Last night saw Scottish Rockers Primal Scream take to London’s Alexandra Palace for their Screamadelica UK tour, those in attendance were also treated to a surprise guest. Former Smiths bandmember Johnny Marr delighted the crowd when he joined the band on stage during their encore, the guitarist and Primal Scream closed the set with “Jailbird”, “Country Girl” and “Rocks”.
Primal Scream’s UK tour is to mark the 30th anniversary of the seminal album Screamadelica. In celebration of the album’s release, the tour’s setlist sees the band perform their third studio album in full. The group’s headlining tour began at the start of the month with a performance in Glasgow and has two more dates left. The tour’s next stop is on 21st July 2022 with a set at Standon Calling, the concluding performance is scheduled to take place on 22nd July 2022 at Welsh venue Alexandra Head.
Originally released on 23rd September 1991 via Creation Records, Screamadelica will celebrate its official 30th birthday this autumn. The album has become a key part of the band’s history as the release confirmed the band’s adoption of a new sound. Prior to its release, Primal Scream had made a name for themselves within the indie rock genre, Screamadelica saw the band take inspiration from the house music scene which had exploded at the start of the decade. The album is steeped in musical history and holds importance for its involvement with the Mercury Music Prize, the album was crowned the acclaimed accolade’s first ever winner in 1992.
Saturday’s show was not the first time that Marr and Primal Scream have shared a stage, the 58-year-old musician joined the band in 2019 at the end of their set in Manchester’s Albert Hall. Similar to last night’s cameo, Marr also played on the live renditions of “Jailbird” and the 1994 single “Rocks”.
The recent collaboration with Primal Scream is one of many guest appearances Marr has made this Summer. Earlier within the month, Marr joined Grunge icons Pearl Jam on stage during their second date at BST Hyde Park. Last month also saw Marr share a stage with Alicia Keys; whilst performing at Manchester’s AO Arena, the American pianist invited Marr to perform the classic Smiths song “This Charming Man”. During the set Keys said to the crowd, “I’ve talked a lot about New York tonight, Now I want to talk about Manchester.” As the musician walked on stage Keys announced his arrival by shouting “Johnny Marr!”.
Two special new releases of the album will also drop in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Screamadelica; Screamadelica 12’’ Singles box set and Screamadelica double Vinyl picture disc will be available from 17th September 2022. Primal Scream will also release a brand-new collection of previously unreleased demos and early recordings, entitled Demodelica the new album will be released on 15th October 2022. The upcoming album will be available to order in various formats including digital, double vinyl, CD and C-90 cassettes, also included within the upcoming collection are liner notes penned by acclaimed writer John Savage.
Primal Scream UK Tour dates
21/07/2022 – Standon Calling – Standon
22/07 – Alexandra Head – Cardiff
Click here to purchase tickets.
Click here to pre-order the new releases.
