Richard Ashcroft has announced plans to release a new album ahead of his support slot at the upcoming Oasis tour.
After rumours that the former Verve frontman could be hitting the road with the Gallagher brothers on their impending reunion shows, Ashcroft was announced last October as Oasis’ special guest for the UK and Ireland leg alongside Cast.
Now, Ashcroft has announced his seventh studio album ‘Lovin’ You’, his first since 2018’s ‘Natural Rebel’ and follows 2021’s ‘Acoustic Hymns, Vol. 1’. You can pre-order it here.
It’s the first new music from Ashcroft since his John Lewis Christmas advert cover of ‘Sonnet’ last year.
The songs on ‘Lovin’ You’, which is released on October 3, were written by the former Verve man, who co-produced the album with Chris Potter and Emre Ramazanoglu.
It will be released on standard black vinyl, CD and digital formats along with a range of exclusive vinyl variants: his official store offers a neon orange vinyl, Amazon UK have a regular orange version, and select independent stores will stock a blue version.
His album, follows recent single ‘Lover’, which was the first taster from the record. The song interpolates Joan Armatrading’s classic ‘Love And Affection’.
It comes ahead of his support slot with Oasis which kicks off this Friday (July 4) at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
It is the first of 19 shows in the UK and Ireland, which Ashcroft will be supporting.
Ahead of the shows kicking off, Liam recently revealed that the opening show in Cardiff will have a start time of 8:15pm, telling fans: “Don’t be late or we’ll start without you and you don’t want that now do ya”. Yesterday, doors and stage times for the opening acts were revealed on social media.
Speaking about his Oasis support slot when it was confirmed, Ashcroft said in a statement: “As a fan from day one I was buzzing for many reasons when the news of Oasis’ return was announced.
“I can say with no exaggeration that the songwriting talent of Noel and Liam’s pure spirit as a lead singer helped to inspire me to create some of my best work. It was the perfection of ‘Live Forever’ that forced me to try and write my own. They dared to be great, made the dreams we had real and I will always remember those days with joy.”
He concluded: “Now it’s time to create more memories and I’m ready to bring it. See you next summer. Music is power.”
Elsewhere, Ashcroft also recently revealed that he told Noel Gallagher that he was “the only person” who could open for Oasis at their UK reunion shows.
Today (July 2), Oasis also announced a special 30th anniversary reissue of ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?’ and shared a new unplugged version of ‘Acquiesce’.
A deluxe version of the iconic album will be released via Big Brother Recordings in various formats on October 3, a day after the original version of the record came out in 1995. You can pre-order it here.
The reissue will come in various vinyl formats and will feature five new unplugged versions of classic tracks, produced and mixed by Noel Gallagher and his engineer Callum Marinho, including ‘Wonderwall’, ‘Morning Glory’, ‘Champagne Supernova’, ‘Cast No Shadow’ and the aforementioned ‘Some Might Say’ B-side, which you can listen to below. It will also be released as a double CD.
Ahead of the shows kicking off, Liam recently revealed that the opening show in Cardiff will have a start time of 8:15pm, telling fans: “Don’t be late or we’ll start without you and you don’t want that now do ya”. Yesterday, doors and stage times for the opening acts were revealed on social media.
Preparations are well underway, and on Monday (June 30), footage of Oasis allegedly soundchecking within the Principality Stadium was also shared online. If you’re heading down to the show, you can also check out the weather forecast here.
