Richard Ashcroft has shared new single ‘Hold On’, taken from his fourth solo album These People, that will be released on his new Righteous Phonographic Association label via Cooking Vinyl Records on 20th May. The track is available to download now when pre-ordering the album on iTunes and is available to stream on digital outlets (links below).
‘Hold On’ follows first single ‘This Is How It Feels’, which heralded Richard’s return to an excited reception. The song was playlisted by BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2 and was the #1 most played record at Absolute Radio and #2 most played record at Radio X last week. On Spotify, the track went Top Ten in the UK Viral Chart on the week of its release.
The Brit and Ivor Novello award winning and Grammy nominated artist will be making a long awaited UK live return when he plays sold out shows on 14th May at Albert Hall in Manchester, 16th May at the Roundhouse in London, and 27th May at the O2 Academy in Glasgow. He will be making further select festival appearances in the summer including the Isle Of Wight as special guest of headliners The Who (full dates below).
Watching personal and world events take a darker turn compelled Richard to record the album, his first new music in six years, and, he says, led to “ a sense of urgency and a clearing of the mind.” While These People addresses such topics as the war in Syria, the Arab Spring uprisings and the death of a friend, it also brims with hope and defiance, as evidenced in the anthemic and sweeping crescendo of new single ‘Hold On’.
Recorded in London, These People was produced by Richard and longtime collaborator Chris Potter, as well as marking a reunion with Wil Malone, who worked with Richard on the string arrangements on the seminal albums by The Verve A Northern Soul (1995), Urban Hymns (1997), and his platinum-selling and critically lauded debut solo album Alone with Everybody (2000).
Equally channelling his classic output and exploring adventurous new sounds, textures and themes, and graced by one of the most singular and unforgettable voices in British music, These People reaffirms him as one of the most defining and prodigious songwriters of his generation.
Richard Ashcroft live dates:
14/05/16 Manchester, Albert Hall, UK (Sold Out) 16/05/16 London, Roundhouse, UK (Sold Out) 27/05/16 Glasgow, O2 Academy, UK (Sold Out) 28/05/16 Scarborough Fair Art and Music Festival, UK 11/06/16 Isle Of Wight Festival, UK (The Who’s special guest) 15/07/16 Pori Jazz, Finland 10/08/16 Lokerse Festival, Belgium 12/08/16 Calella de Palafrugell,Jardí Botànic de Cap Roig, Spain 03/09/16 Trinity, Jersey Live, Jersey
