The Chameleons have released their first new music in 23 years, an EP called ‘Where Are You’ – listen to it below.
The Manchester post-punk band reunited back in 2021 for a 2022 live album ‘Edge Sessions (Live From The Edge)’. It saw lead singer/bassist Mark Burgess team up with guitarist Reg Smithies, along with guitarist Chris Oliver and drummer Stephen Rice. The Chameleons would go on to tour, including an opening slot with LA goth band She Wants Revenge.
Now, The Chameleons have released their newest EP, titled ‘Where Are You’. Frontman Burgess said of the EP: “It’s exciting to finally be putting out fresh Chameleons material for the first time in over twenty years, although initially I found it quite daunting.
“The question about new music is one I had been asked the most from people coming to the shows, a great many of whom weren’t even born when those records were originally made but nevertheless were excited and inspired by the music enough to catch multiple shows on multiple tours.”
Listen to ‘Where Are You’ down below:
The EP, which contains its title track along with ‘Endlessly Falling’ and ‘Forever’, is set to be the first taster of their upcoming album ‘Arctic Moon’, reportedly out later this year on Metropolis Records. The album will be The Chameleons’ first without founding drummer John Lever, who died in 2017, and guitarist Dave Fielding, who originally left the band in 1987.
The Chameleons will also embark on a tour in North American to play their classic 1986 album ‘Strange Times’ in full. Says Burgess of the tour: “I initially wasn’t a huge fan of album performance tours I believed instead that they ought to have been confined to one-off, special events. ‘Performing Strange Times’ changed my mind.
“For one thing, the album marked a significant evolution by the band both in its sound and the maturity of the writing. Secondly, it’s a challenging album to perform live and thus, it’s much more fun to play. When all is said and done, we look forward to recreating this particular album for our North American fans!”
See below for full US and UK dates; get US tickets here and UK tickets here:
The Chameleons US and UK 2024 tour will play:
May
30 – San Diego, CA @ Music Box
31 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco
June
4 – Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl
5 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
6 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
7 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
8 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
9 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
12 – Denver, CO @ Oriental Theater
13 – Kansas City, MO @ recordBar
14 – Dallas, TX @ Sundown at The Granada
15 – Houston, TX @ Dark Ceremony Festival
17 – El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace
18 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
19 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
20 – Phoenix, AZ @ Last Exit Live
August
8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
9 – New Haven, CT @ Space Ballroom
10 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
12 – Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount
13 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House
14 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall
16 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
17 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
December
6 – Bristol, UK @ Marble Factory +
7 – London, UK @ O2 Shepherds Bush Empire +
12 – Glasgow, UK @ Garage
13 – Newcastle, UK @ Riverside
14 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall +
+ = with Membranes