LISTEN: Del Amitri promise new album songs and hits at Blackpool gig

Del Amitri stars Justin Currie and Iain Harvie | SJM Concerts

placeholder image — Del Amitri stars Justin Currie and Iain Harvie | SJM Concerts

Del Amitri are heading back to Blackpool with new album songs, greatest hits and bizarre memories of a Pleasure Beach gig, as guitarist Iain Harvie revealed in an exclusive podcast chat with Graham Walker.

Nothing ever happens? Try telling that to Del Amitri!

More than 40 years after bursting onto the music scene, the Scottish rockers are preparing to hit the road with four decades of greatest hits – and a surprise for fans.

Alongside timeless classics including Nothing Ever Happens, Always The Last To Know and Roll To Me, audiences will be the first to hear new songs from their next album set for release next year, guitarist and sognwriter Iain Harvie revealed.

The 24-date Past To Present 2026 UK Tour includes a night at Blackpool, Opera House, on Thursday , November 12.

BUY TICKETS: All tour tickets – full details below – are available now at www.gigsandtours.com , www.ticketmaster.co.uk and www.delamitri.info.

In our chat - listen in full below - Iain told how the band will play a mix of greatest hits and surprises, including a sneak preview of songs from their next album ahead of its release next year.

EXCLUSIVE AUDIO INTERVIEW

Del Amitri's Iain Harvie talks to Graham Walker

New music, greatest hits and life on the road — listen to our conversation ahead of the band's tour dates.

Del Amitri – Iain Harvie interview

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FRONT ROW LIVE AUDIO

Blackpool brings back a bizarre memory for Harvie - a particularly surreal TV-am appearance at the Pleasure Beach in 1995.

He told how, fresh from supporting R.E.M. at Cardiff Arms Park, the band travelled overnight to the seaside resort.

Iain recalled: "We woke up in the Pleasure Beach, where we were subjected to a sort of ordeal with dancing eggs, Frank Carson and some Nolan sisters."

A promised ride on the Big Dipper never materialised, although Harvie quipped: "We chickened out!"

A more recent visit gave him a memory to treasure.

"We were in Blackpool a couple of years ago, in September. I thought it was beautiful. I'd never really spent any time there,” he said.

Blackpool fans will be among the first to hear some of the band’s new material they are excited to be releasing next year.

"Some of those songs will be popping up at various shows," said Iain.

"We'll also play all the obvious hits, but we haven't quite got our head around what the surprises in the set might be."

The next album follows 2021's Fatal Mistakes, which marked Del Amitri's return to the studio as a band after 18-years.

Del Amitri frontman Justin Currie. | Del Amitri

For younger fans who have never experienced Del Amitri live, Iain believes the emotional power of frontman Justin Currie's songwriting is reason enough to buy a ticket.

"There's probably not another band with a lyricist like Justin that nails emotions in songs the way that he does it," said Iain, who has played his own key role in shaping Del Amitri's distinctive sound as Justin's longtime songwriting partner.

The band's story began with their self-titled debut in 1985, before 1989's Waking Hours, featuring Nothing Ever Happens, propelled them onto Top of the Pops.

Five UK Top 10 albums, more than six million worldwide record sales and extensive international touring followed.

With around 150 songs in their back catalogue, choosing a setlist is a challenge – but Iain promises the classics in an old-fashioned rock show, without distracting video walls.

Del Amitri’s 1989 album Waking Hours featured the breakthrough hit Nothing Ever Happens. | Del Amitri

"We've kind of gone back to just a very simple setup with a straightforward backline on stage and old-fashioned rock and roll lights," he said,

"The venues that we're doing are big, but they've got an intimacy to them and that intimacy I think can be dissipated if you get too much production.

Northern audiences hold a special place in his heart.

He said: "North of England always feels like the south of Scotland to me."

Those connections with fans remain central to the band's appeal, particularly when audiences sing along to Nothing Ever Happens – a hit whose success surprised them.

"Nothing Ever Happens was a big event in our lives when it became so successful.,” he said, “We didn't really expect that. It didn't seem like the kind of song that was necessarily going to get played on the radio."

And does he ever tire of playing it?

He’s quick to reply: "No, not at all. Why would we tire of playing it? Everybody sings the lyrics when we play it now, which is just amazing. How could you possibly tire of that?"

Now 64, Iain reckons touring is easier in some ways than when he started in his 20s, with better stage technology replacing the enormous sound systems and scorching lights of old.

"It's also a bit less hectic. But it's not that different, really. People go to bed a bit earlier," he laughed.

The band's determination to keep performing is particularly poignant following Justin Currie's revelation that he has Parkinson's disease.

"Justin's got some issues with his Parkinson's. But he's really excited to be working and he's in good shape," added Iain.

There are still ambitions to fulfil – Iain always wanted to play New York's Madison Square Garden and tour Japan.

For now, though, he has more immediate concerns as he prepares for the tour.

He chuckled: "That involves making sure that you've got enough underwear in your suitcase!”

DEL AMITRI LINKS

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PAST TO PRESENT 2026 UK TOUR DATES

November

Monday 9 – Leeds, O2 Academy

Tuesday 10 – Norwich, The Nick Rayns LCR, UEA