01/04/10: Justin announces new solo record

From Justin:

Congratulations, you have made it through the Zeros, the most miserable and hopeless decade since the nineteen-forties. You can now forget all about nuclear, chemical and environmental annihilation. It didn't happen here, just somewhere else. Baby, we survived. Does anybody fancy a pint? To commemorate the unlucky who didn't make it and celebrate the continued existence of the smiling somnambulant I am announcing the release of "The Great War", quite possibly the happiest record ever made. Recorded in two small lumps in winter and autumn 2009, "The Great War" will be released on Ryko sometime in April when it will still be snowing all over the world and most of the England World Cup squad will be nursing freshly broken metatarsals. "The Great War" differs from "What Is Love For" in several ways. It is not specifically designed to push the weak-willed and suicidal over the edge of the abyss. It is a rock group record, performed live on the whole, prominently featuring two electric guitarists. It is mainly prescribed for those who desire the elevator operator selects an upper floor. Those who seek the comforting melancholy of the basement are advised to take the stairs - we'll be with you soon enough after we take a brief glimpse of how this city looks on a clear January afternoon, steam pouring from roofs and the white tops of hills on the horizon.

12/09/09: Unreleased track... released!

Park Lane Archives has been released, which includes one Del Amitri track called "Hammer and Peach". Park Lane was where many Scottish bands, including the Dels, recorded albums during the early- and mid-80s.

11/08/06: Justin appearing on ABC

Justin will be appearing live at the ABC in Glasgow on the 20th of January as part of the Celtic Connections festival. This show will be the debut performance of his new five piece group and feature new material from his forthcoming solo album "Rebound" alongside many other songs from his catalogue from 1989 to the present. The Del Amitri material he will be performing represents his favourite tunes from that era with some less often performed songs mixed amongst the better known perennials. He is very excited about this challenge and hopes to see some old faces in the crowd among the more recently curious. Tickets are available from the Celtic Connections website for £15 or on 44 (0)141 353 8000

06/20/06: New songs online

In case you haven't been paying attention, Justin has posted songs to his MySpace page and also added some new Del Amitri songs to that MySpace page.

Check out the amusing "Del History" posted there or check it out here.

08/29/05: Justin Speaks! Again!

Justin wrote today:

I have now finished my solo record which is called "Rebound". I am currently talking to two labels in New York who are interested in doing a deal with me but it is early days, I think. However I am confident that it will be out next year. I'm not sure how old Del fans will react to this but I think a minority may really really like it.

03/18/05: Justin Speaks!

Justin wrote today:

I am currently finishing up my solo album and Iain and myself are more than half way through the record that we have been writing together for the last 18 months. It's all getting very exciting -- I'm just terrified that we won't be able to get deals for either record. But I really believe in both of them and can't wait for folk with an interest out there to hear them.

12/05/04: With Strings Attached

There's new tour dates on the horizon for Justin. Check them out here.

02/11/04: Uncle Devil Show, Redux Redux!

Justin asked me to post the following:

It has recently come to my attention that some bunch of tossers calling themselves The Uncle Devil Show are being claimed by some to be something to do with Del Amitri. Let me state once and for all that nobody in Del Amitri has any involvement whatsoever with these pricks and having heard some of their woeful attempts at indie-pop at http://theuncledevilshow.com has no desire to be. Anyone claiming that members of Del Amitri are associated with the above group may well find themselves talking to our lawyers. Where this absurd rumour came from I don't know but I'll hazard a guess that these desperate self-promoting talentless limpnecked whimsy-peddaling bedwetters are something to do with it, though I'm sure they'd deny it. I hope this clears up any confusion.
Cheers,
Justin Currie and Dels, Feb, 2004

02/06/04: Uncle Devil Show, Redux

The UDS website is supposed to launch on February 09, with the UK release on March 29. (Those in the US can purchase it online from the Amazon or HMV UK sites.) The album will be available to pre-order.

01/22/04: Uncle Devil Show

The release of the Uncle Devil Show, a project between Justin Currie and Kevin McDermott, is scheduled to be released on the 15th of March, with accompanying gigs in Glasgow, Edinburgh, London and Aberdeen in early April. More news as it develops.

06/27/03: Del Amitri rumors

Rumors abound that there is noise from the Justin Currie side of the world. We've received covert word that he MIGHT have been holed up in a studio with another noted Scotsman crafting something of terrible beauty that MIGHT be of interest to fans of esoteric pop music...

05/06/03: Del Amitri re-release

The first Del Amitri album, which was self-titled and released by Chrysalis in 1985, is being rereleased by Superfecta Recordings on June 3, 2003. Click here for more information and to order.

08/12/02: Del Amitri Dropped By Universal

Justin has informed us that the band has been dropped by Universal. However, he has stated that a new album is in the works and will possibly be shopped around the United States. More specific news to come soon...

04/05/02: PR News

re: In-Store Appearances: Monday 8 April in Virgin Records, Princess Street, Edinburgh at around 12.30 and in Virgin Records, Buchanan Street, Glasgow at around 6.00pm.
re: US Release: Unfortunately there is no sign of an immediate US release for "Can You Do Me Good?" but the album will be available on import and on the net from Monday 8 April. The good news is that we are currently discussing a possible summer tour with our agent. Watch this space.

03/24/02: Single release delayed

The release date for "Just Before You Leave" has been postponed a week, to April 1.

02/12/02: UK Tour Dates, B-Sides

New tour dates are listed here.
The b-sides for "Just Before You Leave" are:

Belong Belong

Septic Jubliee

I'm An Unbeliever

You Love Me

01/15/02: Finally!!!

The new, finalized release dates:

Single: "Just Before You Leave", UK release March 25, 2002

Album: "Can You Do Me Good?", UK release April 8, 2002

09/11/01: Album Title and Tracklist!

The title of the new album is "Can You Do Me Good?". The tracklist is as follows:

1. Just Before You Leave
2. Cash & Prizes
3. Drunk In a Band
4. One More Last Hurrah
5. Buttons On My Clothes
6. Baby It's Me
7. Wash Her Away
8. Last Cheap Shot At The Dream
9. Out Falls The Past
10. She's Passing This Way
11. Jesus Saves
12. Just Getting By

09/06/01: More news on release dates...

And the joy of release dates continue. Mercury has "finalized" UK release dates for the beginning of the year, but the exact date may fluctuate between Jan 1 and Feb 28. As for the US, the release is made more complex by the fact that there may still not be a counterpart to Mercury to release the record. This does NOT mean that there will not be a US release; it means that the release may or may not be silmultaneous. (Think March.) More specific news should be coming... keep your eye on this space.

07/16/01: Updated release dates for the new album!

The release dates for the new album and single have been pushed back: the single is set to be released in January, 2002 and the album in February of that same year. A title should be decided upon within the next week, however. Look for previews of new album material appearing on this site!

06/19/01: Release dates for the new album!

The new Del Amitri album is done! While UK dates have been tentatively set by Mercury (a single at the end of August, and the album in the beginning of September), things are still slow on the US side. Promotion is just beginning, so there have been no definite decisions on a title or artwork as of yet.

05/31/01: Are those wedding bells we hear?

On April 12, Mark Price was wed to his longtime girlfriend, Jude. The wedding was attended by the entire band as well as friends and family, and Mr. and Mrs. Price honeymooned in Prague before returning to England. Please join the Del Amitri website in congratulating the happy couple!

05/09/01: Release Information and Rumor Control

First off, release dates have been "held" but not confirmed for a new single as well as the album. These dates are:

Single, August 6 or 13 (UK only)

Album, August 20 (UK only)

This means that the record company is anticipating that the album will be done around this time but is not promising that this is the final date. Prepare for a possible postponement of either release due to production difficulty.

Secondly, it has been rumored that this album will be the last release for Del Amitri. Please do not take this rumor as truth as it has not even been hinted at by any band member; keep in mind that the press can be very unreliable (have you seen what they think the name "Del Amitri" means?).

04/02/01: Release Info

Currently in London, the band is recording a few songs with Pete Smith which may (or may not) make it to the final album. They expect to finish by the middle of next week, at which point Mercury begins the process of getting it ready for a September release (if all goes according to plan).

03/28/01: Where are they now?

The band has returned to England after the mixing of the last songs from their new album, but may either return to Teaneck in order to re-mix a few of them, or will send them directly to Commissioner Gordon for him to work with.

03/13/01: From Justin

After two years or so of writing and demoing, we finally got the green light to commence recording at the beginning of 2000. We decided to use different producers on every three tracks or so and with seventy songs to choose from, we've had to be fairly careful about how to balance the material.

So last spring, we went into the Strongroom to do two songs with Bacon and Quarmby, the guys who did "Cry to be Found" on the greatest hits. That was two weeks in the east end of London, and one day in their studio in Sheffield. Then, we went back to the Chapel in Lincolnshire (where we made much of Twisted and Suckers) with Hugh Jones to do three songs in two weeks. Hugh did "Nothing Ever Happens", "Empty", and "You're Gone" on Waking Hours, so it was a bit nostalgic. We deliberated for a bit before going into Livingston Studios in North London with Pete Smith to do four songs in three weeks, which turned out a lot better and gave us hope that we might be actually getting there.

Next we came here, Teaneck, New Jersey, to finish it all off by recording four more tracks and mixing eleven with Commissioner Gordon, the guy who engineered and mixed all the Lauryn Hill stuff amongst other hip hop and R&B stuff you'd know. [Ed note: Mary J Blige, etc.] So far, we've reached mixing stage after three weeks recording in Gordon's little home studio in his basement and returning to wonderful New York across the George Washington bridge each night.

As for how it's sounding... well, we hope it's pretty different in the way we felt Waking Hours was very different from the first album. It's always hard to speculate before you're done mixing, but we've just been following our noses and trying to make an interesting collection of sounds around our songs. It's still "rock pop" or whatever, but it's a fuck of a lot more modern than Suckers. There is a something that I call "sellby date" syndrome that happens just when you're ready to record a new LP, where you start hating the last album you made and that's what allows you to move on. So, I guess it's going to be as different from Suckers as possible.

Cheers,

Justin