News / New Black Grape date
NINETIES indie favourite band Black Grape, who were due to play in Shetland in July before falling foul of the weather, are to play a rescheduled date on Saturday 24 October.
The group, fronted by Shaun Ryder, will play at Mareel to make up for the 4 July date not going ahead after flights into Sumburgh Airport were cancelled due to the weather – leaving the band stranded in Aberdeen and hundreds of local music fans disappointed.
Joe Robertson from local promoters Klub Revolution said he was delighted the band were keen to complete their UK tour by coming to Shetland this autumn for what will the last gig the band are scheduled to play.
“We, along with all the hundreds of people that had bought tickets for the show in July, were absolutely gutted when the weather put paid to the original show, but we have to give the band, the band’s management and Loganair great credit in helping us to reschedule this hugely anticipated show so quickly,” he said.
Robertson added: “This was always going to be complicated due to the fact that lead singer Shaun Ryder was due to rejoin the Happy Mondays for shows later in the year, so we are grateful to Shaun and the management for putting the work in and finding a date that could work for everyone.”
Klub Revolution also promoted the Aberdeen show at the city’s Beach Ballroom venue the evening after the original Shetland show had to be cancelled. Robertson said that all the band, especially Ryder, had been extremely disappointed not to make it to Shetland as it was the show on the UK tour that they were all “really looking forward to”.
This will be the third attempt to bring cultural icon Ryder to Shetland. As well as last month’s misfortune, his other band the Happy Mondays had to cancel a show at Mareel in 2012 due to illness.
Black Grape reformed for a one-off UK tour earlier this year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band’s number one album, ‘It’s Great When You’re Straight….Yeah’.
The album also featured three top singles, ‘Reverend Black Grape’, ‘In The Name Of The Father’ and ‘Kelly’s Heroes’.
Robertson said the Shetland audience was in for a treat after witnessing how the band wowed the Aberdeen audience, sounding “even better than they did 20 years ago”.
You can read Chris Cope’s interview with Ryder, in advance of July’s ill-fated show, here.
- Black Grape tickets are now back on sale at Shetland Box Office. Anyone with a ticket for the original show who wishes to attend the new date will have to swap over at the point of purchase. Refunds are also available for ticket holders unable to make it to the revised date.
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