Pioneering cult post-punk legends, the Chameleons will be embarking on one of their biggest UK tours in decades this Winter. The band are delighted to announce the addition of ‘very special guests’ the Membranes, who will be joining them at their London and Manchester shows,
Fronted by trailblazer John Robb (Goldblade / Louder Than War), the Membranes have been pushing the boundaries since their formation in Blackpool in 1977. Releasing six studio albums over the years, the band released their latest critically acclaimed album in 2019 What Nature Gives… Nature Takes Away’ rich with brooding soundscapes, bass driven riffs and a 20 piece choir that imaginatively reshaped their sound and was named by some as album of the year. They also released the one-off single ‘Borders Blurred ‘in 2021. With a reputation for darkwave intense, innovative live shows they are not to be missed.
Speaking about the upcoming shows, Membranes frontman John Robb said:
“There is something remarkable about The Chameleons renaissance. Most bands would be dusty relics at this point of the game but they have never sounded more impassioned and captivating. This gig is a portal into two bands who still believe in the redemptive power of music and still create with a very northern post punk edge.”
The Membranes will be rousing the audiences of both the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire and Manchester’s Albert Hall for this year’s annual homecoming tour ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is… 2024’. Remaining tickets are on sale here.
John Robb– Membranes
The Chameleons have remained one of the city’s most revered bands among musos ever since their inception in 1981 in Manchester by singer and bassist Mark Burgess. With notable fans including the likes of Noel Gallagher to Interpol, The Charlatans to Moby, their music has been passed down through the generations like an elixir of eternal inspiration. And here in 2024, a growing fandom of their immense canon sees the Chameleons finding immortality as something of a cult phenomenon.
With their dedicated advocates finding awe in the “sonic cathedrals” in which they have constructed over the past four decades, the Chameleons have released four iconic studio albums (‘Script of the Bridge’ (1983), ‘What Does Anything Mean? Basically’(1985), ‘Strange Times’(1986) and latterly ‘Why Call It Anything’ (2001)), plus many Peel sessions, live records, compilations and an EP (‘Tony Fletcher Walked on Water…. La La La La La-La La-La-La’ (1990)). Shimmering, shadowy, and shrouded in deepest mysteries, their distinctive and towering post-punk songs sound as vital today as the moment they were built.
Acknowledging their supporters with an annual homecoming every December for the last nine years, a typically breath taking pre-Christmas celebration of their music entitled ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’, demand for the Chameleons on the live stage has surged to all time high and with word spreading across the UK, in 2024, the band are set to embark on their biggest UK tour in decades.
Venturing beyond their native Manchester this December, Chameleons will be sizing up venues in Bristol, Glasgow, Newcastle, not to mention a momentous appearance at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire, as they look to extend their annual celebrations nationwide.
With something special up their sleeves as ever for their loyal hometown following, Chameleons will this year be hosting ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ 2024 from Manchester’s Albert Hall. While it will be the 10th consecutive edition of the HIWTHI series, the upcoming show will be the band’s first ever time playing this majestic venue – a guaranteed sell-out.
Stepping-up to this tour with an incendiary setlist in mind, expect a broad, career-spanning collection of classics plus new material from their forthcoming album ‘Arctic Moon’ (due out on Metropolis Records later this year) at these unmissable Chameleons December shows.
The live band for these dates will feature Mark Burgess (bass / vox), Reg Smithies (guitar), Todd Demma (drums), Danny Ashbury (keyboards), and Stephen Rice (guitar).
Support across the tour will come from Athens-based, Gothic post-punk heirs Vision Video. Very special guests for Manchester and London have now been revealed as Membranes.
All dates are listed here as follows:
CHAMELEONS – DECEMBER 2024 TOUR
DECEMBER
6th: Marble Factory, Bristol
7th: O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London + Very Special Guests: Membranes
12th: 2024 – Garage, Glasgow
13th:Riverside, Newcastle
14th: Albert Hall, Manchester ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is 2024’ + Very Special Guests: Membranes
TICKETS
Tickets are on General Sale here:
https://pinkdot.seetickets.com/tour/chameleons
The Chameleons
