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Sun hits the Scarborough sky for Supergrass on comeback trail

Going out: Supergrass have a run of gigs next summer

EVERYTHING has aligned for Supergrass on the “improbable comeback” trail.

The Oxford four-piece of Gaz Coombes, Danny Goffey, Rob Coombes and Mick Quinn will head to Scarborough Open Air Theatre on June 20 next summer, with tickets going on sale at 9am on Friday.

Coming first will be Supergrass: The Strange Ones 1994-2008, released on BMG on January 24 2020 to mark the 25th anniversary of their chart-topping debut album I Should Coco.

This box set stacks up their six albums on picture-disc LP and CD; bonus CDs of unreleased live material; B-sides; remixes; rarities; studio out-takes; demos; acoustic versions; oddities, new mixes; a deluxe book, posters and button badges.

Supergrass made their comeback in September in a bold manner, taking to the stage unannounced at Glastonbury Pilton Party to rip through a greatest hits set, embracing Richard III, Moving, Alright, Lenny, Going Out, Caught By The Fuzz, Sun Hits The Sky, Pumping On Your Stereo and Grace.

Supergrass are back after a decade away? I should coco

“Everything aligned for us to make this happen for 2020,” says drummer Goffey, recalling September’s re-launch. “It was the first time that we collectively felt the buzz to get back in a room together and play the songs. We’re extremely excited to get out there and bring a bit of Supergrass joy to all our fans… and their extended families.”

Formed in 1993, the Oxford band released the Mercury Prize-nominated I Should Coco in 1995; In It For The Money in 1997; Supergrass, 1999; Life On Other Planets, 2002; Road To Rouen, 2005, and Diamond Hoo Ha, 2008, plus the 2004 compilation Supergrass Is 10.

After the BRIT, NME, Ivor Novello and Q award-winning band split in 2010, Gaz Coombes released his solo albums Here Come The Bombs in 2012, Matador in 2015 and World’s Strongest Man last year.

Quinn has been playing with his own group, DB Band, and has been a member of Swervedriver since 2015; Goffey’s album Schtick came out in 2018.

From Friday (December 20), tickets can be booked on 01723 818111 or 01723 383636; at scarboroughopenairtheatre.com or in person from Scarborough OAT, in Burniston Road, or the Discover Yorkshire Coast Tourism Bureau, Scarborough Town Hall, St Nicholas Street.

Did you know?

Supergrass’s I Should Coco in 1995 was the Parlophone label’s biggest-selling debut since The Beatles’ Please Please Me in March 1963.

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Hello again! Lionel Richie to play Scarborough as well as York next summer

Hello? Play Scarborough as well as York, you say? Why not, says Lionel Richie

LIONEL Richie will play two North Yorkshire shows within a fortnight next summer after adding Scarborough Open Air Theatre on June 9 to his York Festival appearance on June 21.

Tickets go on sale for his Scarborough return on Wednesday at 9am, Richie having made his sold-out debut there in June 2018 on his All The Hits, All Night Long tour.

“It was a truly wonderful night on the Yorkshire coast in 2018 and I cannot wait to return to this beautiful part of the UK again,” says the Alabama soul singer, songwriter and producer. “It’s going to be another night to remember, so bring you’re dancing shoes.”

Richie, 70, will play Scarborough as part of his Hello!, Hits tour, performing songs from his Commodores days to the present day, taking in Three Times A Lady, Truly, Dancing On The Ceiling, Say You Say Me, Hello and All Night Long.

Honoured last year with the Ivor Novello PRS for Music Special International Award, to go with an Oscar, Golden Globe and four Grammy awards and 100 million album sales, Richie released his latest album, Live From Las Vegas, in the summer.

Heading East: Westlife: to play Scarborough in the same week as their York Festival headline show next June

York Festival can be added to such Richie festival headline sets as Bonnaroo, Outside Lands and Glastonbury, where he drew more than 200,000 to main stage in 2015.

Cuffe and Taylor are promoting both his Scarborough and York gigs. “Lionel Richie is an undoubted global superstar and we are delighted to be able to bring him back here to Scarborough,” says director Peter Taylor.

“His 2018 sold-out show was the stuff of legend. It was a brilliant night in the presence of one of the most successful and celebrated music artists of all time.”

As well as Richie, Cuffe and Taylor have booked Irish boy band Westlife to play both locations, Scarborough OAT on June 17 and York Festival, at York Sports Club, Clifton Park, Shipton Road, on June 20.

Tickets for Scarborough OAT concerts are on sale at scarboroughopenairtheatre,com, on 01723 818111 or 01723 383636, or in person from the venue, in Burniston Road, or the Discover Yorkshire Tourism Bureau, ScarboroughTown Hall, St Nicholas Street.

For York Festival tickets, go to york-festival.com.