del amitri australian tour 2023

Del Amitri are pleased to announce their first Australian shows in thirty years! The band will play theatres in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sidney in February 2023. In addition to these shows the band will set foot in New Zealand for the first time ever with shows in Aukland and Christchurch.

Tickets go on sale 12pm* Wednesday August 24th, with a special live nation pre-sale: 12pm August 23 until 11am August 24.

*Times are local unless specified

Those dates in full:

Astor Theatre, Perth – Thursday February 16th Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide – Saturday February 18th Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane -Tuesday February 21st Palais Theatre, Melbourne – Thursday February 23rd Auckland Town Hall – Saturday February 25th Christchurch Town Hall – Sunday February 26th Enmore Theatre, Sydney – Tuesday February 28th

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Del Amitri To Tour Australia For The First Time In 30 Years

The tour will kick off in February.

Scottish alt rockers Del Amitri have announced their first Australian tour in 30 years, and their first-ever tour in New Zealand, set to kick off in February 2023. 

The band will be hitting most major Australian cities, starting on the 16th of February in Perth, before jumping across the pond to New Zealand and then back for one last gig in Sydney on the 28th. ]

Touring their newest album, Fatal Mistakes , which is their first release since 2002, along with all their hits from previous albums, fans can expect a varied and dynamic show. 

Fatal Mistakes was dubbed the perfect comeback album and still packs the lyrical punch that the band are known for. It walks the perfect line between pop rock and alt rock, and reinstates why the band were such a beloved outfit in the '90s.

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With the tour already underway in other parts of the world, positive reviews are rushing in, claiming that the band are better than ever despite their extended hiatus. Justin Curry, lead singer of Del Amitri, even went as far to warn fans at a gig in Birmingham last year, saying: “Don’t assume we’ve mellowed."

Tickets go on sale 12pm Wednesday August 24, with a special Live Nation pre-sale: 12pm August 23 until 11am August 24.

DEL AMITRI Australian & New Zealand Tour 2023

Astor Theatre, Perth – Thursday February 16th

Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide – Saturday February 18th

Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane -Tuesday February 21st

Palais Theatre, Melbourne – Thursday February 23rd

Enmore Theatre, Sydney – Tuesday February 28th

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Del amitri announce first australian shows in 30 years.

Not seen on Aussie shores since the 1990s, Scottish alt-rock band Del Amitri will play gigs in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney through February 2023.

Kicking off the tour at Perth’s Astor Theatre on February 16 2023, the band will be playing shows in each of Australia’s major cities, concluding the tour at Enmore Theatre in Sydney on 28 February 2023.

Back in the charts after a 10-year group hiatus, and a near 20-year studio hiatus, Del Amitri will be touring off the back of their 2021 release Fatal Mistakes , an album that saw a return to the charts for the band, debuting at number five on the UK albums chart in its first week.

Del Amitri 2023 Australian tour

• Astor Theatre, Perth: Thursday February 16
• Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide: Saturday February 18
• Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane: Tuesday February 21
• Palais Theatre, Melbourne: Thursday February 23
• Enmore Theatre, Sydney: Tuesday February 28

Check out Melbourne’s most comprehensive gig guide here .  

The tour will also see founding members and songwriters Justin Currie (vocals/bass) and Ian Harvie (guitar) reunited with former members Andy Alston (keyboards/accordion), Kris Dillimore (guitar), as well as being joined by Jim McDermott (drums).

The band’s seminal album Waking Hours , released in July 1989, struck a chord with Australian fans, peaking at number eight in the ARIA charts while earning platinum status both in Australia and in the UK. Waking Hours is best known for its singles ‘Nothing Ever Happens’ and ARIA Top 30 hit ‘Kiss This Thing Goodbye.’

Following up the success of Waking Hours, the band’s third studio album Change Everything’ entered the ARIA top 30 again on release in 1992 and brought fans the top 40 single ‘Always The Last To Know’.

My Live Nation members can be among the first to secure tickets during the pre-sale beginning at midday tomorrow, August 23 2023.

Tickets for all shows go on sale at 12.00pm (AEST) this Wednesday, August 24 2023.

Resonate: The new live music program coming to Brunswick, Coburg and Glenroy

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THEBARTON THEATRE

Event Conditions are Subject to change dependent on COVID guidelines & regulations at the time of the event. View Covid Safe Measures here: https://thebartontheatre.com.au/covid-safe-practices/   DEL AMITRI Who said nothing ever happens? Del Amitri, one of Scotland’s finest exports, has announced theirlong-awaited return this summer. Not seen on our shores since the heady days of the 1990s, Del Amitri, will play theatres in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney through February 2023. Often described as alternative/country-rock, Del Amitri formed in Glasgow in the early 1980s, releasing their eponymous debut in 1985.Back in the spotlight after the 2021 release of their first studio album since 2002, Fatal Mistakes’13-tracks (distributed through Cooking Vinyl Australia) follow in the footsteps of earlier UK Top 10 albums: Waking Hours, Change Everything, Twisted, Some Other Sucker’s Parade. Del Amitri’s 2023 Australian tour will see founding members and songwriters Justin Currie (vocals/bass)andIan Harvie (guitar)reunitedwithAndrew Alston (keyboards/accordion) and Kris Dillimore (guitar), and joined by James McDermott (drums) With a set list revisiting past hits, fan favourites and a selection from Fatal Mistakes, Del Amitri’s first Australianshows in more than thirty years are not to be missed.

Saturday 18 February 2023 7:00pm       Doors 8:00pm       Support act 9:00pm       Del Amitri *Times are approximate and subject to change

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Del amitri announce first australian shows in 30 years.

Del Amitri, one of Scotland’s finest exports, has announced their long-awaited return this summer.

Not seen on our shores since the heady days of the 1990s, Del Amitri, will play theatres in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney through February 2023.

The band – whose easy blend of Beatlesque pop and country rock has made them a worldwide road and radio staple since the mid-’80s – will kick off their long-awaited tour at Perth’s Astor Theatre on Thursday, February 16 and then take to Thebarton Theatre in Adelaide on February 18, Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane on February 21, and Palais Theatre in Melbourne on February 23 before finishing up at Enmore Theatre in Sydney on February 28.

Keep up with the latest music news, festivals, interviews and reviews here .

Often described as alternative/country-rock, Del Amitri formed in Glasgow in the early 1980s, releasing their eponymous debut in 1985.

Their second album, Waking Hours , released July 1989, hit a chord with Australian fans, peaking at #8 in the ARIA Album Chart while earning Platinum status both here and in the UK. The album is home to smash singles and radio airplay favourites “Nothing Ever Happens” and ARIA Top 30 hit “Kiss This Thing Goodbye.”

1992’s Change Everything entered the ARIA Top 30 and brought fans the ARIA Top 40 single “Always The Last To Know.” The band followed that success with Twisted in 1995 featuring singles “Tell Her This” and “Roll To Me,” the latter reaching #10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2021, Del Amitri made a triumphant return with ‘Fatal Mistakes’, their first new studio album in almost twenty years, since their 2002 album Can You Do Me Good?, coinciding with the bands 11 year hiatus. Fatal Mistakes’ 13-tracks (distributed through Cooking Vinyl Australia) follows in the footsteps of earlier UK Top 10 albums: Waking Hours, Change Everything, Twisted, Some Other Sucker’s Parade.

Del Amitri’s 2023 Australian tour will see founding members and songwriters Justin Currie (vocals/bass) and Ian Harvie (guitar) reunited with Andrew Alston (keyboards/accordion) and Kris Dillimore (guitar), and joined by James McDermott (drums).

With a set list revisiting past hits, fan favourites and a selection from Fatal Mistakes, Del Amitri’s first Australian shows in more than thirty years are not to be missed.

Del Amitri Australian Tour 2023

Astor Theatre, Perth – Thursday, February 16

Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide – Saturday, February 18

Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane – Tuesday, February 21

Palais Theatre, Melbourne – Thursday, February 23

Enmore Theatre, Sydney – Tuesday, February 28

Tickets for all shows go on sale Wednesday, August 24 at 12pm from here . 

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Announce first Aussie Shows In 30 Years and first ever NZ Shows For February 2023 

MELBOURNE, AU (August 22, 2022) – Who said Nothing Ever Happens? Del Amitri , one of Scotland’s finest exports, has announced their long-awaited return this summer.   Not seen on our shores since the heady days of the 1990s, Del Amitri, will play theatres in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney through February 2023. For their first ever NZ shows, Del Amitri will play Auckland Town Hall and Christchurch Town Hall in February 2023. My Live Nation members can be among the first to secure tickets during the pre-sale beginning at midday tomorrow, August 23.     For complete tour and ticketing information visit livenation.com.au   Often described as alternative/country-rock, Del Amitri formed in Glasgow in the early 1980s, releasing their eponymous debut in 1985.

Back in the spotlight after the 2021 release of their first studio album since 2002, Fatal Mistakes’ 13-tracks (distributed through Cooking Vinyl Australia) follow in the footsteps of earlier UK Top 10 albums: Waking Hours , Change Everything , Twisted , Some Other Sucker’s Parade .    Del Amitri’s 2023 Australian tour will see founding members and songwriters Justin Currie (vocals/bass) and Ian Harvie (guitar) reunited with Andrew Alston (keyboards/accordion) and Kris Dillimore (guitar), and joined by James McDermott (drums).

Tickets for all shows go on sale at midday (local time) this Wednesday, August 24.   Waking Hours , released July 1989, hit a chord with Australian fans, peaking at #8 in the ARIA Album Chart while earning Platinum status both here and in the UK. The album is home to smash singles and radio airplay favourites “Nothing Ever Happens” and ARIA Top 30 hit “Kiss This Thing Goodbye.”

1992’s Change Everything entered the ARIA Top 30 and brought fans the ARIA Top 40 single “Always The Last To Know.” The band followed that success with Twisted in 1995 featuring singles “Tell Her This” and “Roll To Me,” the latter reaching #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

With a set list revisiting past hits, fan favourites and a selection from Fatal Mistakes , Del Amitri’s first Australian shows in more than thirty years are not to be missed.

Notes to editors

DEL AMITRI AUSTRALIA 2023 ASTOR THEATRE, PERTH THURSDAY FEBRUARY 16 THEBARTON THEATRE, ADELAIDE SATURDAY FEBRUARY 18 FORTITUDE MUSIC HALL, BRISBANE TUESDAY FEBRUARY 21 PALAIS THEATRE, MELBOURNE THURSDAY FEBRUARY 23

AUCKLAND TOWN HALL SATURDAY FEBRUARY 25 CHRISTCHURCH TOWN HALL SUNDAY FEBRUARY 26

ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY TUESDAY FEBRUARY 28

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16 February 2023 Thursday

16 February 2023

Doors open: 7:15pm

Show time: 8:00pm - TBC

Astor Theatre

Who said Nothing Ever Happens? Del Amitri, one of Scotland’s finest exports, has announced their long-awaited return this summer.

Often described as alternative/country-rock, Del Amitri formed in Glasgow in the early 1980s, releasing their eponymous debut in 1985.

Back in the spotlight after the 2021 release of their first studio album since 2002, Fatal Mistakes’13-tracks (distributed through Cooking Vinyl Australia) follow in the footsteps of earlier UK Top 10 albums: Waking Hours, Change Everything, Twisted, Some Other Sucker’s Parade.

Del Amitri’s 2023 Australian tour will see founding members and songwriters Justin Currie (vocals/bass) and Ian Harvie (guitar) reunited with Andrew Alston (keyboards/accordion) and Kris Dillimore (guitar), and joined by James McDermott (drums).

Support band for the Perth show is  Vancool

THEATRE MODE: Fully Reserved Seating Licensed All Ages – Patrons under 18 can only attend with a parent/guardian (over 18) with a valid ticket. Infants not admitted.

PLEASE NOTE:  Balcony Seating is only accessible via the stairs. No disabled access Entry is entirely at the discretion of the Licensee No external food or drinks are permitted in the venue

TICKETS:  A Reserve: $91.65 B Reserve: $81.50 (Plus Transaction Fee)

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Del Amitri tour dates 2024

Del Amitri is currently touring across 1 country and has 3 upcoming concerts.

Their next tour date is at Scarborough Open Air Theatre in Scarborough, after that they'll be at Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Llangollen.

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Upcoming concerts (3) See nearest concert

Scarborough Open Air Theatre

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod

Scenic Stage, Dreamland

Past concerts

Zenith, die Kulturhalle

Royal Arena

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At the end of the 80s, Scottish band Del Amitri released their biggest UK hit, a song called 'Nothing Ever Happens'. The lyrics describe the apathy and futility of day to day life, lyrics which still ring true 25 years later. This year, Del Amitri announced their live return to music, having been split up for ten years. Their shows hold none of the apathy that they sing about in 'Nothing Ever Happens'. Lead singer Justin Currie is a practised show man, the longevity of the band making them an experienced group to see. Despite changes in membership over the years, they still bring a cohesive feel to any stage. Currie's ability to switch from calmer acoustic settings to bigger venues just demonstrates why they are still such an impressive band, even after the ten year break. Often feeling a bit understated, Currie's thick Scottish accent adds an extra dimension to their music through his chatting between songs. Although the band talked about being apprehensive going back to touring after such a long break and at an older age, they show no signs of tiring and whilst their audience may have aged with them, they seem just as excited for the band to be back.

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Who Said Nothing Ever Happens? Del Amitri On Tour…

Who said Nothing Ever Happens ? Del Amitri , one of Scotland’s finest exports, start their long-awaited return tonight. Not seen on our shores since the heady days of the 1990s, Del Amitri, will play theatres in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney through February 2023.

Often described as alternative/country-rock, Del Amitri formed in Glasgow in the early 1980s, releasing their eponymous debut in 1985. Back in the spotlight after the 2021 release of their first studio album since 2002, Fatal Mistakes’ 13-tracks (distributed through Cooking Vinyl Australia) follow in the footsteps of earlier UK Top 10 albums: Waking Hours , Change Everything , Twisted , Some Other Sucker’s Parade . Del Amitri’s 2023 Australian tour will see founding members and songwriters Justin Currie (vocals/bass) and Ian Harvie (guitar) reunited with Andrew Alston (keyboards/accordion) and Kris Dillimore (guitar), and joined by James McDermott (drums). Justin Currie talks to Hi Fi Way about the tour.

Can you believe how much the world has actually changed in this amount of time since you were last year, particularly after the last couple of years anyway? I mean just enormously, I mean, just in terms of politically, in terms of technology, in terms of the music business, the media business, everything is completely completely different. It’s like the late eighties and early nineties are complete foreign country now.

Has an Australian tour always been on the cards or is that just the planets not aligning? Well, we never had any offers after 1990 because we had a hit, Nothing Ever Happens was a hit in 1990. Then we had real trouble getting radio play in 92 on the second record. We ended up effectively getting stuck in America for five or six years after that because we had a big pop radio hit. I don’t remember us getting offers to go down there because we would’ve gone down there in a flash if we’d had offers.

What are you looking forward to most about touring Australia again? Just the people. When we first got there in 1990, we’d been touring the States for about three or four months. We were starting to get a bit tired of being stuck in the middle of nowhere outside on the peripheries of major and minor cities. It all became a bit alienating and as soon as we landed in Australia, everybody was just so, I know it’s a cliche, but everybody was just so down to earth and kind of bullshit free, we’re just looking forward to meeting Australians again to be honest.

Do you think the Australian tour will be focused on the greatest hits or will we get to hear some new songs from Fatal Mistakes as well? It’s going to be radically experimental free from start to finish. Since ‘98 the set kind of picks itself. We pretty much played everything because our songs are quite short. I don’t think we miss anything out that anybody might particularly want to hear. I mean, there’s always a B side or something or other that people will shout for that we haven’t rehearsed. We can do most of it.

Did the band feel rejuvenated bringing out the new album in 2021? Yeah. We got together for a reunion to in 2014, so that was the first shows we’d done for thirteen years. We enjoyed, just physically enjoyed doing those shows much more than anything we’d done before. That gave us a bit of an impetus to come back in 2018. We actually played a new song Can’t Go Back from the current album in 2018, so it just became a natural thing. It’s been a joy and a surprise to go out there and play new songs as well as the catalogue.

Twenty years between albums was that hard working out what you wanted to do musically or was that like having a clean slate to go with wherever the music took the band? We thought about it quite carefully before we even wrote the songs. Ian Harvey and I sat down and decided, we tried to define what a Del Amitri record is and we wrote a bunch of songs that we thought would fit that format to guitars, bass, drums, piano and organ, and fit those musicians. We knew who the band members were before we wrote anything. It was quite deliberately made in that way. I don’t imagine we would do that again, but we actually really enjoyed doing that this time because it was like a little project, how do you make a Del Amitri record? At the end of the day, it was much easier than we thought it would be because we wrote a bunch of songs and then once we started arranging them, it became obvious what really suited us and what was not really right for Del Amitri.

After that album experience are you more receptive to possibly doing another album? We were signed to Kicking Vinyl, the record label for two albums. We were always thinking about second album when we were making the first. I don’t imagine we’ll probably write another album this year, but I don’t imagine we’ll release anything until 2024.

What was the energy like in the recording sessions for Fatal Mistakes ? It was very enjoyable, because we did it reasonably quickly or certainly a lot quicker than the albums we made in the nineties, which took months and months to make. This took a couple years to write, but we recorded it all three weeks and we did a lot of it live. It was a joy to do, I have to say, partly because we didn’t have a record company breathing down our neck saying where’s the hit or that kind of stuff. We just got to make our own decisions and behind a really affable, easy going producer called Dan Austin, who’s a bit younger than us and was in full of energy and enthusiasm. Those three weeks were probably the happiest three weeks I’ve ever spent in the recording studio. There was very little stress.

Was there a lot more fun knowing that you didn’t really have to prove anything this time and that you could just go in there and make the best record that you could? I think so, there was certainly no pressure that we had to come up with radio hits, which is not a bad pressure to be under, but it can lead to arguments between the band and the producer sometimes. Sometimes you can get into situations where the producer feels like they’re working for the record company, not for the band. Whereas in this situation, because we didn’t have a record, we were paying for all ourselves. The producer was working for directly for us. That made it much easier. We’re sort of experienced enough, long enough in the tooth to have confidence that we know what we’re doing, so we didn’t make any major mistakes. I think we made all the mistakes in the past.

Was it a real humbling experience listening to an album back that you had full control over? Well, not really, because the one problem we had was the day we finished the album the UK went in to lock down. We had to mix it remotely, mix it via email, which was really, really difficult. We spent four months wrestling with mixes. By the time we’d sequenced the album, we’d listened to it an awful lot. There wasn’t like a day when we sort sat down and went, oh great, we’ve made a great album. I think the first time I listened to it was on vinyl. I got a really nice impression on it.

Do you reflect much on the nineties and do any particular memories stand out? Well, just a combination of being very young, very busy and very drunk, which is not a bad thing. I mean, most young adults have the sort of formative experiences putting a backpack on and travelling around the world or something. Whereas our formative experiences were sleeping in the back of a van in the Arizona desert and begging for change to pay for gas money and that kind of thing. They were very much our formative years, by the time we got into our mid-twenties and we had a really good major record company working behind the scenes. Apart from the stress of having to do a lot of promo work, it all became a bit of a breeze because we’d spent ten years slogging around Europe in tiny little vans and then all of a sudden we were getting cars picking us up from airports and things. We kind of took the whole thing with a pinch of salt and just tried to enjoy it.

Interview By Rob Lyon

Catch Del Amitri on the following dates, tickets from Live Nation …

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Del Amitri Australian Tour

February 18, 2023 - february 28, 2023.

Del Amitri, one of Scotland’s finest exports, has announced a long-awaited return this summer, their first since the 1990s. The national tour will see founding members and songwriters Justin Currie (vocals/bass) and Ian Harvie (guitar) reunited with Andrew Alston (keyboards/accordion) and Kris Dillimore (guitar), and joined by James McDermott (drums). Back in the spotlight after their 2021 album release, ‘Fatal Mistakes’ follows in the footsteps of earlier UK Top 10 albums: ‘Waking Hours’, ‘Change Everything’, ‘Twisted’, ‘Some Other Sucker’s Parade’. With a set list revisiting past hits, fan favourites and a selection from ‘Fatal Mistakes’, Del Amitri’s first Australian shows in more than thirty years are not to be missed! Info: www.livenation.com.au/artist-del-amitri-452935

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Del Amitri in Melbourne 23 February 2023 photo by Winston Zekelman

Del Amitri Play Melbourne For The First Time in 32 Years

by Paul Cashmere on February 24, 2023

Del Amitri only ever came to Australia once before. The year was 1990 and some club gigs were added to a promo tour.

Since that last time, pretty much the entire Del Amitri history has happened between the two tours. The 1990 visit was to promote their second album ‘Waking Hours’. (Incidentally, nothing from the self-titled debut survived on the current setlist).

In 2002 Del Amitri released their sixth album ‘Can You Do Me Good?’. Again, nothing from that survived for the current tour.

In 2021, Del Amitri released their first new music in 19 years, ‘Fatal Mistakes’. That was the focus of this tour with eight songs in the set. Surprisingly, the new songs flow perfectly with the old.

Del Amitri is very much about song structure. Their fanbase is there to listen, not dance … and that’s how the night went. There were maybe three songs where the audience rose. ‘Nothing Ever Happens’ was the big singalong moment. The first hit ‘Kiss This Thing Goodbye’ didn’t even manage to get this audience to their feet (although a few diehard got up to dance). ‘Roll To Me’, their biggest US hit, got the first real signs of a pulse from the audience.

Justin Currie formed Del Amitri in 1980. Iain Harvie joined in 1982, well before the first album and has been the creative force with Currie ever since. Andy Alston played on the second album but was a member of the band for the third. Ashley Sloan arrived (and then left) for ‘Some Other Sucker’s Parade’ in 1997) and was back for the 2021 album ‘Fatal Mistakes’. Kris Dollimore did a Timothy B. Schmit and arrived for the final album but was still around for the reunion one. In and out of the past 30+ years these guys have history and play as a band.

If Del Amitri placed the two new songs in the encore in the main set and came back with a short sharp ‘Empty’, ‘Nothing Every Happens’ and ‘Be My Downfall’ the finale would have packed a bigger punch.

Not that the audience we complaining. This crowd loved this band so hopefully they won’t leave it another 32 years to return.

Del Amitri setlist 24 February 2023

When You Were Young (from Change Everything, 1992) Musicians and Beer (from Fatal Mistakes, 2021) All Hail Blind Love (from Fatal Mistakes, 2021) Always the Last to Know (from Change Everything, 1992) Not Where It’s At (from Some Other Sucker’s Parade, 1997) Kiss This Thing Goodbye (from Waking Hours, 1989) Surface of the Moon (from Change Everything, 1992) Mockingbird, Copy Me Now (from Fatal Mistakes, 2021) Driving With the Brakes On (from Twisted, 1995) Missing Person (from Fatal Mistakes, 2021) Move Away Jimmy Blue (from Waking Hours, 1989) Roll to Me (from Twisted, 1995) You Can’t Go Back (from Fatal Mistakes, 2021) Here and Now (from Twisted, 1995) This Side Of The Morning (from Waking Hours, 1989) Lonely (from Fatal Mistakes, 2021) Spit in the Rain (from Hatful of Rain: The Best of Del Amitri, 1998) Stone Cold Sober (from Waking Hours, 1989)

Encore: Empty (from Waking Hours, 1989) Gone In A Second (from Fatal Mistakes, 2021) Nothing Ever Happens (from Waking Hours, 1989) I’m So Scared of Dying (from Fatal Mistakes, 2021) Be My Downfall (from Change Everything, 1992)

Del Amitri have three more show to go:

New Zealand 25 February, Auckland, Auckland Town Hall 26 February, Christchurch, James Hay Theatre

Back to Australia 28 February, Sydney, Enmore Theatre

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Tagged as: 80s , 90s , Del Amitri , Iain Harvie , Justin Currie , rock , Scotland , UK

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LIVE REVIEW: Del Amitri – The Astor Theatre, Perth 15th February 2023

17 February 2023 The Rockpit

It has been a while since Del Amitri last graced our shores, but we’ll let Justin address that a little later. Tonight in Perth at the first of two shows in the West, the audience was treated to witness a band that has lost nothing over the decades, but rather gained an awful lot sonically. Perth laid on a very partisan crowd by way of reception, and the Scotts in attendance got more than a taste of home, they got a musical treat that spanned a 5 decade career. The band too was on fire with Kris Dollimore (ex-Godfathers) and Iain Harvie laying down some fiery guitars whilst Justin and new drummer Jim McDermott hold down the backline, leaving the wonderful Andy Alston to weave his magic with keys and squeezebox.

Tonight’s support comes from local Perth act Vancool who have grown again in stature since we last saw them as support for UK legends The Animals. They do a great job of warming up the crowd and Dion and Co’s slick brand of guitar fueled Garage Pop goes down a treat early doors. They seem genuinely pleased to be on the famous Astor stage a put on a great show.

Some bands just have the ability to transport you back in time and it’s been three and a bit decades since I last saw Del Amitri way back in 1989 and 33 years since they last ventured Downunder. Some bands age well and these guys, well let’s just say musically Dorian Grey has nothing on them. And from the off they have the crowd – opening with the evergreen ‘When You Were Young’ from the ‘Change Everything’ album they know how to work a room, and whilst Justin remains largely quiet between songs at the start of the night he is soon regaling us with his understated wit and charm.

Early on though we’re reminded that the new material is just as compelling as the old when ‘Musicians and Beer’ surfaces from 2021’s ‘Fatal Mistakes’ which opens drenched with feedback and some tasty guitar. They immediately double down after the warm reception with another from the latest ‘ All Hail Blind Love’ which has an almost early Eagles meets The Beatles vibe.

In a beautifully paced set Justin’s sweet vocal comes to the fore on ‘Always the Last to Know’ before the wonderful melodies that really stand out tonight elevate ‘ Not Where It’s At.’ The biggest applause so far though comes with the opening chords of ‘Waking Hours’ ‘ Kiss This Thing Goodbye’ which sees some in the all seated audience get to their feet for the first time. The low key ‘ Close Your Eyes and Think of England’ underlines a band not afraid to play the new and reveals that at least half of us present own that 2021 release. Justin quips “It’s another new one, feel free to go to the bar” but no one takes up the offer! It’s my favourite from the new record next, and when the ‘Rag’ as Justin describes it, of the folky ‘Mockingbird, Copy Me Now’ rings out you know the crowd feel they’ve already had their money’s worth.

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• February 16, 2023 Setlist

Del Amitri Setlist at Astor Theatre, Perth, Australia

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• When You Were Young ( Acoustic ) Play Video
• Musicians and Beer Play Video
• All Hail Blind Love Play Video
• Always the Last to Know Play Video
• Not Where It's At Play Video
• Kiss This Thing Goodbye Play Video
• Surface of the Moon Play Video
• Mockingbird, Copy Me Now Play Video
• Driving With the Brakes On Play Video
• Missing Person Play Video
• Move Away Jimmy Blue Play Video
• Roll to Me Play Video
• You Can't Go Back Play Video
• Here and Now Play Video
• Tell Her This Play Video
• Lonely Play Video
• Spit in the Rain Play Video
• Stone Cold Sober Play Video
• Empty Play Video
• Gone In A Second Play Video
• Nothing Ever Happens Play Video
• I'm So Scared of Dying Play Video
• Be My Downfall ( Acoustic ) Play Video

Edits and Comments

4 activities (last edit by event_monkey , 27 Mar 2024, 21:12 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

• All Hail Blind Love
• I'm So Scared of Dying
• Missing Person
• Mockingbird, Copy Me Now
• Musicians and Beer
• You Can't Go Back
• Kiss This Thing Goodbye
• Move Away Jimmy Blue
• Nothing Ever Happens
• Spit in the Rain
• Stone Cold Sober
• Always the Last to Know
• Be My Downfall
• Surface of the Moon
• When You Were Young
• Driving With the Brakes On
• Here and Now
• Tell Her This
• Gone In A Second
• Not Where It's At

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Del Amitri Gig Timeline

• Jan 14 2023 The Sound Lounge London, England Add time Add time
• Feb 15 2023 Astor Theatre Perth, Australia Add time Add time
• Feb 16 2023 Astor Theatre This Setlist Perth, Australia Add time Add time
• Feb 18 2023 Thebarton Theatre Adelaide, Australia Add time Add time
• Feb 21 2023 Fortitude Music Hall Brisbane, Australia Add time Add time

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INTERVIEW: JUSTIN CURRIE, del Amitri – Feb 2023

INTERVIEW: JUSTIN CURRIE, del Amitri – Feb 2023 By Shane Pinnegar

del Amitri [the little ‘d’ is how they prefer it] return to Australia this month for the first time since 1990, when they toured on the back of their breakthrough second album Waking Hours. That album climbed to #8 in the Australian charts, with singles Kiss This Thing Goodbye, Stone Cold Sober and Nothing Ever Happens all hitting the Top 50.

The band released another four albums before taking a hiatus in 2002, selling around six million records all up. Chief songwriter, singer and bassist Justin Currie steered the ship along with guitarist Iain Harvie as other musicians came and went, most notably Andy Alston on keyboards since 1989. Currie’s established a successful solo career since, releasing four albums under his own name, and reunited with Harvie and Alston, as well as former del Amitri guitarist Kris Dollimore and drummer Ashley Soan, in 2013.

It took until 2021 to release another studio record, titled Fatal Mistakes – but don’t be fooled into thinking the title betrays a regretful view of their almost-but-not-quite-huge career. Currie humbly tells SHANE PINNEGAR that he feels very privileged to have the career he’s had and keep doing what he loves rather than having to resort to getting a “real job”.

“Yes, it’s a privilege and an unexpected luxury.

“I mean, really, we’ve just kind of kept the wages being paid by still having songs played on the radio. And that’s just like, you know, that’s not our doing, really – if anything, that’s because the people who worked for A&M [Record label] were so diligent and good at their jobs in the 1990’s.

“So, I’m eternally thankful that I don’t have to work in a restaurant! I mean, I liked working in restaurants when I was young, but I couldn’t do it now.

“Also, what happened in the great internet wars, the Napster Wars, is that all the money and music went out of recorded music and then went into the live arena. So, we were kind of quite fortunate in that we sort of missed out that whole period where music was ostensibly free, and ticket prices were incredibly cheap because they were all subsidised by the Recording Industry.

“By the time we went back on the road, ticket prices were five, six times what they were in the 90’s and we could make a living playing. So yeah – total luck. And I’m forever grateful to the fates that that’s the case.”

Chatting to Currie from his home in Glasgow, it’s easy to see that he’s relaxed and looking forward to heading Down Under for a respite from Scotland’s cold winter, even admitting that he’s “looking forward to packing my shorts.”

One thing he says he won’t be doing is a repeat performance of reliving that 1990 tour – a tour he’s stated in interviews was “one of the highlights of our career.”

“That’s the last time we toured – we did a very brief promo tour in 1992, we were just there for a week. I don’t think… we might have been in Perth, but I only really remember being on the east coast.

“We certainly will not be able to relive any of that,” he chuckles, “because we were in our mid-20s, and we had the energy to do shitloads of promo during the day, do the gigs at night and then go out ‘til four in the morning. And I don’t know how we did it! Well, I do know how we did it – we were young!

“And that tour was just incredibly special. Because we’d had a really busy year, it started when we had a big hit in the UK, and then we kind of got stuck in America. We got stuck on a tour of these sheds and arenas in America supporting an act called Melissa Etheridge, which was a real grind, playing to half empty auditoriums.

“And so, we came right off the back of that, and Australia was just a complete breath of fresh air compared to what we’d been doing for most of that summer. Everybody just seemed so unpretentious. And, you know, I love America, I love touring America: but when you’re only meeting radio guys and promo people, it can start to go a bit Spinal Tap – and Australia, all the Australians we met in 1990, were the complete opposite of that. They were just, like, normal people. So yeah, we’ve extremely fond memories, and we just had a great time, you know?”

After Australia, the band are off to America for two months in June and July. Rather than feeling exhausted by the long stints in hotels and tour buses, Currie says they’re looking forward to the time on the road.

“I think we find it a lot more enjoyable [than in the ‘90s] because we don’t have promo to do during the day. In America in the mid-90s. because we had a big pop hit there that was on the radio – well, it’s still on the bloody radio! – we were doing tons of extracurricular stuff. So, sometimes we’d do morning [radio] shows, we’d do five or six acoustic performances a day before the soundcheck, we’d do things after the soundcheck, we’d have meet and greets with the all the radio people after the shows… and that became incredibly exhausting. And it’s also very hard to do with a beer in your hand!

“So, it just became really knackering. When we came back in 2014, and were touring without a record company, and without any new music, it was just a joy because it was just about the gigs. And also on the last American tour, because we didn’t have promo to do – well, at one point we did the Jimmy Kimmel show and that was it. So, you roll off the bus at half 10 In the morning, go and get breakfast and then just get to explore whatever city you’re in for five or six hours. You can go to an art gallery, go to the cinema, you could go to the park, you know. So that’s really good, because we didn’t really see a lot of these places in the 90’s ‘cos we were just in radio stations constantly.”

Having mentioned Spinal Tap, I wonder if there were any ‘Artie Fufkin’-type Spinal Tap moments he recalls from those 90’s tours.

“LOTS of that, yeah! I mean, the A&M people on the road were really nice. They were like proper human beings, but the problem would be when you’d have all these people your dressing room after the gigs, and there’d be, you know, the radio programmer’s wife’s cousin, who was like a flight instructor, and you just end up speaking to these absolute bullshit artists!

“Like, why the fuck am I speaking to this guy?!?” he laughs.

“So, in those days in America… I’m sure it’s still the same – the whole music industry just runs on meeting people, and you know, you’ve got to be kind of on your best behaviour all the time as well. And it’s kind of not what you signed up for at all, you know, so, yeah, we don’t miss that side of it at all.”

Fatal Mistake was released in 2021, but actually recorded over a three-week period in March 2020, just before the Coronavirus pandemic turned the world upside down.

“Yeah, it was very strange. Kind of, the cordon was closing in as we were doing the last bits of percussion and backing vocals. And then we actually got all the gear out on the Thursday, because we were afraid the gear’s gonna get stuck [in the studio]. Then we scarpered on the Sunday and the [first UK] lockdown started on the Monday – so it was kind of like, ‘get out of dodge!’ It was pretty bonkers. Actually, it was a very, very strange time – as it was for everybody, absolutely.”

Having finished the album, that provided something stable for Currie and his bandmates to focus on as that anxious time and the months of isolation began.

“Yes, it was a relief that we got the thing recorded before – it would have become impossible to record it. Mixing remotely was tricky – kind of mixing by email – it was not easy. It took us four months to mix the thing, it should’ve taken two weeks.

“But yeah, you’re right. It gave us stuff to do, [we could] focus on doing the artwork [etc]. I mean, it was like five months before we could do a photo session, you know!

“So yeah, I kind of enjoyed the first bit of the lockdown. I quite enjoyed being able to walk down the middle of the street in Glasgow with no traffic – that was quite something. But it was a bit frustrating, just on a really selfish level, that the album should have come out in the [UK] autumn of 2020 and it didn’t come out till the spring of 2021. So that was a bit frustrating – but, yeah, there was stuff to do.”

Currie has said in other interviews that he couldn’t write anything of substance during lockdown. It’s a sentiment shared by many artists – all that free time, we thought we’d finish a novel or another album of songs, or paint a masterpiece, when in actual fact the insular fishbowl we were in did not lend itself to creative pursuits as we thought it would.

“Yeah, I did write things. But they were just… they were what any – every – other songwriter in the world would be writing and what every other person in the world is thinking, which is ‘why are we locked up?’, and ‘this is very odd’, you know? So, what I said was that it seems to me that the whole point of writing songs is to write from a personal perspective, but hopefully, find something universal in that. Whereas lockdown was the opposite thing: where the private experience WAS universal, because everybody was experiencing it all over the world, the same thing – they were all leaving the house to exercise once a day, and then we’re going to the bloody shop every five days to buy food.

“So, I just didn’t think there was any space in there to find something unique to write about, you know, and I’ve heard other people say the same thing. I’ve also heard some people say they loved it, and they got loads of work done. I found that I just kind of froze – I found it really tricky. I generally I tend to write after I’ve been in the pub, you know, talking to a stranger. And the one thing I found very odd about Glasgow during lockdown is that Glasgow’s not a city about buildings and architecture and infrastructure. It’s really just about the people. And it’s quite a villagey sort of town, so when you go out – and if you go out a lot – you meet a lot of different kinds of people. And that that really helps songwriting because you’re meeting people that you wouldn’t normally meet, whereas in lockdown everything’s reduced to your close circle of friends and there’s nowhere new to go. So, I found it very uninspiring.

“You’ve got that low-level anxiety all the time, which I don’t think is particularly helpful creatively. And the focus was on domesticity as well, [and] domesticity is not inspiring!”

Never a truer word said. Especially during lockdown, when your faithful scribe was regularly leaving home to buy booze more often than food!

“Yeah – every three or four days, I was running to the off licence, which is not like me,” Currie agrees. “Normally I would go to the pub twice a week, but I just couldn’t take it, I was running to the off licence to get more wine!”

The very long-awaited Fatal Mistakes album did well for del Amitri, rising to the UK Top 5. A couple of years before recording it Currie was on record as being unsure if people even wanted new music from the band. Did that result answer his question positively?

“Yeah. I think when the news came out that we were making another record, then people seemed genuinely excited about it. In fact, I didn’t want to make a del Amitri record at all – Iain did. It took me like a year or so to make up my mind, and one of the things that persuaded me was just speaking to my friends in the pub.

“I thought all my friends were gonna be like, ‘don’t do that, that’s a bad idea.’ But, to a person, they were very enthusiastic, and thought it was a great idea. So really, it was other people’s enthusiasm for it that kind of got me thinking maybe it was a good idea. And it was a joy for me, I have to say, I’m really glad we did it – though it was slightly tough to write because I’d been making solo records. So, it took me a few months to get my head into that space of writing for those specific musicians and writing in a way where you’re singing from a collective point of view, rather than seeing it from a very personal point of view. But once I got my head around that I found it quite easy and quite fun.”

Having had a few people in and out of the band over the years, is it hard work to make sure that no matter who’s playing in the line-up, it sounds like del Amitri and it’s got that del Amitri vibe to it?

“Well, no, because the players that come in are hired because the kind of noise that they make suits us. And they also know what del Amitri is: It’s melodic, it’s guitar driven, there’s a lot of 60’s influence and a lot of 70’s influence, and it’s got a kind of roots element. I can’t think of any musician that we’ve played with over the years that hasn’t come from that sort of a background in terms of what they listen to and how they play.

“Also, when we made this record, we decided who from which line-up was going to be in this line-up. So we knew who the musicians were when we were writing the songs, that was quite helpful, because we were thinking, oh, Ashley could do something really interesting with this, or Kris could do something really interesting here. So that really helped actually, knowing who it was we were writing for.”

Researching an interview is always a deep dive, and a band’s website is a good place to start. From the eloquent and detailed biography on www.delamitri.info, a link took me to Currie’s own website, www.justincurrie.com where the self-proclaimed “attention seeking desperado punting inoffensive balladry” has a wealth of travel diaries, photography, a hilarious complaints page where random fans have sent in rants and he responds with short, laugh-out-loud retorts, and much more. It’s enough to spur the question: does he feel a frustrated travel writer-slash-photographer-slash-stand-up comedian sometimes, or want to have a crack at some long-form prose?

“I’ve not looked at [the Complaints page] for six years! Oh, God, no. I’m a terrible prose writer. But writing a tour diary is a brilliant way of killing dead time. I started doing it just to try and get my website up and running – d’you know what, it was partly because of Myspace. I really loved MySpace, because it was just about music – that was the only social media I ever really got involved with. So when MySpace started failing, my website became kind of the only portal through which I could communicate. So I thought I’d better write something, you know, other than just daft wee jokes and things.

“I don’t find writing prose easy, but I find that easy, because you’re just describing what’s in front of you – you’re just opening the van door and going, ‘oh, there’s a man being sick,’ you know, whatever it is. So, yeah, really brilliant way to kill time. I still quite enjoy doing those. I don’t do them if I don’t feel a sort of calling to do it. I just do it if there’s something in my head that I want to get out, or if I look out the window and see something I want to describe, I’ll do it. But there’s a few gigs I’ve just thought, I’m not going to do that. And often if you’re having a really good time, like if you’re doing a festival and you’re hanging out with a lot of people, then I’m not going to write about that stuff. I don’t want it to be about my private life. I just want it to be about what you can see from the road basically.”

The Human Condition as seen through the eyes of a touring musician, or some such cliched wanky label?

“Yeah, exactly!” Currie grins. “It’s just a sort of diary, you know? I wrote a lot of poetry as a teenager – and then I realised that I wasn’t a very good poet, but I could sort-of write lyrics. I haven’t been tempted [to write any long-form prose]. I mean, I’ve been asked. And I’ve written a few things for newspapers over the years.

“The problem with songwriters whenever they write prose, they just tend to overdo it, you know? I mean, have you tried reading Morrisey’s book?” he laughs. “It’s about economy. You know, it’s not about floweriness. If I look at my tour diary stuff from a couple of years ago, I just… I’d just take most of it out. It’s like, why? Why two adverbs? Why three adjectives? You know, that’s just wanky!

“And the kind of stuff I like to read, it’s not like that: it’s economical, and it really hits you. So no, it’s not something I would be competent at at all.”

Wrapping up, I ask Currie if he and his bandmates felt that it was all going to work out when they first struck the by-now-familiar formula in the early days of del Amitri – when they found their sound, found the voice that John Peel would soon champion, and got their first record deal?

“Well, hmmm… there were two things that were happening. We were an indie band in the early-mid-80’s, with a very niche audience, a very small, niche audience. And we weren’t really making any money. And we had a record deal for a couple of years, and then we had a publishing deal. For a lot of the 80’s we were working full-time, part-time jobs just to pay the rehearsal bills. But then when we started writing quite commercial sounding songs, I think we realised we belonged in the mainstream, we didn’t really belong in that kind of indie ghetto.

“So, then it became a case of how do we do that? How do we get there? And that was quite difficult, because we didn’t know, you know. We knew how to be an indie band. We didn’t know how to be a sort of mainstream rock band.

“We were helped along the way by our managers, and by the record company, and we did some stupid things. But eventually, we found this sort of place to be in the mainstream, which wasn’t cool, and wasn’t to do with style, and was just… we kind of presented ourselves as pub rockers or something. We sort of sold ourselves as just blokes, you know. We weren’t artistes or anything, and we tried to look like we weren’t taking ourselves terribly seriously – of course, we WERE taking ourselves very seriously!

“And the thing that that made everything easy for us was having radio hits, because that meant we got paid, and it meant we could make a living without being famous. We weren’t an MTV band, we were a radio band.

“And that was really fortuitous because it allowed us just to do what we wanted: we could do the kind of gigs we wanted. We didn’t have to dress up and go to poncey award ceremonies, and we didn’t have to talk to the tabloids. So we always kind of had the best of both worlds, really, and that was just because we loved radio and radio loved us. So that was really fortuitous.”

Finally, I suggest that it’s fair to say that del Amitri like a drink. I certainly didn’t expect Currie’s very responsible answer.

“Yeah! Well, I’m too old to party before or after gigs now! The last time I had a drink on the road it was pretty disastrous: I nearly blew a gig in Canada. So I won’t be having a drink ‘til after the last show, sadly – but I’ll make up for it at that point, I’m sure.”

Tour Dates 18 February, 2023 – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide 15 February, 2023 – Astor Theatre, Perth 16 February, 2023 – Astor Theatre, Perth 21 February, 2023 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane 23 February, 2023 – Palais Theatre, Melbourne 25 February, 2023 – Town Hall, Auckland 26 February, 2023 – Town Hall, Christchurch 28 February, 2023 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney

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