Saturday Deluxe / 13 November 2021

CD – the ‘Voldemort’ of the music industry

ABBA’s Voyage album has gone in at number one on the UK charts with massive sales of almost 204,000 units. The official charts company reported that 90 percent of sales were physical; the splits (not published) were as follows:

• 148,471 copies sold on CD
• 29,891 copies sold on vinyl
• 4,205 copies sold on cassette

Impressive stuff, although in the press release to announce this news, the official charts company literally wrote nothing about the enormous CD sales and instead focused on vinyl, choosing to point out that, with those figures, Voyage was “the fastest-selling vinyl release of the century” (it actually beat a three-year-old record of the Artic Monkeys, whose last album sold almost 25k vinyl in week one in 2018).

Anyway, if ever you wanted evidence of ‘the industry’ trying to ignore the continued success of the CD format, this is it. The album had “the biggest opening week of any album in four years” and that achievement has nothing to do with streaming, it’s nothing to do with vinyl, but has everything to do with the CD sales. Yet this “inferior sonic storage system” (© Elvis Costello) – is not mentioned at all in the press release to announce this feat.

The CD is the Format-That-Must-Not-Be-Named, quite clearly. It’s the Dark Lord that threatens the narrative of vinyl being more popular than CDs. I say this as a fan of both formats.

New clip from The Beatles: Get Back

Not long to go now for Peter Jackson’s ‘3-Part Event’. Here’s another taster for you in the shape of a clip of The Beatles performing a very early version (perhaps it’s the first run-through) of Let It Be‘s ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’. Note a very sardonic George Harrison at the end!

Tears For Fears announce tour dates & new coloured vinyl

Tears For Fears have announced some 2022 tour dates in support of their forthcoming album, The Tipping Point. The band will hit the road in America towards the end of May for a five-week spell and then continue in the UK, in July.

As you can see below, this should be called the ‘Al Fresco’ tour since they are choosing to play largely outdoor venues with plenty of amphitheatres, pavilions, houses and castles in the mix!

In Britain, Tears For Fears will be joined by Alison Moyet, who supported the band back in 2019 for some UK dates. As you can see, there are no London dates, unfortunately, although SDE understands this may well be corrected later in the year.

Speaking about going back out on the road, Curt Smith said, “We couldn’t be more excited to start playing concerts again. We’ve missed seeing our friends on the road around the world and the energy of performing live.”

A new pink vinyl edition of The Tipping Point was announced at the same time. This is a ‘D2C’ only product and therefore can’t be sold via usual retail channels like Amazon, HMV or the independent dealer network. It’s available via the Tears For Fears shop.

May 2022 – USA tour

• Friday 20 – RIVERBEND MUSIC CENTER, CINCINNATI, OH
• Saturday 21 – BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER, CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH
• Tuesday 24 – THE PAVILION AT TOYOTA MUSIC FACTORY, IRVING, TX
• Friday 27 – AK-CHIN PAVILION, PHOENIX, AZ
• Sunday 29 – LEVITT PAVILION, DENVER, CO

June 2022 – USA tour

• Wednesday 1 – Concord Pavilion, CONCORD, CA
• Thursday 2 – Shoreline Amphitheatre, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA
• Saturday 4 – The Forum, INGLEWOOD, CA
• Sunday 5 – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, CHULA VISTA, CA
• Thursday 9 – ithink Financial Amphitheatre, WEST PALM BEACH, FL
• Friday 10 – Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphiteatre, TAMPA, FL
• Sunday 12 – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, ALPHARETTA, GA
• Monday 13 – PNC Music Pavilion, CHARLOTTE, NC
• Wednesday 15 – DTE Energy Music Theatre, CLARKSTON, MI
• Thursday 16 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – CHICAGO, TINLEY PARK, IL
• Friday 17 – Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Centre, NOBLESVILLE, IN
• Sunday 19 – Merriweather Post Pavilion, COLUMBIA, MD
• Tuesday 21 – Mann Center For The Performing Arts, PHILADELPHIA, PA
• Wednesday 22 – Leader Bank Pavilion, BOSTON, MA
• Friday 24 – PNC Bank Arts Center, HOLMDEL, NJ
• Saturday 25 – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater, WANTAGH, NY

July 2022 – UK tour

• Friday 1 – Shropshire, Telford QEII Arena
• Saturday 2 – Wiltshire, Longleat House
• Tuesday 5 – Buckinghamshire, Waddesdon Manor
• Thursday 7 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, Utilita Arena
• Friday 8 – Scotland, Floors Castle
• Saturday 9 – Lytham St Annes, Lytham Festival
• Tuesday 12 – Derbyshire, The Incora County Ground Derby
• Thursday 14 – Yorkshire, Leeds Millennium Square
• Friday 15 – Warwickshire, Warwick Castle
• Saturday 16 – North Yorkshire, Scarborough Open Air Theatre
• Tuesday 19 – Hampshire, Chewton Glen
• Wednesday 20 – Kent, The Spitfire Ground
• Friday 22 – Sussex, The 1st Central County Ground
• Saturday 23 – Wales, Cardiff Castle
• Sunday 24 – Hertfordshire, Hatfield House
• Tuesday 26 – Devon, Powderham Castle