Manchester band James have announced they are to tour the UK this Autumn backed by a 22 piece Orchestra and a 16 piece choir.
Billed as An Evening with James with the Orchestra of the Swan and the Manchester Consort Choir, the tour will see the band playing at concert halls instead of the usual arenas and theatres.
The orchestra will be conducted by Joe Duddell, who the band initially worked with in 2009 at a benefit concert, Manchester Versus Cancer, held at the M.E.N. Arena.
Undertaking such a huge event was not without its difficulties, as James frontman Tim Booth explained, “The arrangements are really different, our songs are open-ended which is anathema to an orchestra.”
Conducter Joe Duddell added, “James never play the same song twice so the orchestra has had to adjust. What makes it work is that James have become part of the orchestra itself.”
The tour will see newer material mixed in with old favourites including Waltzing Along and She’s a Star.
Best known for their string of hit singles in the nineties, including Sit Down, Laid and Born of Frustration, the band recently supported The Killers at their sold out Hyde Park concert in May.
As well as two dates in the band’s hometown of Manchester, the group will visit Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall towards the end of October. The tour concludes with a prestigious booking at London’s Royal Albert Hall in early November.
Tickets are on sale today (1st July) from 9.30am
The dates in full are:
OCTOBER
Cardiff Millennium Centre (October 23)
Birmingham Symphony Hall (24)
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (25)
Nottingham Royal Concert Hall (27)
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (29)
Manchester Bridgewater Hall (31)
NOVEMBER
Manchester Bridgewater Hall (1)
Gateshead Sage (2)
London Royal Albert Hall (4)
http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/James-tickets/artist/741201