Steve Harley, the original Cockney Rebel, returns with a tour of the UK in November 2015. The ‘Best Years Of Our Lives’ 40th Anniversary Tour will visit venues across the country; with more dates to be added.
The show will comprise one set of tracks compiled from Fans’ Requests, submitted via a special online link, plus a performance of The Best Years Of Our Lives album itself in its entirety, for the first time ever.
Released in March 1975, this album contained the hits Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) and Mr. Raffles (Man It Was Mean) and, for many, marked the true arrival of Steve Harley as a songwriter of true verve and sophistication. Steve Harley said, “Fans have been urging me to play The Best Years album straight through for some time, and now is the time! We’ll play some out-takes and B-sides of the period, too. I’m really excited by the prospect of tracks like Back To The Farm getting an airing after so many years.I might play a slow, bluesy Make Me Smile, as I presented it to the band originally, as track six, then the full-blown version at the end of the night. It’s a tough one to follow!”
For these dates, Steve is hoping to recruit original Best Years band members, Jim Cregan (guitar), Stuart Elliott (drums) and Duncan Mackay (keyboards) for the tour, with long-standing Cockney Rebel member Barry Wickens on violin and guitar. Also in the line-up will be young Austrian musicians, the twins Lisa and Mona Wagner, playing second lead guitar and percussion respectively.
Steve Harley performs at Noise11
The dates:
11/02 – Manchester – Bridgewater Hall
11/03 – Llandudno – Venue Cymru
11/04 – Swansea – Brangwyn Hall
11/05 – Southend – Palace Theatre
11/07 – Scunthorpe – Bath Halls
11/08 – Doncaster – Dome
11/10 – Salisbury – City Hall
11/11 – London – Indigo2
11/12 – Tunbridge – Assembly Theatre Wells
11/14 – Cambridge – Corn Exchange
11/16 – Liverpool – Philharmonic
11/17 – Birmingham – Symphony Hall
11/18 – Ipswich – Regent Theatre
11/20 – Coventry – Warwick Arts Centre
11/21 – Folkestone – Leas Cliff Hall
11/23 – Guildford – G Live
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