Black Grape have announced an 11-date UK tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their 1995 debut album, ‘It’s Great When You’re Straight…Yeah’. The tour kicks off on November 28 in Glasgow at Queen Margaret Union before winding its way across England and ending with a Manchester homecoming on December 20 at the O2 Academy.
Black Grape celebrated the 25th anniversary of the same album in 2021 after the planned celebrations were undone by the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally planned for 2020, the tour was moved to March 2021 before being rescheduled again, and eventually happening in September.
When it finally happened, the event was just as much about the anniversary of the album as it was about fans finally being able to return to music venues, even if it did require vaccine passports. RGM’s Carl Maloney described the energy between band members Shaun Ryder and Kermit as electric, likening them to “scallywags just let out after being cooped up for 18 months.” ‘It’s Great When You’re Straight…Yeah’ is the band’s most well-known album and makes up most of the material they perform live. Fans attending any of the 11 dates can expect to hear ‘In The Name Of The Father’, ‘Tramazi Parti’, and ‘Kelly’s Heroes’, alongside material from their latest album, ‘Orange Head’, released last year.
The tour will be supported by Dodgy, another ’90s act best known for hits like ‘Staying Out for the Summer’ and ‘Good Enough’, the latter of which reached No. 4 on the UK charts. The pairing will be a nostalgia trip for fans, transporting many of them back to the peak of Madchester and Britpop.
Shaun Ryder and Bez are both currently part of the supergroup Mantra of the Cosmos, which recently played two sold-out shows at Liverpool’s Cavern Club and released a track co-written with Noel Gallagher. Though Bez is no longer an official member of Black Grape, leaving the band in 1998, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him join Ryder and Kermit on stage, armed with a pair of maracas or a tambourine.
Ryder shared the tour poster from his X account as well as a link for tickets. Fans were quick to point out the absence of shows in Leeds and Dublin. There are no shows planned for Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland, as was the case in 2021 too, though there was a date in Wales, which also misses out on the 2025 tour. There’s no official word on extra dates yet, but if there is the demand, Black Grape may just add one or two more shows.
Where’s Leeds ?
— craig smith (@SmithCsmiff1974) January 27, 2025
‘It’s Great When You’re Straight…Yeah’ was met with critical acclaim upon its release and debuted at number 1 in the UK Album Chart, knocking off the Supergrass album ‘I Should Coco’. It was praised for its musical variety, which Lollipop Magazine’s Chris Adams compared to The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’.
Though Black Grape don’t command the same recognition as Ryder and Bez’s previous band, The Happy Mondays, they still have a devoted following, with fans quick to defend the album and heap praise on it. The Happy Mondays were in the news back in December when their backing singer, Rowetta, abruptly left the group.
Interestingly, the album is yet to receive a remaster, and the 30th anniversary would be a prime opportunity for one to surface. Whether they’re a nostalgia act or not, fans of Black Grape will be excited for everything 2025 holds. As long as Shaun Ryder is at the helm, the party shows no signs of slowing down.
Tickets are currently on pre-sale, but will go on general sale on Friday 31 January. They can be bought here.
