertheless, in one chink of light, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has decreed that theatre companies can continue rehearsing shows in Covid-secure workspaces, behind closed doors, with a view to lockdown being lifted in early December.
Whether that turns out to be a mere fairytale, only time will tell, so please forgive the unpredictability of what may or may not be happening.
Charles Hutchinson picks through the debris of Lockdown 2 to find signs of artistic life for now and the months ahead.
Films, films and yet more films: Aesthetica Short Film Festival has a feast of film to enjoy while being stuck at home in lockdown
It’s started and it won’t finish until November 30: Aesthetica Short Film Festival online
YORK’S tenth anniversary Aesthetica Short Film Festival opened on Tuesday, switching from a spread of historic and modern locations to a digital and live-streamed festival for home entertainment, enlightenment and education on phones, TV sets, tablets and computers.
Films in competition at ASFF 2020 will span animation, documentary, drama, dance, fashion and thriller. This year they will be released in six strands this week, with no fewer than ten programmes per day under the strand titles of Just Another Day On Earth; Humans And Their Environment; Connections: People, Places and Identity; Breaking Down Barriers; Reclaiming Space: Universal And Personal and Keep On The Sunny Side Of Life.
Masterclasses, guest speakers, panel discussions, guest film programmes and an industry market are further highlights of an online festival unimpeded by the new lockdown. Go to asff.co.uk for tickets and to download the full programme.
Kate Bramley’s latest podcast: “Some strange and wonderful goings on at the allotment”
Fighting off the new lockdown blues: Badapple Theatre’s Theatre On Your Desktop podcast
GREEN Hammerton’s Badapple Theatre Company has added a new Kate Bramley play to its Theatre On Your Desktop series as it extends its lockdown season of free podcasts.
Click on https://badappletheatreonyourdesktop.podbean.com/ for The World Is Still Next Door, artistic director Bramley’s account of some strange and wonderful goings on at the allotment as Mo and her young son search for a place to fight off the lockdown blues.
Set during four sunny days in May in deep lockdown, Bramley’s play seeks to capture the power of soundscapes to inspire imagination. “I got really interested in the idea of creating a new short piece with many voices of varying ages and accents, as well as delving into sound montages that evoke settings from our local Yorkshire all the way to Watamu Beach in Kenya,” says Kate. “With a bit of Badapple signature magic-realism thrown in for good measure.”
All roads lead to…21 York wards for York magician and entertainer Josh Benson in York Theatre Royal’s Travelling Pantomime next month
Travelling Pantomime, not travailing pantomime, as the show must go on…hopefully: York Theatre Royal’s alternative neighbourhood watch
YORK Theatre Royal began rehearsals in the billiards room on Tuesday for associate director Juliet Forster’s Travelling Pantomime production.
It could still be pot luck whether the first collaboration between Evolution Pantomimes and the Theatre Royal will go ahead, everything hanging on Lockdown 2’s fate, but plans are taking rapid shape to cement the itinerary for a tour of 21 York wards from December 3, plus York Theatre Royal performances too.
Just Josh magician and entertainer Josh Benson, Robin Simpson’s Dame Dolly, Anna Soden’s Fairy/Singing Captain, Faye Campbell’s Jack/Dick and Reuben Johnson’s villainous Fleshcreep/Ratticus Flinch will rehearse three pantomimes, Jack And The Beanstalk, Dick Whittington and Snow White, all scripted by Evolution’s Paul Hendy, for each show’s audience to vote for which panto they want to see.
Bean team: top row, from left, Jordan Fox, May Tether, Ian Stroughair and Livvy Evans; bottom row, Alex Weatherhill, Emily Taylor, Matthew Ives and Danielle Mullan
The other Jack And The Beanstalk in York this Christmas: York Stage at Theatre @41 Monkgate, York, December 11 to 30
YORK Stage are going full team ahead with their inaugural pantomime, to be staged in the Covid-secure John Cooper Studio, where Perspex screens will be in place for the first time for the traverse staging.
Writer-director Nik Briggs has added West End choreographer Gary Lloyd to his production team, proclaiming: We’re taking our West End-worthy panto to the next level with the addition of Gary to our company.”
Jordan Fox, May Tether, Livvy Evans, Alex Weatherhill, Ian Stroughair, Danielle Mullan, Emily Taylor and Matthew Ives will be the cast bringing life to Briggs’s debut panto script.
Yorkshire Pudding Song: Martin Barrass will lead the Song Sheet singing at Bev Jones Music Company’s Strictly Xmas In The Park concert
Barrass is back: Bev Jones Music Company in Strictly Xmas In The Park, Rowntree Park, Amphitheatre, York, December 13, 2pm
MARTIN Barrass will be starring in a York pantomime after all this winter. Dame Berwick’s perennial comic stooge may be missing out on the Covid-cancelled Kaler comeback in Dick Turpin Rides Again at the Grand Opera House, but now he will lead the pantomime section of Strictly Xmas Live In The Park.
As part of Bev Jones Music Company’s Covid-secure, socially distanced, open-air performance, Barrass will tell a few jokes and orchestrate the song-sheet rendition of You Can’t Put A Better Bit Of Batter On Your Platter Than A Good Old Yorkshire Pud.
Barrass will wear black and pink to honour the late Bev’s favourite colour combination.
Helen Charlston: Performing at the York Early Music Christmas Festival
Early notice: York Early Music Christmas Festival, National Centre for Early Music, York, December 4 to 13
AS the NCEM website states: “We are planning for these concerts to go ahead and are still selling tickets. If the situation changes, we will of course be in touch.”
Fingers crossed, then, for a socially distanced festival in St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, featuring Palisander, The Marian Consort, Illyria Consort, Joglaresa, The York Waits and Bethany Seymour, Helen Charlston, Frederick Long and Peter Seymour.
Among the highlights, on December 9, festival favourites The York Waits will present The Waits’ Wassail: Music for Advent and Christmas: Carols, songs and dance from across medieval and renaissance England and Europe, played on shawms and sackbuts by York’s Renaissance town band.
Duran Duran: Making their Scarborough Open Air Theatre debut next summer
A hat-trick of new shows on the East Coast: Duran Duran, Lewis Capaldi and Snow Patrol at Scarborough Open Air Theatre
IN quick succession, Duran Duran, Lewis Capaldi and Snow Patrol have been confirmed for Cuffe and Taylor’s ever-expanding programme at Britain’s biggest purpose-built outdoor concert arena.
Booked in for July 7, Birmingham glam pop band Duran Duran will introduce their first new material since 2015, alongside such favourites as Save A Prayer, Rio, Girls On Film and The Reflex.
Lewis Capaldi: “Buzzing” to be back at Scarborough Open Air Theatre in 2021
Glaswegian singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi sold out two nights at Scarborough OAT in 2019 and says he is “buzzing” to be returning on July 25 next summer. “It’s a great venue, the crowds there are always unreal and so here’s to another unforgettable night,” he says.
Snow Patrol’s sold-out 2020 Scarborough show had to be scrapped under Covid restrictions but Gary Lightbody’s band are now booked in for July 3 2021. Tickets for all three shows go on sale tomorrow morning at 9am via scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Kate Rusby at Christmas…now online
And what about?
THE Kate Rusby At Christmas tour will not be happening, ruling out her South Yorkshire pub carol concert at York Barbican on December 20.
However, in response to the Covid restrictions, the Barnsley folk nightingale has decided to go online instead, presenting Kate Rusby’s Happy Holly Days on December 12 at 7.30pm (GMT). Expect all the usual Rusby Christmas ingredients: sparkly dress, twinkling lights, her regular folk band, her “brass boys”, Ruby the reindeer and a fancy-dress finale.
Tickets go on sale on Friday (6/11/2020) via https://katerusby.com/happy-holly-day/
Back on Patrol: Snow Patrol re-book cancelled Scarborough Open Air Theatre gig for July 2021
FIRST Duran Duran, then Lewis Capaldi, now Snow Patrol, as Gary Lightbody’s band completes a hat-trick of new additions in quick succession to next summer’s Scarborough Open Air Theatre programme.
Tickets for Snow Patrol’s July 3 concert will go on general sale at 9am on Friday (6/11/2020) via scarboroughopenairtheatre.com
Snow Patrol were booked to play Scarborough OAT this summer, only for the sold-out July 4 show to be ruled out by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Concert programmer Peter Taylor, of Scarborough OAT promoters Cuffe and Taylor, says:“We were gutted when the 2020 season had to be postponed, so we are delighted to be able to confirm Snow Patrol are heading to Scarborough in 2021.
“They are a hugely successful and influential band who have written and recorded some of the best-loved indie rock anthems of the last 20 years. These special songs are going to sound amazing at this unique venue. It’s going to be an incredible night.”
Gary Lightbody, guitar and vocals, Johnny McDaid, keyboards and guitar, Nathan Connolly, guitar, Paul Wilson, bass and Jonny Quinn, drums, have chalked up 17 million global album sales, one billion global track streams, five UK platinum-selling albums, an Ivor Novello award, and Grammy and Mercury Music Prize nominations.
Formed in Dundee, Snow Patrol broke into the mainstream in 2003 with their Final Straw album, riding high on the top five hit Run.2006’s Eyes Open propelled the Northern Irish-Scottish band to a worldwide audience as Chasing Cars became British radio’s most played song of the 21st century.
After taking time out, Snow Patrol returned in 2018 with Wildness, their first studio album in seven years, followed up with a live tour topped off with a homecoming gig for Lightbody, playing to 35,000 fans in his birthplace of Bangor, Northern Ireland.
During lockdown, Lightbody and co recorded The Fireside Sessions EP with the help of a few thousand friends. The five songs were written by fans during a series of streams on Instagram Live dubbed Saturday Songwrite.
In a nod to this collaboration, the EP was released under the banner of Snow Patrol And The Saturday Songwriters. All proceeds from sales are going to anti-poverty charity The Trussell Trust.
More dates will be added to a Scarborough OAT 2021 concert programme running to ten shows already. Watch this space.
“I can’t wait to return next summer,” says Lewis Capaldi as he announces his 2021 Scarborough show
LEWIS Capaldi is “buzzing” to be returning to Scarborough Open Air Theatre next summer.
The 24-year-old Glaswegian singer-songwriter will head to the Yorkshire coast on Sunday, July 25 2021 after selling out two nights – July 20 and August 30 – at Britain’s largest purpose-built outdoor arena in record time in 2019.
“Buzzing to be back playing in Yorkshire again,” says the chart-topping, two-time BRIT Award winner. “Scarborough 2019 was absolutely class, so I can’t wait to return next summer. It’s a great venue, the crowds there are always unreal and so here’s to another unforgettable night.”
Capaldi was nominated for the Critics’ Choice Award at the 2019 BRITs before his breakthrough single, Someone You Loved, topped the UK chart for seven weeks and hit the top spot the US Billboard Hot 100 too.
A nomination for a Grammy Award for Song of the Year ensued, along with a place in UK pop history as the longest-running top ten single of all time by a British artist.
Capaldi’s debut album, Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent, was not only the top-seller of 2019 but is on track to match that feat in 2020. Boasting the singles Before You Go, Grace, Hollywood and Bruises, it is yet to vacate the UK top ten more than 18 months after its release.
His 2021 diary is filling up with headline shows at arenas and festivals across Europe, Scarborough et al.
Scarborough Open Air Theatre programmer Peter Taylor, of promoters Cuffe and Taylor, says: “Lewis Capaldi is quite simply a music phenomenon – a brilliant live performer, a great guy and someone we are beyond delighted to see return.
“When we booked his two Scarborough OAT shows in 2019, they were the biggest headline gigs Lewis had ever announced and they sold out in record time.
“Those shows will live long in the memory as brilliant, magical nights, and so to welcome Lewis back in 2021 – for what will undoubtedly be his third sell-out show here – is really special.”
Forget Rio! Duran Duran are heading to Scarborio next summer
HER name is Scarborio and she dances on the sand…
Oh yes, Duran Duran are to play on the Yorkshire coast next summer, signing up for a July 7 outdoor show at Scarborough Open Air Theatre, when Rio, Girls On Film, Save A Prayer, The Reflex and the rest will be paraded alongside their first new material since 2015.
Tickets go on general sale via scarboroughopenairtheatre.com at 9am on Friday, November 6. Duran Duran VIP Fan Community members will have first access with a pre-sale from 9am on Tuesday, November 3 via www.duranduranmusic.com
Named after Milo O’Shea’s character, Durand Durand, in Roger Vadim’s cult 1968 sci-fi film Barbarella, Duran Duran formed in 1978, joining Culture Club and Spandau Ballet at the paint and frills front of a new wave of glam pop in the early Eighties.
In all, singer Simon Le Bon, 62, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, 58, bassist John Taylor, 60, and drummer Roger Taylor, 60, have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and scored 21 UK Top 20 smashes and 18 American hit singles.
In the freshly minted words of their Scarborough OAT press release: “Consistently fusing art, technology, fashion and a signature sense of style with their unique and infectious brand of music, Duran Duran have proven themselves timeless, always innovating and reinventing, to remain ahead of the curve.”
The Birmingham band last released a studio album in 2015 when Paper Gods peaked at number five. Produced by Mark Ronson and Chic leader Nile Rodgers, alongside Mr Hudson and Josh Blair, it featured collaborations with Janelle Monáe, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ John Frusciante, Kiesza and Jonas Bjerre of Mew.
A global, three-year, sold-out arena tour followed, and now the two-time Grammy, BRIT Award and Ivor Novello winners are working on their 15th studio album, set for release next year when their continuing 40th anniversary celebrations will take in the Scarborough OAT show and headline spots at the Isle of White Festival and Lytham Festival.
Until 1986 Duran Duran had a third Taylor, lead guitarist Andy, in their line-up. Now a fourth Taylor, promoter Peter of Scarborough OAT programmers Cuffe and Taylor, says: “Duran Duran are global superstars and we are so excited to be bringing them here to Scarborough next summer.
“Their live shows are simply epic and fans have been asking us for some time now to bring them here to the Yorkshire coast. It is another massive headline show for Scarborough OAT 2021!”
Next summer’s line-up so far comprises: June 12, Lionel Richie; June 19, UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Astro; June 20, Ru Paul’s Drag Race: Werq The World; July 7, Duran Duran; July 9, Keane; July 10, Olly Murs; August 17, Westlife, and August 20, Nile Rodgers & Chic. More dates are to be added very soon. Watch this space.
HELLO again, Lionel Richie will play Scarborough Open Air Theatre next summer.
The Alabama soul luminary’s June 9 show on the East Coast this summer was ruled out by the Covid-19 lockdown, but now he is booked in for June 12 2021.
This will be 71-year-old Richie’s second appearance at Scarborough OAT, having made his sold-out debut there in 2018.
“I was really excited to be playing at Scarborough Open Air Theatre this summer as I enjoyed a truly wonderful night there in 2018,” says Richie.
“I was very sad that, like so many things, the show had to be delayed but obviously, everyone’s health and safety comes first. I’m now looking forward to it even more and know we’ll all have such an incredible night of partying together.”
Richie’s set-list will span his early years in The Commodores to the present day, taking in such favourites as Three Times A Lady, Easy, Truly, Dancing On The Ceiling, Say You, Say Me, Running With The Night, Endless Love, Hello and All Night Long.
“I’m now looking forward to it even more and know we’ll all have such an incredible night of partying together,” says Lionel Richie of his re-arranged Scarborough Open Air Theatre concert
The American has sold more than 125 million albums worldwide and has received an Oscar, Golden Globe and four Grammy Awards, along with the Ivor Novello PRS for Music Special International Award. On June 28 2015, he drew a crowd of 200,000 at Glastonbury festival. Last year, he released the concert album Live From Las Vegas.
Programmer Peter Taylor, of Scarborough OAT promoters Cuffe and Taylor, says: “We are incredibly proud and excited that Lionel Richie – one of the most successful and celebrated music artists of all time – is returning to Scarborough Open Air Theatre.
“His 2018 sold-out show here was just a brilliant night and this is going to be another amazing show by an undoubted global superstar. Roll on June 12 next year. We cannot wait!”
Cuffe and Taylor also booked Richie for the closing concert of their inaugural York Festival at York Sports Club on June 21 this summer, only for Coronavirus to intervene.
Tickets for June 12 2021 will go on sale from 8am on Friday, October 30 at scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
