Alt-rock titans Pixies have been confirmed to play the iTunes festival at the London Roundhouse on September 25th.
Black Francis and co will join a line-up that includes Kings of Leon, Sigur Ros, Vampire Weekend and many more at the month long festival, which is free for punters and screened live on the iTunes Store.
Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in rock history, the Boston boys (and girl) revamped the alternative scene in the late 80’s with their signature surf-punk sound, directly inspiring the likes of Nirvana, Radiohead and Smashing Pumpkins, before abruptly declaring themselves finished in 1993, with Francis continuing as a solo artist under the name Frank Black and bassist Kim Deal focusing on her work with The Breeders.
2004 saw the official reunion of Pixies, with a new track and a sold-out tour, but the excitement was short-lived, and for several years the band appeared only intermittently at festivals. 2009 saw the 20th anniversary of their iconic sophomore album Doolittle, celebrated with an odyssey of a tour which lasted the best part of two years.
After a brief period of quiet, the last few months have seen Pixies explode onto the musical headlines once again. June 14 saw the official – and not totally unexpected – departure of Kim Deal from the band, two weeks before the release of their first new song in almost a decade.
‘Bagboy’ was released on the 28th of June, to overwhelming critical approval, Mojo calling it ‘Vintage Pixie-an’ and the Guardian proclaiming it ‘Excellent. Worth the wait’. A characteristically bizarre video shortly followed, which has quickly racked up close to 1 million views on YouTube.
Kim Shattuck, guitarist for The Muffs and former member of The Pandoras will be replacing Deal for the European leg of their tour, though whether she will join the band on a more permanent basis is yet unknown.
Tickets for the first leg of their tour sold out within minutes, resulting in additional European shows being added. Black Francis has stated that over 80 songs have been rehearsed, and the tour will include more new and never-played-before material.
Below is the video for their new single ‘Bagboy’
Click here for more information on the ITunes festival.
http://www.itunesfestival.com/
