Celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2018, Brighton folk-punk band Levellers will be releasing We The Collective on March 9th via the band’s own label, On The Fiddle Recordings.
Wanting to do something a bit different with their back catalogue, they brought in a string section and enlisted legendary producer John Leckie (Radiohead, Stone Roses) to help develop new acoustic arrangements for eight of their previous singles including ‘Liberty’, ‘Hope Street’ and ‘One Way’ which they recorded straight to tape at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios.
They also recorded two brand new songs ‘Shame’ and ‘Drug Bust McGee’ and the result is the 10 track album We The Collective. Lead singer Mark Chadwick says “The different musicians, producer and the studio combined to make something really special”.
The newly released video for ‘Shame’ is a hard-hitting piece showing the plight of refugees in Europe and beyond, in the face of geo-political manoeuvrings from our world leaders. You can watch that here.
You can also watch a mini documentary about the making of the new album with interviews and behind the scenes footage. Check it out here.
As part of the celebrations, Levellers will head out on a full Acoustic Tour in the Spring where they will be playing the new arrangements with guest musicians, starting at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival. They will play at the Roundhouse in London as part of the In The Round festival as well as a number of theatres and concert halls around the country. Support on the tour comes from Ginger Wildheart on all dates except Glasgow & London.
Despite only just being announced, the tickets for Preston, Milton Keynes and Winchester have already sold out.
Acoustic Tour 2018
Support from Ginger Wildheart (all dates except Glasgow & London)
FEBRUARY
Thurs 1st – Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow (Celtic Connections)
Fri 2nd – Wrexham, William Aston Hall
Sat 3rd – Preston, Charter Theatre SOLD OUT
Sun 4th – London, Roundhouse (In The Round Festival)
MARCH
Tue 13th – Buxton, Opera House
Wed 14th – Cheltenham, Town Hall
Thurs 15th – Yeovil, Westlands
Fri 16th – York, Barbican
Sat 17th – Milton Keynes, The Stables SOLD OUT
Sun 18th – Liverpool, Philhamonic
Tue 20th – Basingstoke, The Anvil
Wed 21st – Cambridge, Corn Exchange
Thurs 22nd – Leicester, De Montfort Hall
Fri 23rd – Bexhill, De La Warr Pavilion
Sat 24th – Winchester, Cathedral SOLD OUT
Emerging victorious through the ups and downs of label deals, spats with the music press and the wear and tear of touring, the Levellers have long been, and still are, one of the best live bands around but their impressive back catalogue of recorded music is often overlooked.
The band had more platinum, gold, and silver albums in the UK in the 1990s than any other British act. They’ve had seven Top 40 albums, including the number 1 album Zeitgeist and their platinum-selling 1991 album Levelling The Land, along with a string of Top 40 singles including ‘This Garden’, ‘Hope St’, ‘One Way Of Life’ and ‘What A Beautiful Day’.