Thomas Dolby has just announced he is bringing his brand new show Iconic 80’s Recollectionsto The Academy, Dublin

Synth pioneer and singer-songwriter Thomas Dolby has just announced he is bringing his brand new show Iconic 80’s Recollectionsto The Academy, Dublin on Friday 29^th May 2026, joined by very special guest Martin McAloon (Performing the songs of Prefab Sprout). 

For this unique concert series, Thomas Dolby will bring his unusual journey to life, blending songs, stories and musical reminiscences from that extraordinary decade. Normally opting to appear solo, for his UK tour Thomas will be accompanied by distinguished musical guests including Jakko Jakzyk (King Crimson) on guitar, Mat Hector (Iggy Pop, Thom Yorke) on drums and Ukrainian internet phenomenon Ana Pshokina on bass.

The show will provide a sneak peek into an ambitious new symphonic work-in-progress to be premièred in late 2026 or 2027. With the help of AI and a digitally sampled orchestra, Thomas and band will perform in front of a ‘virtual’ symphony orchestra projected on a large screen.

Joining Thomas Dolby as the tour’s special guest will be Prefab Sprout’s Martin McAloon, performing songs from the sophisti-pop legends’ celebrated songbook.

“Returning to play in the UK is always a thrill,” said the British-born synthesist, who moved his HQ to the USA in 1986. “It’s an emotional feeling to look out at the loyal fans who have stuck by me for four decades – even when I spent long periods away from the pop world.”

Thomas Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including ‘She Blinded Me with Science’ (1982) and ‘Hyperactive!’ (1984), before becoming an in-demand producer and session music, working the likes of Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Def Leppard, The Thompson Twins and Belinda Carlisle. Dolby also famously shared the stage with David Bowie at Live Aid and Roger Waters at The Wall in Berlin.

Amongst a plethora of achievements, Thomas Dolby has received four Grammy nominations, two each in 1984 and 1988, and was awarded the Roland Lifetime Achievement Award in February 2018.

In a career defined by both music and technology, in the 1990s Thomas Dolby founded Beatnik, the Silicon Valley software developer of the polyphonic ringtone engine that played back the Nokia tune. Its technology was embedded in more than three billion cell phones and devices made by Nokia, Microsoft (MSFT) and Motorola (MSI.)

From 2001 to 2012, Thomas Dolby served as TED’s Music Director, programming music for the TED stage, assembling a wide variety of house bands and collaborations to play between speakers.

Since 2014, Thomas Dolby has been on the faculty at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he leads Peabody’s Music for New Media program, which enrolled its first students in 2018.

Thomas Dolby

Plus Special Guest Martin McAloon 

(Performing the songs of Prefab Sprout)

Friday, 29^th May 2026

The Academy, Dublin

Doors 7pm | 18’s+

Tickets from €42.70 (inc booking fee & venue facility fee) from Ticketmaster.ie on sale Friday, 6^th February @ 10am.
Bookings subject to 12.5% service charge per ticket (max €10.50)