Gigs & Tours

5:33pm Thursday 31st January 2008

ORIGINAL Clannad members Moya Brennan (vocals, harp), Ciaran Brennan (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards), Noel Duggan (guitar, vocals) Padraig Duggan (guitar, vocals, mandolin), have reunited and will tour the UK for the first time in ten years. The 11-date UK tour starts Sunday, March 2, at the Sage, Gateshead and includes Harrogate International Centre on March 13.

Clannad have given a unique voice to modern Irish music. They have combined a deep love of traditional strains with a bold approach to writing and recording. Their legacy is a hugely impressive collection of albums, touching on folk, rock, ambient, jazz and world music. Many of their recordings have featured lyrics in their native Gaelic tongue, while others have been performed in English. Either way, those vocals have plugged directly into the popular imagination. Ticket hotline: 0871-424- 4444, or book online at www.ticketline.co.uk GENRE-busting pop pioneers Goldfrapp have announced a new UK tour, which takes in The Sage, Gatesehead. The tour follows the release of their new album, Seventh Tree, which comes out through Mute on February 25.

Live date: Tueday. July 1, Sage Gateshead, 0191-443-4661. Tickets: £25.

24 hr cc hotline: 0871-2200-260 or buy online: www.gigsandtours.com SUNDERLAND'S The Futureheads follow the free download track Broke Up The Time with an appearance at Northumbria University on March 3 and a no-holds-barred' third album.

Debut album, The Futureheads, was released in 2004 and News & Tributes followed in 2006. Recent exclusive gigs in London and Sunderland gave fans a preview of some of the content of the new album, scheduled for early summer.

Recorded in the sunny climes of Spain last year, legendary producer Youth (Primal Scream, The Verve) clipped the Mackem lads' into 12 short, sharp, shocks of entertainment.

The first commercial single, The Beginning Of The Twist, will be out on March 3 on the band's own Nul Records.

The Futureheads: Norhumbria University, Monday, March 3. Tickets: £10. www.gigsandtours.com 24 hr cc hotline: 0871-2200-260 SIMIAN Mobile Disco plays Newcastle Digital next Friday, February 8, as part of a tour to launch a new EP on March 10 which features the best soundtracks of last summer.

SMD are the dynamic duo of James Ford and James Jas' Shaw, with the former recently finding time to produce the second album by Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys.

SMD's mix of acid house, techno and electro music is bound to liven up the Tyneside scene next week.

www.simianmobiledisco.co.uk

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