The pioneering legend of Motown, Smokey Robinson has announced a string of UK shows, marking his first set of shows in the UK in almost two decades. Robinson will headline next year’s Love Supreme Jazz Festival on July 4 in East Sussex, accompanied by ‘Don’t Let Go’ R&B icons En Vogue, R&B/Soul group Thee Sacred Souls and jazz-fusion legend Stanley Clarke.
Love Supreme Jazz Festival will not be the only show Robinson will be performing at in the UK. His forthcoming tour will take the Motown singer to across the UK in July to perform in Glasgow, Birmingham, Cardiff and to a final show at London’s prestigious Eventim Apollo.
.@SmokeyRobinson is coming to Eventim Apollo on 11th July 2025.
Tickets are now on-sale https://t.co/GznLfuwwEx pic.twitter.com/MHI8CB9FoV
— Eventim Apollo (@EventimApollo) December 6, 2024
Smokey Robinson is considered one of the founding fathers of Motown, having served as the vice-president of Motown Records between 1961 and 1988, which coincided with his presence as the frontman in prominent soul and R&B group, The Miracles. Hailing from Detroit, Michigan in 1955, The Miracles were the first successful recording act to emerge out of Motown Records and are considered one of the most distinguished acts within the genre. Robinson’s efforts saw many prominent musicians walk through the doors of Motown Records including: Diana Ross & the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder and many more icons. Besides from his role in The Miracles, Robinson holds prolific credentials within the industry after having his name attributed to Motown and soul’s biggest tracks. Most notably Robinson wrote the Temptations’ ‘My Girl’ in 1965 and ‘Get Ready’ in 1966, where the former respectively peaked at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. These tracks along with Mary Wells’ ‘My Guy’ and Marvin Gaye’s ‘Ain’t That Peculiar’ have become synonymous with Motown as a genre, given the extent of Robinson’s lyrical contributions.
The ‘Being With You’ singer will return to the UK to showcase his Motown musical legacy to multi-generational crowds. Being billed as the ‘hits’ tour, the singer will perform a range of hits from his multi-decade career including a potential appreciation towards the 50th Anniversary of ‘A Quiet Storm’ – an album which established Robinson’s reputation as a notable singer-songwriter. This forthcoming tour will somewhat differ from his last in the UK, having been in 2007, where the singer toured following the release of his 2006 LP ‘Timeless Love’.
It was only last year that he released ‘Gasms’ – a concept album that displayed the intricacies surrounding sex and pleasure, themes that although appeared controversial received positive critical assessment, with Pitchfork referring to the album as a “perfectly respectable victory lap” following the “ultimate refinement of Robinson’s late-career output”. This upcoming tour furthers to cement the prevalence of the now-84-year-old singer in the industry.
Tickets can be found here.
