Primal Scream at Aviva Studios
Johnny James, Managing Editor
Following the release of their 12th album, Come Ahead, the iconic Glasgow band Primal Scream perform in the Warehouse space at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International.
Formed by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie in 1982, when Gillespie was drumming for noise-pop pioneers the Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream pursued a different kind of indie pop – something more sweet and jangly, slotting right into the burgeoning C-86 indie scene. But an altogether different sound entered the equation when Alan McGee, head of Creation Records, introduced Gillespie to acid house, leading to an album that would change the face of British pop music in the ’90s: Screamadelica.
Fusing indie pop, psychedelia and dance, Screamadelica was revolutionary in the way it brought these quite tribal scenes together, while producing anthems like ‘Movin’ on Up’ and ‘Loaded’, which are still adored today. The logical next move would have been to dig deeper into this sound, but instead the band abruptly switched things up again for the rocky Give Out But Don’t Give Up, and again for the twin releases of 1997’s heady dance album Vanishing Point and its experimental successor XTRMNTR.
The underground would be where the band remained as the noughties took hold and the band’s line-up felt forever in flux. Occasionally, though, they’d pop their head above water for a casually massive hit, including 2006’s ‘Country Girl, taken from art-pop album Riot City Blues. But the musical formula didn’t change all that much from here on in – that is, until 2024’s Come Ahead, which embraces a new flavour: Gillespie’s long-standing love of funk and soul. Its 11, gospel choir-embellished tracks offer a lush backdrop for Gillespie’s most personal lyrics to date, most notably on existential opener ‘Ready to Go Home’, which he sang to his dying father in hospital.
2025 sees the band tour the album, including a date at Manchester’s blockbuster new arts venue, Aviva Studios. Support comes in the form of the left field singer-songwriter Baxter Dury. Spinning wry stories of life among the well-heeled yet poorly behaved, Baxter Dury has that rare knack for making the ordinary sound extraordinary, while serving up haunting melodies that really get under your skin. He’ll cap off what’s sure to be one of the standout gigs at Aviva next year.
