Southbank Centre announces today (16 July) that Paul Weller makes his debut solo performance at the Royal Festival Hall with two exclusive live shows on 11 and 12 October where, for the first time, Paul and his band will be joined by an orchestra. Special guests will also appear on both nights.
The British music icon, who turned 60 in May, has been touring the UK earlier this year. These two Royal Festival Hall debuts are the only live performances of 2018 supporting his upcoming new album True Meanings, due for release this September.
The fourteenth Paul Weller solo album and twenty sixth studio album of his entire career, True Meanings is a record characterised by grand yet delicate orchestration, for which the world-class acoustics of the Royal Festival Hall provide the perfect setting. The performances feature tracks from the new album and from across his distinguished and decorated career.
“Performing two nights in a venue as iconic as the Royal Festival Hall is a significant moment for me” says Paul Weller. “It’s going to be a special two shows performing tracks from the new album and adding some older tracks into the set, all backed with a brilliant orchestra.”
One of the most revered songwriters and performers of the past 30 years, Paul Weller achieved fame with the hugely popular and influential band The Jam. He had further success with The Style Council, before establishing himself as a solo artist in 1991. He has received four Brit Awards, including Best British Male twice, and Outstanding Contribution to Music in 2006, whilst in 2010 Paul picked up the highly covetable Ivor Novello award for Lifetime Achievement.
Bengi Unsal, Senior Contemporary Music Programmer, Southbank Centre, says: “We’re incredibly proud that Paul Weller would choose Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall to present his new album in this way. It’s always exciting to welcome an artist of Paul’s calibre to our venue, but particularly when they’re offering fans something as special as these gigs promise to be. I can’t wait.”
Weller previously joined Bassekou Kouyaté and The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians when he performed at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall as part of Refugee Week 2016.
