Doves have shared an emotive new “lost” song, ‘Spirit Of Your Friend’ – listen to it below.
The unearthed track has been added to the band’s ‘So, Here We Are: Best Of Doves’ compilation, which is released on November 14 via EMI North (pre-order it here).
The song is described as an “evocative mediation on companionship”, and has taken 20 years from its initial conception to arrive on the ‘Best Of’ collection.
The band’s Jez Williams said: “We were really surprised to find it before getting to work on pulling together the compilation’s running order, but it needed more work to get it down from its original seven minutes.
“It’s about friends we have lost and those we’re grateful are still with us.”
News of the ‘Best Of’ album arrived at the start of August, when the members said that they would be celebrating nearly three decades together by releasing the compilation and embarking on a UK tour.
It marks the first of its kind to be shared from the group on vinyl, and will include a mix of singles, album tracks, and rarities spanning their entire 27-year releasing history – which began with their ‘Cedar’ EP in 1998.
Doves shared a first-look at the tracklist in August too, which opens with ‘Black And White Town’, and closes with ‘The Cedar Room’. In total, 19 songs are featured, including back-to-back renditions of ‘Pounding’, ‘Snowden’, ‘Cold Dreaming’, ‘Catch The Sun’ and ‘Broken Eyes’.
Other songs include ‘There Goes The Fear’, ‘Renegade’, ‘Prisoners’, ‘Here It Comes’, ‘Carousels’, ‘Caught By The River’ and ‘Walk In Fire’.
Alongside the release, Jez and Andy Williams announced a handful of UK live shows to celebrate the band. These follow on from them releasing ‘Constellations For The Lonely’ and playing 16 concerts this spring in celebration of the latest album, and also see co-founding bassist and vocalist Jimi Goodwin remain absent to focus on his mental health.
The dates include stops in Dundee, London, Bournemouth and Cambridge in December, and now two new dates have been added to the itinerary – taking place at Sheffield’s Octagon on December 14 and Manchester’s O2 Apollo on December 20.
Tickets for the new dates are on sale here now. All December dates follow on from Doves’ ongoing tour dates and festival appearances this month – check them all out below.
Doves’ UK tour dates are:
DECEMBER
12 – Dundee, LIVEHOUSE
14 – London, O2 Forum Kentish Town
15 – Bournemouth, O2 Academy
16 – Cambridge, Junction
18 – Sheffield, Octagon [NEW]
20 – Manchester, O2 Apollo [NEW]
The Manchester indie stars made a comeback in November 2024 with the single ‘Renegades’ and the announcement of their sixth studio album ‘Constellations For The Lonely’. Before then, the band were forced to pull the tour for the record so that frontman Goodwin could focus on his mental health. The Williams brothers have taken on vocal duties while the frontman continues his recovery.
Speaking of the decision, Goodwin told NME last year: “I’m not going out live this time. The door’s not closed on that chapter; I just have to honour my sobriety and do what I need to in order to maintain that. I’m not ready to perform yet.”
He added: “Jez and Andy have got my complete blessing. I’m absolutely thrilled for them. They still want to be jobbing and gigging musicians. It’s part of the package for them, and it is for me too, but right now I don’t want to upset any apple carts. You’ve not heard the last of me performing again with Doves.”
In December, drummer Andy Williams spoke about performing without Goodwin, saying that he was “proud of him for doing really well” with his sobriety.
“We’ve all really been through the wringer, but no one’s fallen out over this. I’m really proud that we’re all still good friends,” he said.
