Special guests announced for upcoming Friars Aylesbury event at Waterside Theatre

A special guest act has been added to an upcoming Friars Aylesbury event coming to the Waterside Theatre.
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Blancmange has been added to the Thompson Twins show at Aylesbury's biggest theatre on 3 September.

Tom Bailey from the Thompson Twins will be performing the entirety of the album ‘Into The Gap’ for the first time in his career.

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Neil Arthur from Blancmange, photo by Piers AllardyceNeil Arthur from Blancmange, photo by Piers Allardyce
Neil Arthur from Blancmange, photo by Piers Allardyce

Blancmange have a long history with Aylesbury, having first headlined the famous Friars club on 16 June 1983.

Back then the band included original members Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe and David Rhodes who would go on to collaborate with musical royalty: Peter Gabriel, and Paul McCartney, and many other 80s stars.

Blancmange first broke through in the early 80s with their mix of synthesizers and surrealism.

Which could be heard in their groundbreaking singles, ‘Feel Me’, ‘Living On The Ceiling’ and ‘Blind Vision’.

Other massive hits included of ‘Waves’ and a cover of Abba’s ‘The Day Before You Came’.

Friars describes Blancmange as a band that was always willing to change and adopt new styles within their electronic framework.

Since illness forced Stephen to stop touring or recording after 2011’s Blanc Burn, the band’s evolution has continued at a rapid pace with a new album being released almost every year with Arthur at the helm, including 2021’s Commercial Break.

Friars organisers say, that as the band approaches their 20th album, Blancmange’s humour, surreal lyrics and the bitter-sweet quality of their songs remain.

The music ranges from ambient, analogue dreamscapes to spoken word observation and lonesome atmospherics, to up-beat minimalist synthesiser pop songs, often delivered with a slightly crazed smile.

Many of the world’s most famous artists have expressed their love of Blancmange in the past including Moby.

The legendary producer said: “Listening to Blancmange obsessively. Probably the most under-rated electronic act of all time.”

John Grant added: “Blancmange have been a part of the soundtrack to my life ever since ‘Happy Families’ was released.”

Ticketing information can be found on the Ambassador Theatre Group website here and on www.seetickets.com.

More information on Blancmange can be found on the band’s website here.

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