One of the UK’s most exciting live bands, Red Rum Club have been announced as ambassadors of Bootle’s new outdoor music and events venue, Salt and Tar, ahead of Independent Venue Week (Mon 29 Jan – Sun 4 Feb 2024) celebrating new hope for their hometown at the same time as releasing their latest single, Hole In My Home.
Filming the single’s video in vacated, set-for-demolition flats that form part of the ambitious footprint for the expansion of the existing 3,000-capacity live space, the energetic indie pop six-piece celebrate the power of music to change the fortunes of their home town and others like it. Owner, Sefton Council, is aiming to increase capacity of the event space to over 8,000.
Having played and sold-out Salt and Tar on the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal last summer in a thrilling, celebratory and rain-soaked homecoming, Red Rum Club have been brought on board by the council as long-term ambassadors. It means the band will return to the venue to perform special events and boost the public profile of the next, exciting stages of the development as they are announced.
In the first of an anticipated run of summer 2024 events, the venue has already announced that pop legend, Tom Jones, is to follow Red Rum Club and chart-topping indie heroes, The Lathums, to play the venue and appear twice this August.
Red Rum Club front man, Francis Doran, says of the tie-up: “Salt and Tar is such an exciting project to be a part of. It’s aimed at bringing together people through art, culture and music, which is deep within the ethos of Red Rum Club. The venue, like a red Rum Club Gig, is a place where everyone is welcome to come, have a good time and take in new experiences together.”
The venue is anticipated to attract tens of thousands of visitors to Bootle following the next phase of development, contributing millions to the local economy, attracting visitors, creating new employment opportunities and helping attract both public and private sector investment.
Cllr Marion Atkinson, Leader of Sefton Council says of the partnership between the Council and Red Rum Club: “We were delighted that Red Rum Club headlined our Salt and Tar inaugural music festival in July 2023. We are also very grateful to Red Rum Club for their support to date, and it was an extension of this growing relationship which led us to consider partnering to help grow the music scene locally.
"In their ambassadorial role, we hope there will be many mutual benefits to this collaboration. Salt and Tar is the start of an exciting regeneration programme for Bootle town centre, with music and events at its heart. And the promotion of Red Rum Club as they launch their new album, and the opportunity to work together creatively, is such a truly unique opportunity.”
At the same time as supporting a new music venue set to grow even bigger, kicking against the national trend as the Music Venue Trust announced the loss of 125 grassroots spaces in 2023, Red Rum Club look ahead to their biggest UK Tour to date this March and April. With many venues now SOLD OUT or with extremely low-ticket availability, the run concludes with the band’s statement homecoming show at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena on Fri 5 April 2024.
Before hitting the road, the band releases a fourth album, Western Approaches, on Fri 23 February 2024 with Modern Sky UK. Releasing their latest single, Hole In My Home, the band offers their trademark balance of deeply emotive lyrical content and an incessant rhythm, pace and dedication to killer choruses to remind listeners that they are in the company of one of the most talented, trend-bucking bands of modern times.
Doran adds: "’Hole In My Home’ provides a story of love and loss. An up-tempo soundtrack that descends into a wailing, melancholic chorus that really tugs at the heartstrings. It’s our most honest and heartfelt release to date and we feel it really showcases new levels of maturity in our songwriting, with more of that on offer on the album itself."
Hole In My Home follows tracks already showcased from the album, including the summertime ‘leak’ of the prowling Black Cat, the riffy dopamine rush of Undertaker and the Dick Dale and Ennio Morricone-inspired, Texan dustbowl-meets-Mersey Basin twang of Godless.
The 11-track album follows up their 2021 third album, How To Steal The World, and is the first to be recorded in collaboration with hit-making producer, Rich Turvey, who has previously worked with Red Rum Club peers including Sundara Karma, Oscar Lang, Vistas, Blossoms, Courteeners, The Coral, She Drew The Gun and Clean Cut Kid.
Following the album’s release Red Rum Club set out to do what they do best across 12 dates of late nights and mornings they will never see. Including a complete sell out in the capital, with no tickets remaining for their London Scala show, the full run of 2024 Red Rum Club Western Approaches UK Tour dates are as follows:
- Thu 7 March – Glasgow, The Garage – SOLD OUT
- Fri 8 March – Newcastle, Newcastle University
- Sat 9 March – Stoke, Sugarmill – SOLD OUT
- Sun 10 March – Leeds, Stylus
- Tue 12 March – London, Scala – SOLD OUT
- Wed 13 March – Bristol, Trinity
- Thu 14 March – Plymouth, Depo
- Fri 15 March – Southampton, Engine Rooms – SOLD OUT
- Sat 16 March – Birmingham, Academy Institute 2 – SOLD OUT
- Mon 18 March – Cambridge, Junction – SOLD OUT
- Tue 19 March – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms – SOLD OUT
- Fri 5 April – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
Album pre-orders, bundles, booking links and information on all upcoming shows and releases are available at www.redrumclub.com.
Western Approaches is set to be released on standard and special edition, direct to fans and independent shops vinyl formats, CD and digital.