More Summer Tours

• The Psychedelic Furs will be touring from late June through July, and will be joined by The Alarm and The Fixx for the majority of the dates, with one show scheduled in Detroit with the Alarm and Naked Eyes. Burneddowndays.com has all the dates.
  

• Bjork will be touring Europe. Click here for dates.

• Aimee Mann plays a few dates in July -- details are here.
  

• Dinosaur Jr. will be playing many dates in Canada and the U.S in June, and it looks like they'll spend late June through the end of the summer in Europe. Their dates are here.
  

• Erasure will be plenty busy through September, with shows scheduled in the U.S., Mexico, and Europe. Click here for details.
  

• Frank Black's European tour dates are here (check the column at right).

• Iggy Pop recently turned 60 and isn't slowing down -- he's touring with The Stooges this summer -- mostly European dates, and will be at Lollapalooza '07 in Chicago. The most comprehensive listing of tour dates seems to be at The Stooges' MySpace page.
  

Tour and Reissues for Elvis

Elvis Costello recently finished up a string of US shows and will be touring Europe this summer, starting with a July 7th show in London. Check out elviscostello.com for tour dates.

On May 1st, The Best Of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years was released, as well as the limited edition, Amazon.com exclusive Elvis Costello Collector's Box Set. On the same date, Costello's first eleven original albums finally became available digitally via iTunes. The reissued recordings are also available on CD.

Photo from elviscostello.com.

Blondie on Today Show & Deborah Harry Solo CD

Blondie appeared on the Today Show last Friday, as part of the Summer Concert Series. Deborah Harry has also completed a solo CD, set for release on August 7th. You can preview the single Two Times Blue on her MySpace page. According to MSNBC, the full concert, including behind the scenes footage and bonus track Two Times Blue, can be purchased on iTunes starting today.

Here's One Way or Another, from the Today Show performance.

And while on YouTube, I saw this Deborah Harry and Kermit the Frog rendition of Rainbow Connection, and thought it was worth throwing in!

Temporary Hiatus

I'm heading out of town for the holiday weekend here in the U.S, but will be back with more updates after the 28th.

Thx!

New Order - Not Necessarily Finished

According to this article on neworderonline.com (not the band's official website, but one acknowledged in the links section of the band's official website), New Order has not broken up, despite what Peter Hook wrote on his MySpace page. The article sites a source close to the band as saying that Hook's departure doesn't mean that New Order will not continue to exist with it's remaining members.

Meanwhile, Control, a movie based on the life of Ian Curtis, made it's debut at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17. An Associated Press write-up on the movie is here, on Billboard Magazine's website. You'll find the movie trailer below. For anyone with kids in the vicinity, there are at least a couple of f-bombs in it, just so you're aware...

Joe Strummer Biography

Just released last week: Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer, a biography by Chris Sallewicz, a music journalist who extensively covered The Clash during the late 1970s, as well as a longtime friend of Strummer. The book is said to give a considerable amount of space to the low period Strummer experienced following the break-up of The Clash.

Pop Culture e-zine popmatters.com is running a series of excerpts from the book (one each day this week) that are definitely worth checking out.

As a bonus, here's the trailer for the recently-released Joe Strummer documentary The Future is Unwritten.

Briefly...

• The Cure is headlining at Japan's Fuji Rock Festival this July. Otherwise, as of this writing, there are no other scheduled concert dates. Fans can get a bit of a Cure fix with the video downloads offered at thecure.com.

• Depeche Mode will not be touring this summer. Dave Gahan did, however, make an appearance at the MusiCares event on May 11, performing Policy of Truth and Personal Jesus. Gahan is also working on a follow-up to his 2003 solo CD Paper Monsters, and is hoping for an October 2007 release.

• Here's another Morrissey concert review -- this one's from his Friday night show (May 18) in Columbus, Ohio.

Catching Up with The Femmes

Another band that is still around and, yes, still playing live is Violent Femmes. Click here to view their official site, vfemmes.com, complete with a seemingly endless amount of trivia -- for example, Gordon Gano is one of the closest living relations to eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes. The trivia section also includes a lot of fun, often self-deprecating anecdotes -- well worth checking out.

Anyway, if you're looking to catch a Femmes show, click here -- the dates are listed with farthest-in-the-future dates at the top of the page, so be sure to scroll down. It looks as if the three original members are still involved, as well as a couple of other musicians. They're just wrapping up a series of European dates and have dates scheduled in the US and South Africa over the summer.

Photo Credit: Ana Nunez

Another Summer Tour - Crowded House

Four months after the release of their Farewell to the World CD and DVD, Crowded House is back, with original members Neil Finn and Nick Seymour lined up for a string of concert dates later this summer throughout the US and Canada. Click here to link to crowdedhouse.com, which lists all the dates for the band's first tour since 1996.

Fans of Crowded House should also know that the band has completed a new studio album, Time on Earth, set for release on July 2nd. Additionally, Neil Finn's son, Liam, has completed his first solo album, I Am Lightning, which, according to undercover.com.au, is also due out in July.

The Latest On Deborah Harry and Blondie

Last week, Deborah Harry told website me-me-me.tv that Phil Spector once pointed a gun at her. Spector is currently on trial for the 2003 murder of actress Lana Clarkson, who was found dead at his Los Angeles home.

Harry is embarking on a busy summer, touring with Cyndi Lauper and Erasure (among others) this June in the True Colors Tour to Support the Human Rights Campaign. In July, Blondie will start a tour of the UK.

Also of interest to Blondie Fans: In this article from the UK's Telegraph, photographer and author Roberta Bayley shares some interesting tidbits about the group's history.

Just a note...

I'm just starting to get the first little trickle of readers and wanted to say thanks for coming by! To start, I'd like to get the blog full of news on the Alt-80s bands I love. I also aim to build up a comprehensive list of links to their websites and MySpace pages. Once there are some (hopefully) regular readers and comments, it would be great to have some more interactive stuff mixed in -- comments on concerts you are attending, favorite live shows of all-time, favorite songs, cool new bands, etc. I hope for this blog to be a fun and interesting resource for those of you who share my affection for this music. Feel free to email suggestions or requests for me to check up on bands - alt80sblogger@gmail.com.

Thanks!
Mel

Stray Cats to Tour with the Pretenders

Stray Cats are getting together for their first tour in 15 years. StrayCats.com lists eight dates, and promises that additions to the list will be "fast and furious". The three original members, Brian Setzer, Slim Jim Phantom and Lee Rocker will be involved, and all the dates listed also have The Pretenders on the bill. Various other bands (including the Gin Blossoms) will join the Stray Cats and The Pretenders on various dates.

More Dave Wakeling

Eric Barr from KKFI FM in Kansas City had the good fortune to interview Dave Wakeling, and posted an MP3 of the interview in an entry on his blog.

Peter Hook Confirms Demise of New Order

New Order bassist Peter Hook broke the news of the band's break-up on his MySpace page this week. "I'm relieved," Hook wrote. "Really hated carryin' on as normal with an awful secret, so let's move on, shall we?

Hook has been working on a number of other projects, most notably Freebass, which includes Andy Rourke of The Smiths and Mani from Stone Roses & Primal Scream, as well as a number of guest vocalists.

New Order Links:

• The Band's Official Website
• New Order Online (a fan-run information service and forum)
  

Joe Strummer Documentary

Film-maker Julian Temple discussed his relationship with and upcoming documentary of Joe Strummer, The Future is Unwritten, in this article from the UK's Guardian Unlimited. The movie is set for release in the UK on May 18th, and was featured in the Sundance Film Festival in January.

Morrissey Delivers

Despite a relatively low turnout at Wednesday night's show in Salt Lake City, Morrissey gave his audience a great mix of old and new tunes, witticisms, and a sweaty Target t-shirt. Click here to read the full review in Salt Lake's Deseret News.

No Reunion for The Smiths

According to contactmusic.com guitarist Johnny Marr turned down a 10 million dollar offer last year to reform with his former band mates for three shows. Marr, who is currently a member of Modest Mouse, claimed that tensions between himself and Morrissey were at the root of his decision.

A Chat with Dave Wakeling

The English Beat's Dave Wakeling talked about his current band (touring under the English Beat name), Mel Gibson, early EB gigs, and Greenpeace in this article in yesterday's edition of the St. Louis Riverfront Times.

Photo credit: Miles Gehm

Squeeze is reuniting!

I am more than pleased to start this blog off with the news of the upcoming Squeeze reunion. US Tour dates can be found here, and UK dates are here. The guys were apparently able to put aside their differences after VH1's Bands Reunited failed to achieve it's objective where the band was concerned.

I also recently watched and greatly enjoyed Glenn Tilbrook - One for the Road,
a documentary of Glenn's 2001 tour of the United States via an RV.
Glenn, as amiable as one would think, provides an unforgettable experience for audiences attending his one-man performances, which occasionally become traveling shows and sometimes even end up in his fans' homes. The movie is charming and fun, and is highly recommended to all fans of Squeeze and/or Glenn.