Blancmange will return to the road in 2024 for their first-ever best-of tour, celebrating 45 years since they formed in 1979.
Kicking off in Newcastle on May 16, the 11-date run will head to a string of major cities across the UK and include a show at London’s Islington Assembly Hall, as well as a Scottish date in Glasgow.
The tour is to be a celebration of the band’s enduring creativity and versatility, showcasing classic singles like Feel Me, Living On The Ceiling, Blind Vision and Don’t Tell Me, along with material from the 10 albums released in the past decade.
Tickets go on sale Friday (September 29). The full list of dates is below.
MAY 2024
16 – Wylam Brewery, Newcastle
17 – Saint Lukes, Glasgow
18 – O2 Institute, Birmingham
23 – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
24 – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
25 – Academy 2, Manchester
26 – Arts Centre, Colchester
31 – Trinity, Bristol
JUNE 2024
1 – Islington Assembly Hall, London
2 – Old Market, Brighton
3 – 1865, Southampton
Last year, frontman Neil Arthur spoke to RETROPOP around the release of the band’s most recent album, ‘Private View‘, and looked back on their success, including receiving a letter from ABBA when Blancmange covered The Day Before You Came.
The synth-pop outfit recorded their own version of the Swedish supergroup’s 1982 single two years later, with the recording peaking at No. 22 in the charts.
Revealing how the single – which appeared on their second album ‘Mange Tout’ (1984) – came into fruition, he revealed he was on holiday in Tenerife with former bandmate Steve Luscombe and Erasure’s Vince Clarke when he had the idea.
“We had a Sony Walkman and I had ABBA’s ‘The Singles: The First Ten Years’ on double cassette,” Neil shared. “Steve [Luscombe, former bandmate] and I both loved ABBA and decided we had to cover one of their songs.
“So we chose The Day Before You Came because we loved the story in the lyrics and the idea of me as this great big lanky Lancastrian singing it.
“Vince said, ‘One day I’m going to do some ABBA stuff as well,’ and of course with Erasure he did.”
On receiving a signed letter from all four of ABBA following its release, he adds: “We were really gobsmacked to get the ABBA seal of approval.”
