Latest News
New RPA Club track, Screw Me, Screw You released on 15-07-2011.
This is the last of the four exclusive RPA Club tracks, and like Lead The Way, was very well received by fans.RXP Takliberty Festival CANCELLED.
This one-day, two-stage festival was to be held on Sunday 18 September at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holdmel, New Jersey. It was to be headlined by Coldplay, and include performances from Richard Ashcroft, Two Door Cinema Club, The Kooks, Graffiti 6 and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. The following statement was made today (30 June) on RXP's website:
More info here » ... and here »ALERT *SHOW CANCELLATION* RXP TāKLIBERTY FESTIVAL @ PNC Bank Arts Center on September 18 | The RXP TāKLIBERTY FESTIVAL featuring Coldplay has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. Refunds are available at the point of purchase.
New RPA Club track, Lead The Way released on 14-06-2011.
This was the long awaited exclusive club track number three (of four) released as a download only for RPA club members. It didn't disappoint.Richard Ashcroft performed 3 acoustic songs at 02 Academy, Brixton for the Japan Disaster Benefit on 03-04-2011.
Lucky Man was broadcast on Ch4, 5 May as part of the highlights show.
The whole highlights show is available on youtube for a limited time here »
The whole event was broadcast live on Xfm Radio and raised over £150,000.
It was the brainchild of Liam Gallagher who headlined the gig with his new band Beady Eye.
Richard Ashcroft played Sonnet, Lucky Man and This Thing Called Life immediately after Primal Scream and before headliners Beady Eye. Paul Weller, Kelly Jones, The Coral and Graham Coxon were also on the bill for this one-off charity concert in aid of the British Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal.
Listen here to what Richard had to say shortly before his performance:
Watch Richard perform all three songs »
Please donate here to help the Japanese people recover from the devastating earthquake and tsunami which struck on 11 March.
You can also listen to Richard's performance on the player at the top of the menu-bar opposite.
Richard Ashcroft at Sirius XM Studios, NYC 01-04-2011
Editor-in-Chief of staythirstymedia.com Sarah L. Myers, was a guest as Kristine Stone interviewed Richard Ashcroft for the Spectrum at Sirius XM Studios in New York on 21 March (broadcast was on 1 April).
www.staythirstymedia.com [interview with sound clips] »
Watch the two acoustic videos [Space And Time and Are You Ready?] »
Richard Ashcroft: ".. I've got so many pieces of music and songs waiting to be heard"
"...I do believe the record companies have got something to answer for why certain artists take so long in between records. If I was a painter, I would have hundreds of finished and unfinished canvases in my studio, waiting for people to see, and it is the same with my music. I've got so many pieces of music and songs waiting to be heard. You can take the Prince approach and just put them out, but that sort of engulfs people and swamps them in your stuff... they can't cope.
"...I don't believe people listen to albums like we used to do. Albums were seen as one piece, and the whole thing would be played. Kids don't play the whole album anymore. Kids don't even play the whole track. You're lucky if your whole song is listened to before someone skips to something else. I think release dates for bands are definitely going to come back to once a year because the album is going to be the supporting tool for the tour, and they need something to hang that tour around. The tour hasn't been booked to promote a record that they are going to sell a few million copies of. They're going to make their living by playing live—because no one buys music anymore, folks. [laughs]"
31-03-2011 - Excerpt from an interview by Aaron Stern on www.interviewmagazine.com »
Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, Boston 24-03-2011
Richard Ashcroft performed a fully acoustic solo set opening with History and closing with Bitter Sweet Symphony. setlist »
Unknown to fans, the concert was also being used as a video shoot for Jim Beam's 'Live Music Series'. Jim Beam had secured around half the tickets for his clients (who didn't show up) and was the reason for the poor attendance. This didn't detract from the performance however, as one reviewer (from The Boston Phoenix website) states, "Ashcroft was certainly alone up there on the remodeled church’s towering stage, but the campfire vibe and intimacy provided by the Villa, his acoustic guitar, and a seasoned crowd of Verve supporters, made the show feel like some sort of exclusive party for those who’ve stuck with Mad Richard during a somewhat turbulent solo career." more »
For a limited time a 40 minute video of this show was broadcast on the Jim Beam website.
themusic.fm [review] »
melophobe.com [review & slideshow] »
The best youtube videos for this show »
Bowery Ballroom, NYC 23-03-2011
Richard Ashcroft was backed by The United Nations of Sound, and reviews were glowing for this show at the Bowery Ballroom where nine songs were performed from their latest album release in the US - United Nations of Sound - with Good Lovin' having it's first live airing! Opening with Are You Ready? and closing with Break The Night With Colour (with an extended jam at the end), Richard also performed requests from fans and dedicated Lonely Soul to D J Shadow and David Axelrod.
setlist » review »
Bowery Ballroom Slideshow (photos by Regina Krol & Bou)
The best youtube videos for this show »
Richard Ashcroft on his new album
...and the right time to play Bitter Sweet Symphony!
An in-depth interview by Ben Barna on www.blackbookmag.com [23-03-2011] »
Richard Ashcroft on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
North American fans got to see Richard Ashcroft & The United Nations of Sound perform Are You Ready? (supported by house band The Roots) on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on 22 March, and This Thing Called Life exclusively on latenightwithjimmyfallon.com.
Watch both performances on the video section »
Richard Ashcroft interview and performance on RXP.FM Radio.
Richard performed an acoustic set of three songs for radio RXP.FM on 22-03-2011
Lucky Man, This Thing Called Life, Music Is Power
All three performances + the interview »
United Nations of Sound
The album was released in the US on 22-03-2011.
online.wsj.com [review] »
For older news visit the Archives here »
