Photographer credit: Tom Cockram
Ahead of the release of his forthcoming solo album ‘Turn The Car Around’, due January 13th 2023 via Hot Fruit Recordings / Virgin Music, Gaz Coombes has announced headline tour dates across the UK and Europe beginning in March 2023. The dates will see Gaz performing with his extended live band, Garo Nahoulakian, Nick Fowler, Piney Gir and vocal trio The Roxys (a nickname given to them by Nile Rodgers when they shared the bill at a Later with Jools show), all of whom feature as guest musicians on ‘Turn The Car Around’.
Tickets will be general sale from Friday 11th November at 9am GMT here. Fans who pre-order the album from the official Gaz Coombes online store here will receive eligibility to access a ticket presale beginning Wednesday 9th November at 9am GMT.
The news comes amidst a wave of live activity around the release of ‘Turn The Car Around’. This week Gaz performed a sold out show at London’s intimate Lafayette to debut music from the new album, a first taste of the masterfully written and recorded songs contained within, and a timely reminder of why Coombes remains one of the UK’s most enduring and gifted songwriters. Looking ahead to January, Gaz will perform a run of special album release shows at record shops across the UK.
Added straight onto the BBC Radio 6 Music playlist upon its release, the elegantly constructed new single ‘Don’t Say It’s Over’ follows a swirling, art-rock groove as Gaz recalls the heady first night he met his future wife. It’s a first glimpse of a record seven years in the making. A record of feeling, an album that captures the ups and downs of modern life and all the small print in between.
Written and recorded in his gloriously ramshackle Oxfordshire outhouse Studio, Gaz has emerged with the best work of his illustrious career. It’s an album that both taps into the sonic palettes and lyrical themes of its predecessors and marks the third and final part of a trilogy of records alongside 2015’s Mercury and Ivor Novello nominated sophomore album Matador and 2018’s World’s Strongest Man. At the same time, it carves a bold new way forwards. “There’s a lot of subject matter in there that I’ve played with and maybe not managed to see through in the past. I’ve evolved”, Gaz adds.
With additional instrumentation from members of Gaz’s live band, Garo Nahoulakian, Nick Fowler, Piney Gir and The Roxys, the album also features cameo performances courtesy of Willie J Healey and Ride’s Loz Colbert, with Gaz sharing co-production duties with long-term collaborator Ian Davenport.
Following a rapturously received stint back fronting his iconic group Supergrass, the acclaimed live reunion ended on September 3rd with the band’s final ever appearance at Wembley Stadium with their emotionally charged set at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert. The show, attended by 90,000 fans paying tribute to the late Foo Fighters drummer also saw Gaz appear on stage with Nile Rodgers for a cover of Bowie’s ‘Modern Love’ before joining Stuart Copeland for a cover of The Police’s ‘Every Little Thing She Does is Magic’. Ahead of those final summer Supergrass shows, April of this year also saw Gaz remind fans of his imminent return to his main job as a solo artist with a short run of underplay acoustic performances, including a packed Lexington show in North London. The shows gave fans a chance to hear Coombes road test new solo material from ‘Turn The Car Around’ including an adoringly received former single ‘Sonny The Strong’, another BBC 6 Music A-listed record upon its June release.
As he celebrates 10 years of his lauded solo career, riding the crest of the Supergrass reunion wave and looking ahead to a bold new album release in Turn The Car Around, Gaz Coombes will tour Europe and the UK on the headline dates below through March and April 2023.
January 2023 UK Instore Shows
12 Rough Trade East, London – 7pm
13 Banquet – Pryzm, Kingston – 7pm
14 Rough Trade, Bristol – 6:30pm
15 Rough Trade, Nottingham – 6pm
16 HMV, Manchester – 5:30pm
17 Jacaranda – Phase One, Liverpool – 6pm
18 Resident, Brighton – 6:30pm
19 Truck, Oxford – 1pm
19 Vinilo, Southampton – 6pm
March 2023 EU Tour Dates
1 De Roma, Antwerp, Belgium
2 Paradiso Noord (Tolhuistuin), Amsterdam, Netherlands
3 La Maroquinerie, Paris, France
5 Les Docks, Lausanne, Switzerland
6 Freiheitshalle, München, Germany
7 Santeria Toscana 31, Milan, Italy
9 Zakk (Zentrum für Aktion, Kultur und Kommunikation), Dusseldorf, Germany
10 Mojo Club, Hamburg, Germany
11 Hole44, Berlin, Germany
13 Lille Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark
14 John Dee, Oslo, Norway
15 Pustervik, Gothenburg, Sweden
April 2023 UK Tour Dates
14 The Academy Dublin, Ireland
15 Limelight 2, Belfast, N. Ireland
17 The Garage, Glasgow
18 Boiler Shop, Newcastle Upon Tyne
19 The Leadmill, Sheffield
21 The Mill, Birmingham
22 Club Academy Manchester, Manchester
24 Cambridge Junction, Cambridge
25 The Waterfront, Norwich
27 Concorde 2, Brighton
28 SWX, Bristol
29 Electric Ballroom, London
