Blancmange kicked off their Happy Families tour, playing a re-interpreted version of their 1982 debut in full, last week. As well as marking the tour by releasing this new edition, titled Happy Families too…, they’ve also reissued their first EP, 1980’s Irene & Mavis. The original was only available in a 500-copy run, and this re-release is similarly limited edition, with only 999 copies of the hand-numbered 10" out via Minimal Wave; for full details, head here.
In the meantime, the band have given us this video of Neil Arthur talking about how the band first met, which features a nicely understated observation of his co-founder Stephen Luscombe (sadly not on the current tour due to health issues): "He’s got a Hoover, with a saxophone connected to it. I thought, ‘Ah, he looks interesting’". Watch the video above, with tour dates below and tickets available through the band’s website; stay tuned to the site, too, for a Blancmange Baker’s Dozen:
NOVEMBER
Wed 6 – Sound Control, Manchester
Fri 8 – Think Tank, Newcastle
Sat 9 – The Brook, Southampton
Sun 10 – Concorde 2, Brighton
Mon 11 – Robin, Wolverhampton
Tue 12 – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
Wed 13 – Erics, Liverpool
Thu 14 – The Hop, Wakefield
Fri 15 – The Garage, London
Sat 16 – Ifor Bach, Cardiff
Wed 20 – Pavilion, Cork
Thu 21 – Button Factory, Dublin
