Drawn from all 12 songs on their upcoming album, Michael Head and his Red Elastic Band release their latest single, the intricately chosen, flute-and-brass-adorned psych-folk beauty of “Connemara.” Taking flight into open greens far from the tarmac grays of her own Liverpool streets, Head's illustrated book, which tells stories through song, lands in lush Irish landscapes only as the backdrop to a story of intense, forbidden love.
Strongly hinting at what was to come, Head's first new music since the release of their chart-topping and critically acclaimed 2022 album, Dear Scott, arrived in late 2023 with a West Coast pop statement of intent of “Ciao Ciao Bambino.” Confirming not only the release of his eleventh studio album, Escape – released Friday, May 3, 2024 on Modern Sky – with the reveal of January's next single, “Shirl's Ghost,” Head also thrilled long-time fans, newcomers, and music-loving viewers with the news that his autobiography will also arrive in the summer.
Grabbing hearts and minds with the power of words, as well as melody, throughout a career that marks major milestones with each passing year, including the 45th anniversary in 2024 of the release of his first band, the first classic album cult of The Pale Fountains. Pacific Street – the complexities of Connemara songwriting include another song in the 'classic Mick Head' canon. Ambiguity meets assurance in the story of a peculiar romance, possibly real and perhaps imagined, that shines with vivid color as Head's voice narrates the words between two lovers.
Head reflects on the story and says: “'Connemara' is about a decades-long on-again, off-again love affair between Mrs. Rafferty, a teacher, and her former student. The older they get, the more obsessive and eccentric he becomes. They need each other, so, he continues, And the Mrs. Rafferty has seen hundreds of cheeky smiles.”
Listen to “Connemara” – BELOW:
Personal milestones, as well as musical ones, are also told, one by one, this year as Head reflects more broadly on 62 years of loves, losses, victories and near-misses as a musician, father, brother and friend as he writes his Life Story : Ciao Ciao Bambino: a magical memory. The act of traveling back in time, which will be published by Nine Eight Books on Thursday 15 August 2024, whether it was when he was a child on his beloved streets of Liverpool or when he began touring the world with his music, has deeply impacted the writing of Escape at the same time.
While “Connemara” might be partially veiled in mystery, “Shirl's Ghost” told the true “Toxteth ghost story” about a supposed apparition in her own apartment. At the same time, the first single, “Ciao Ciao Bambino,” invited listeners to peer into Head's crib when he was a baby while his mother sang the mid-century Italian standard to him at bedtime. Loophole, which will be released in standard and collector's editions on vinyl, CD, cassette and digital editions, promises to open more windows into the singer-songwriter's private world for his fans to peer into.
Songs of Escape and other eras from his rich and occasionally wild life as a musician will be featured across seven dates of the UK tour, which opens in Glasgow in early May and culminates in December with an unmissable night at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall . All currently confirmed dates are as follows:
• Thursday 2 May – Glasgow, Mackintosh Church
• Friday 3 May – Newcastle, Gosforth Civic Theater
• Saturday 4 May – Leeds, City Varieties
• Wednesday 8 May – Brighton, CHALK
• Thursday, May 9 – London, Earth Theater
• Friday 10 May – Manchester, Gorilla
• Friday 13 December – Liverpool, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Remaining tickets are now available via booking links available at www.michaelheadofficial.com
Escape was recorded at YAWN Studios in West Kirby in the company of Ryder-Jones and features all the talented musicians of The Red Elastic Band, Phil Murphy (drums), Tom Powell (bass), Nathaniel Cummings (guitars/backing vocals) and Martin Smith ( trumpet).
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