With the world still reeling from the news that My Bloody Valentine are due to release an album this month – worth filing under "We'll believe it when we hear it, thanks Kevin" – the MBV camp has roared into action, announcing a mammoth three-date UK tour for next March.
The band will play Glasgow Barrowlands on 9 March, Manchester Apollo on 10 March and London Hammersmith Apollo on 12 March. Tickets for the shows go on sale tomorrow at 9am.
Although Shields told NME last month the new MBV album would be released before the end of the year, there is still no sign of it. It is not listed on any of the major music retails sites, and one of the publicists working for MBV told the Guardian there was, as yet, no further news. At this point, with only two more release dates this year – 11 December and 18 December – those hoping to hear new music from Kevin Shields this month are unlikely to be granted their wish.
Nevertheless, the return to the live fray will be welcomed by fans. My Bloody Valentine's reputation for fearsome noise precedes them to such an extent that earplugs were distributed to fans attending their 2008 reunion gigs. When they performed in the 80s, Shields had the idea of wafting amyl nitrate fumes over the audience to heighten the experience, David Cavanagh reported in his book The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize. Thankfully, he was dissuaded from pressing ahead with the plan.
