Scottish band Del Amitri will return to Australia and New Zealand in February and March 2027 for their first local tour in four years, celebrating more than four decades of music with a career-spanning set built around the songs that established them as one of Britain’s most enduring alternative rock bands.
by Paul Cashmere
Del Amitri have confirmed an eight-date Australian and New Zealand tour for February and March 2027, bringing their new Past to Present: Four Decades of Their Greatest Hits tour to Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart, Brisbane, Sydney, Wellington and Auckland. The tour comes as the Glasgow band prepares to release a new studio album later this year, following the success of 2021’s Fatal Mistakes.
Watch the 2023 Noise11 interview with Justin Currie of Del Amitri:
The announcement marks another chapter in Del Amitri’s renewed touring activity after the band’s return from a lengthy hiatus. While the 2023 Australian shows centred heavily on Fatal Mistakes, the 2027 concerts are being positioned as a retrospective covering the band’s catalogue from the late 1980s through to their most recent recordings.
Formed in Glasgow in 1980 by singer, songwriter and bassist Justin Currie, Del Amitri established their long-term creative partnership when guitarist Iain Harvie joined two years later. Their commercial breakthrough came with 1989’s Waking Hours, which introduced the international audience to ‘Nothing Ever Happens’ and ‘Kiss This Thing Goodbye’.
The band’s momentum continued through the 1990s. Change Everything reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart in 1992 and featured ‘Always the Last to Know’ and ‘Be My Downfall’, while 1995’s Twisted produced ‘Roll to Me’, a song that became an unexpected breakthrough in the United States, reaching No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 at a time when British guitar bands rarely crossed into the American mainstream.
Across seven studio albums, Del Amitri have sold more than six million records worldwide. Five of those albums reached the UK Top 10, cementing the band’s reputation for carefully crafted songwriting and Justin Currie’s observational lyrics.
Following the release of Can You Do Me Good? in 2002, Del Amitri entered an extended hiatus before reuniting for British tours in 2014 and again in 2018. Those performances eventually led to new recording sessions, resulting in Fatal Mistakes, their first album of original material in 18 years.
Released in 2021, Fatal Mistakes debuted at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart and became the band’s sixth UK Top 10 album. The record demonstrated that Del Amitri’s songwriting partnership remained intact after nearly two decades away from the studio and re-established the group as an active recording and touring band rather than a nostalgia act.
The band is currently recording another studio album, scheduled for release later this year, making the 2027 tour likely to include both classic material and more recent songs alongside selections from the forthcoming release.
For Australian audiences, Del Amitri’s return carries additional significance. The band’s first visit came in 1990 during promotional appearances for Waking Hours, after which they did not return for 32 years. Their 2023 concerts reunited the group with Australian fans for the first time since that original visit.
Noise11’s review of the Melbourne performance in 2023 noted that the newer songs from Fatal Mistakes sat comfortably alongside established favourites including ‘Nothing Ever Happens’, ‘Always the Last to Know’, ‘Driving With the Brakes On’, ‘Roll to Me’ and ‘Be My Downfall’. The new Past to Present tour shifts the emphasis towards a broader overview of the band’s four-decade catalogue while arriving as fresh material is again on the horizon.
Tour Dates
Tuesday 23 February, Perth, The Astor Theatre
Thursday 25 February, Adelaide, The Gov
Friday 26 February, Melbourne, Palais Theatre
Sunday 28 February, Hobart, Odeon
Wednesday 3 March, Brisbane, Fortitude Music Hall
Thursday 4 March, Sydney, Enmore Theatre
Saturday 6 March, Wellington, Meow Nui
Sunday 7 March, Auckland, Powerstation
Ticket Details
Presale: Tuesday 21 July, 9.00am local time
General Public On Sale: Thursday 23 July, 9.00am local time
https://www.destroyalllines.com/tours/del-amitri
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