John Peel favourites A Witness have announced a series of live appearances, following their recent reformation after a 25-year break. The band will play a show at 229 The Venue in London on June 14 to mark the re-release of the NME‘s C86 tape, sharing the stage with The Wedding Present, The Membranes, The Band Of Holy Joy and more, followed by the Blackthorn Music Festival in Stockport on July 27 and a John Peel Weekender with The Blue Orchids, Nightingales and Inca Babies at the Georgian Theatre in Stockton on October 25.
The reformation was driven by founding member and bass player Vince Hunt, inspired by the 25th anniversary of original A Witness guitarist Rick Aitken’s tragic death. "I decided to reform the band to play the songs Rick helped write when I realised it was 25 years since he died," he says. "It’s great to play them again and they sound great. The band’s really on good form – we’re all looking forward to these gigs." The Blackthorn festival takes place in Etherow Country Park, which holds a wood dedicated to the memory of Aitken.
The reformed line-up includes guitarist Alan Brown of Big Flame and drummer Rob Haynes of The Membranes, Goldblade and Inca Babies, both of whom played with Hunt in his Pure Sound project. They’ll be joined by Simon Williams, who has taken over vocals from original frontman Keith Curtis. Find more info about the appearance at the C86 show here and listen to their 1989 single I Love You, Mr Disposable Razors’ below:
