Soft Play’s Laurie Vincent and Isaac Holman – operating as Slaves – live at the Bristol O2 Academy, Nov 2018 (Jessica Bartolini / Live4ever)
LIVE4EVER’S RECAP OF THE MAIN STORIES WE FEATURED DURING THE PAST SEVEN DAYS INCLUDES the return of Slaves under a new name and more live work for Bono.
Slaves’ Laurie Vincent and Isaac Holman have announced they’re back working together, but are doing so under the new name Soft Play.
“Until now, we’ve not been able to comment on what’s going on with the band, as life changing events have left us on hiatus, just trying to get through each day,” a statement from the duo reads.
“There were times over the last few years when we never thought we would ever step foot on a stage together again. However we feel that the time has now come to pick up where we left off. Before we do that though, we want to address something important.”
Noel Gallagher will be joined on another festival line-up by Johnny Marr when the High Flying Birds top PennFest in Buckinghamshire next July.
Marr is also due to perform on the Friday, as are the likes of Gaz Coombes and The Skinner Brothers, while Bastille have been booked to headline the final night.
Marr is already confirmed to be the special guest at Gallagher’s South Facing Festival and Wythenshawe Park concerts in 2023 after the pair stepped up their in-studio collaboration during the recording of the upcoming fourth High Flying Birds album.
The Weeknd will return to the UK on August 18th next year for a concert at Wembley Stadium in London.
It adds to the already confirmed UK concerts at the London Stadium and Manchester’s Etihad Stadium, and is one of a number of new shows added to the European leg of the After Hours Til Dawn world tour.
They also include additional nights in Stockholm, Amsterdam, Brussels and Milan.
Bono has announced an eight-date residency in New York for next year to continue the promotion of his Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story memoir which was released on November 1st.
“I miss being on stage and the closeness of U2’s audience,” the U2 frontman said. “In these shows I’ve got some stories to sing, and some songs to tell.”
“Plus I want to have some fun presenting my ME-moir, SURRENDER, which is really more of a WE-moir if I think of all the people who helped me get from there to here.”
Newly crowned BRITs Rising Star winners FLO are justifiably celebrating the end of a breakthrough 2022 with their new single Losing You.
This track, and the growing list of accolades, are following up the trio’s debut EP The Lead which has surpassed 100m global streams.
“From growing up watching the BRITs, to finding each other and forming FLO, releasing our first body of work in 2022 and winning a BRIT award in the same year,” they said upon winning the Rising Star prize.
Suede, Jockstrap and Shygirl are some of the first artists to be confirmed for next year’s Flow Festival in Helsinki between August 11th-13th.
Brett Anderson and co. are staying busy live after the recent release of their ninth studio album Autofiction – praised by Live4ever in our 7.5/10 review as carrying a, ‘gusto and energy that belies their status as national treasures’.
“The Only Way I Can Love You thrashes and howls, with a big sound and strong melody but, by this point in the album, the sound is wearing thin, although the swinging That Boy On The Stage has a welcome brevity when it follows,” it reads.