The greatest and hardest working singer-songwriter of his generation, Paul Weller, has announced his second tour of the year in November this year, stopping off at the Echo Arena on 17 November.
Paul releases his 9th studio album "22 Dreams" on June 2nd. Expect to hear highlights from the new album along with a sprinkling of classics from the Modfather's hefty back catalogue.
"After As Is Now I thought the time was right to make the sort of record I wanted to make" says Paul Weller of the creative process which led to his extraordinary ninth solo album 22 Dreams. "Instead of worrying about anyone else, I wanted to really push the boat out. I think the result is going to surprise a few people."
Recorded over the course of a year at Black Barn Studio's in Woking, 22 Dreams will do more than that. A kaleidoscopic tour de force incorporating rock, funk, soul, free jazz, krautrock, classical, spoken word, electronica and all stops in between, it's a seventy minute (m)odysssey delivered with a verve and ambition to shame musicians half his age.
For those who've followed Paul's unparalleled thirty year journey through British pop, 22 Dreams should come as no surprise. Having split up The Jam at the height of their powers in 1982, he spent the rest of the eighties challenging pop convention with The Style Council (including an attempt to turn a reluctant audience on to Acid House in 1989).
In the nineties, he pioneered a new form of psychedelic folk-rock -accurately described by Robert Wyatt as "new furniture seasoned from old wood" -which reinstalled him as the pre-eminent songwriter of his generation. Nonetheless, following the top five success of As Is Now and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Brits in 2006, he could have been forgiven for resting on his laurels. But then, that's never been Paul's way.
"I felt I'd gone as far as I could with the band with As Is Now, so I decided to freshen things up. In the studio it was mostly just me, Steve Cradock and (producer) Simon Dine. We recorded very quickly. People would come down to the Barn, and if they had an idea, they'd go straight in and record. It was all about catching the feeling rather than scrutinising every last detail."
Paul's May 08 tour sold out straight away - expect this date to do the same!
Tickets go on sale Friday 2 May at 9am from the Echo Arena on 0844 8000 400 or online at www.accliverpool.com
Tickets are priced at £30 subject to a booking / handling fee
