¡Forward, Russia! are reuniting and are celebrating 20 years of their cult debut album ‘Give Me A Wall’ with a 2027 UK tour and an anniversary reissue of the record on vinyl.
The new dates mark the ‘00s indie stars’ first time playing live in over 12 years, and will open with shows at King Tut’s in Glasgow and London’s Oslo on February 6 and 12 respectively, before two homecoming shows at Leeds’ Brudenell Social Club.
The shows come in celebration of the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough debut album, which was released in 2006 and featured the noiseniks’ Top 40 singles ‘Nine’ and ‘Twelve.
Tickets for the UK tour dates go on sale on Wednesday May 20 at 10am BST. Visit here for tickets and more information.
¡Forward Russia! 20th Anniversary Live Dates:
FEBRUARY 2027
6 – Glasgow, King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut
12 – London, Oslo
19 – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
20 – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
As well as playing their first tour dates in over a decade, the four-piece have also announced an anniversary reissue of the record. This will mark the first time it has been printed on vinyl, and also come with a new lyric sheet, sleeve notes from BBC 6 Music broadcaster Steve Lamacq and a number of rarities.
The latter will also be available on a CD titled ‘A Fearless Guide to Communication’, and both the CD and the vinyl editions will be available from Friday October 2 via Launchpad+ and EMI North. The rarities will arrive on streaming platforms at a later date.
Pre-order the reissue here, and visit the band’s website to check out new merchandise and a recently launched online archive that features rare photos and gig footage.
“Between July 2005 and the end of 2006 ¡Forward, Russia! played 268 gigs,” said frontman Tom Woodhead. “In amongst the motorways, feedback and fatigue we somehow carved out the time to record and release ‘Give Me a Wall’. When you’re adhering to that kind of schedule there isn’t much space for reflection, but 20 years later I think we’ve finally gained some perspective and can appreciate ‘GMAW’ for the youthful and uninhibited document it is.”
“My hope is that these upcoming shows will be every bit as intense as they were back in the day, for both band and audience, and that we can celebrate together: those who were around in 2006 and those who missed out,” he continued. “I promise you we’ll be giving it everything, even if my ageing tegument isn’t quite as neoteric as it used to be.”
Guitarist Whiskas added: “It’s amazing to be able to celebrate such an exciting time in our lives, and hopefully share that with the people that made it so much fun 20 years ago.”
“We can’t however not mention that in that period of time, our name currently makes me deeply uncomfortable,” the guitarist added, reflecting on how the band name now has a different connotation following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“It was seemingly relatively meaningless 20 years ago, and I worry that someone affected by world events may see our name and be negatively affected by that,” he added. “We’ve talked about it and aren’t sure how to address it, so for now I just want to mention this discomfort and we’ll continue to think about the best way to approach this.”
¡Forward, Russia! formed in 2004 and became champions of the early 2000s Leeds indie scene due to their immense energy at live shows and their 2006 debut record ‘Give Me A Wall’ which became a seminal release of the era.
Having emerged from Leeds’ thriving DIY scene, the quartet – formed of Tom Woodhead, Whiskas, Rob Canning and Katie Nicholls – released their sophomore album ‘Life Processes’ in 2008, before announcing a hiatus later that year.
“We have decided to take a break from doing Forward, Russia – for a lot of different reasons,” read a statement at the time. “The idea of doing another tour with nothing new to offer was something that enthused none of us, and the idea of re-booting on a productive strand is something we’re not quite ready to face just yet.”
Since then, they have briefly reunited twice, coming together for one-off performances in Leeds in 2013 and 2014.
