Richard Hawley and his band will be joined by a string section to play ‘Coles Corner’ in full in Dublin and Belfast this October.
Richard Hawley has added two new dates to his ‘Coles Corner’ anniversary tour, bringing the beloved record to Dublin’s 3Olympia Theatre on 22nd October and Belfast’s Mandela Hall on 23rd October. The shows go on sale this week, with pre-sale taking place at 10am on Wednesday, 23rd July and general on-sale at 10am this Friday, 25th July.
Tickets for the rest of the anniversary shows are selling fast – the shows in London, Margate, Worthing and Weston-Super-Mare are now sold out. Tickets for the date at Blackpool’s Tower Ballroom are also running low. Find the full list of dates below.
Following the recent announcement of the 20th anniversary edition of Richard Hawley’s revered 2005 album ‘Coles Corner’, Parlophone/Rhino announced details of an exclusive Zoetrope vinyl version of the album, out 1st August.
This collection edition picture disc features images from the Coles Corner video and previously unseen images from the Coles Corner cover photoshoot. Play the record and film the spinning disc to reveal the animation.
‘Coles Corner’was Hawley’s third studio album and his first for Mute Records. After five years of garnering praise for his songwriting talents and heart-melting baritone voice, and steadily building a solid fanbase through his outstanding live performances, hard work paid off on an album regarded by many as his best.
Recorded in Sheffield’s Yellow Arch Studios, and co-produced with his long-time bassist Colin Elliot, and Mike Timm, Coles Corner featured fellow musicians Shez Sheridan (guitars), Jon Trier (keyboards), Jonny Wood (upright bass) and Andy Cook (drums). They conjured up an exquisite album inspired by Hawley’s love of vintage ‘40s and ‘50s sounds, chamber pop, country, blues, and rock ‘n roll, on a set of intimate love songs full of nostalgia, regret, sadness and a bittersweet atmosphere, on a collection that would cement Hawley’s abiding love and passion for his hometown of Sheffield.
Nowhere is this exemplified more than on the album’s title track. “Coles Corner”, named after a former department store in the city which was a popular meeting place for couples, immortalises the legendary landmark on a song that swells the heart with its sweeping strings and swooning chorus, on a universal paean to the loneliness of the city at night.
Other beautiful balladry exists in songs such as “Born Under a Bad Sign” and “Darlin’ Wait For Me”, while Hawley’s love of country and early rock’n’roll can be heard in “Hotel Room”, “I Sleep Alone”, and the driving “Just Like The Rain”.
The album’s most epic song and, to this day, a fan favourite live, is “The Ocean”. Written on a family holiday in the shadow of Cornwall’s Minack Theatre (with a video later filmed at the same location), the song features one of Richard’s best vocals; all yearning and urgency as it builds to its visceral crescendo.
‘Coles Corner’is a cornerstone in the catalogue of one of the most creative and outstanding UK singer-songwriters of the past two decades.
Dublin tickets are available here.
Belfast tickets are available here.
Full live dates:
5 September – Gilderdrome, Boston, Lincs.
6 September – Portmeirion Village, Wales
12 September – Ballroom, Blackpool Tower
26 September – Regent’s Park Theatre, London
27 September – Regent’s Park Theatre, London
3 October – Hall By The Sea, Dreamland, Margate SOLD OUT
4 October – Assembly Hall, Worthing SOLD OUT
10 October – The Grand Pier, Weston-Super-Mare SOLD OUT
22 October – 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin
23 October – Mandela Hall, Belfast
Tickets: https://richardhawley.co.uk/
‘COLE’S CORNER’
(20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION)
ARRIVES 1ST AUGUST
INCLUDING EXCLUSIVE ZOETROPE VINYL
PRE-ORDER HERE