As part of their 25th anniversary celebrations, Starsailor are set to release their first official live album, ‘Starsailor with Strings: Live from Liverpool’, due out 3rd October via East West / Parlophone. Available on CD and limited edition Red recycled and Blue vinyl LPs.
Recorded at Liverpool’s prestigious Tung Auditorium, Yoko Ono Lennon Centre, University of Liverpool earlier this year, the album captures a one-off performance with a string ensemble at the venue’s state-of-the-art, acoustically optimised concert hall.
The February concert marked the first of several events to celebrate the band’s landmark year. The full original four-piece line-up—James Walsh, James Stelfox, Ben Byrne, and Barry Westhead—was joined by long-time live guitarist Tony Foster (of Spiritualized). Starsailor bassist James Stelfox also regularly performs with Foster as part of Spiritualized’s live band.
The ensemble was conducted by Joe Duddell, a renowned composer and arranger whose credits include New Order, Elbow, James, and Richard Hawley. Duddell also co-curated the BBC Northern Soul Prom at the Royal Albert Hall.
The result is effectively a live 'best of' – featuring lush new arrangements of fan favourites like Four To The Floor, Good Souls, Alcoholic and Silence Is Easy, the latter two singles both UK Top 10 hits. The album also includes a stunning cover of Jealous Guy along with further tracks from across their catalogue of the past 25 years.
James Walsh said, “We wanted to do something special to mark 25 years together as a band, and knowing Joe Duddell’s fantastic reputation as a string arranger – working with bands like Elbow and James – we knew he’d be a great collaborator. When the prestigious Tung Hall became available it seemed like the perfect storm. Strings play a huge part in our second album Silence Is Easy, so it’s a nod to our past too. We can’t wait for people to hear these recordings.”
‘Starsailor with Strings: Live from Liverpool’ Tracklisting:
Alcoholic – 4:07
Way To Fall – 4:35
Telling Them – 4:53
Poor Misguided Fool – 3:54
Where The Wild Things Grow – 4:34
Hard Love – 4:28
She Just Wept – 4:06 *
Restless Heart – 2:04 *
Lullaby – 5:15
Tell Me It's Not Over – 3:52 *
Silence Is Easy – 3:50
Jealous Guy – 4:23
Four To The Floor – 5:00
Good Souls – 5:25
* only available on CD and Digital
To coincide with the album’s release, Starsailor will embark on a headline UK and EU tour this November. The full list of upcoming dates is below.
Live Tour dates
8th October 2025 – Trabendo, Paris, France
9th October 2025 – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium
10th October 2025 – Gebäude 9, Cologne, Germany - SOLD OUT
11th October 2025 – Melkweg Max, Amsterdam, Netherlands
14th October 2025 – Bierhübeli, Bern, Switzerland
24th October 2025 – Zorlu Performing Arts Center, Istanbul, Turkey
13th November 2025 – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds - SOLD OUT
14th November 2025 – Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton
15th November 2025 – The LCR, UEA, Norwich
20th November 2025 – Rock City, Nottingham
21st November 2025 – O2 Academy, Bristol
22nd November 2025 – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London
27th November 2025 – Northumbria University SU, Newcastle
28th November 2025 – Barrowland, Glasgow
29th November 2025 – Albert Hall, Manchester - SOLD OUT
3rd December 2025 – Limelight 1, Belfast
4th December 2025 – The Academy, Dublin 1, Ireland
To celebrate the album release, Starsailor will play a mini Record Store Tour starting on the day of release. The list of upcoming dates is below. Tickets go on sale today at 6PM BST.
3rd October 2025 – Liverpool, Jacaranda Baltic
4th October 2025 – Bury, Wax & Beans (Acoustic Set)
5th October 2025 – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club (Crash Records)
