17 Dec 15
Paul Carrack, the hugely respected singer-songwriter who is the voice of many of the landmark British pop songs of the past 40 years, will unveil a new album, Soul Shadows, on 15 January 2016 in the UK. It becomes available in Germany on 29 January and other territories 12 February.
Soul Shadows comes in the wake of Paul’s latest sojourn as featured vocalist and keyboard player in Eric Clapton’s band for his UK and international tour, the result of their longtime friendship and mutual respect. The new album is the follow-up to 2013’s warmly-received Rain Or Shine, which maintained Paul’s recurring status as a staple of the BBC Radio 2 playlist.
But where that album contained a mixture of covers and originals, the new set is comprised almost entirely of some of the best songwriting of Carrack’s entire career, plus one lovingly-chosen remake: the Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland gem that was also a major R&B hit for Aretha Franklin, ‘Share Your Love With Me.’
Most of the album’s instrumentation is by Paul himself, working in his newly-refurbished home studio, with his son Jack once again joining him on drums. “it’s not a garage anymore,” Carrack laughs. “We got it up and running and a lot of the songs have come from little jams, just me and Jack.”
Six of the tracks on Soul Shadows have the addition of a hand-picked string and horn section recorded in the hallowed surroundings of AIR Studios in London. Other highlights will include a new song with lyrics by Paul’s longtime friend Chris Difford of Squeeze, ‘Bet Your Life,’ and a guest appearance by Pee-Wee Ellis, the legendary saxophonist from James Brown’s band who played on and co-wrote such greats as ‘Cold Sweat’ and ‘Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud.’
Paul is, of course, the voice of such undisputed classics as Ace’s ‘How Long,’ Squeeze’s ‘Tempted,’ the Mike & the Mechanics anthems ‘The Living Years’ and ‘Over My Shoulder’ and many others. He was a distinguished member of all three bands, recorded and toured with countless others including Roxy Music, Ringo Starr, B.B. King, Elton John and the Pretenders, and has had his songs cut by the Eagles, Diana Ross and Tom Jones to name only a few.
Soul Shadows sees Paul at the absolute peak of his powers as a vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist will accompany it with an extensive UK tour, starting 7 January. Four dates in The Netherlands have also been scheduled for 2016. Following those gigs, Paul will join Eric Clapton for a five night residency in April at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. Tickets for all of Paul’s 2016 appearances have already gone on sale.
Paul Carrack’s 2016 Tour Dates
07 Jan – Queens Hall, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
08 Jan – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, United Kingdom
09 Jan – Sage Gateshead, Gateshead, United Kingdom
15 Jan – City Hall, Sheffield, United Kingdom
16 Jan – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, United Kingdom
17 Jan – Venue Cymru, Llandudno, United Kingdom
21 Jan – Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
22 Jan – Forum Theatre, Malvern, United Kingdom
23 Jan – Colston Hall, Bristol, United Kingdom
26 Jan – Harrogate Royal Hall, Harrogate, United Kingdom
27 Jan – York Barbican Centre, York, United Kingdom
30 Jan – Bournemouth Pavilion, Bournemouth, United Kingdom
31 Jan – New Theatre Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
01 Feb – Cheltenham Town Hall, Cheltenham, United Kingdom
04 Feb – Cambridge Corn Exchange, Cambridge, United Kingdom
05 Feb – Alban Arena, St Albans, United Kingdom
06 Feb – Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall, Tunbridge Wells, United Kingdom
09 Feb – Swansea Grand Theatre, Swansea, United Kingdom
10 Feb – St David’s Hall, Cardiff, United Kingdom
14 Feb – Norwich Theatre Royal, Norwich, United Kingdom
15 Feb – G Live Guildford, Guildford, United Kingdom
16 Feb – De Montfort Hall, Leicester, United Kingdom
19 Feb – Victoria Hall, Stoke-On-Trent, United Kingdom
20 Feb – Symphony Hall, Birmingham, United Kingdom
21 Feb – The Lowry, Salford Quays, United Kingdom
26 Feb – Orchard Theatre, Dartford, United Kingdom
27 Feb – De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill On Sea, United Kingdom
28 Feb – Southend Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-On-Sea, United Kingdom
03 Mar – London Palladium, London, United Kingdom
04 Mar – The Anvil, Basingstoke, United Kingdom
05 Mar – Pavilion, Worthing, United Kingdom
11 Mar – Winding Wheel, Chesterfield, United Kingdom
12 Mar – Preston Guild Hall, Preston, United Kingdom
13 Mar – Opera House, Buxton, United Kingdom
17 Mar – De Effenaar, Eindhoven, Netherlands
18 Mar – De Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands
19 Mar – Metropool, Hengelo, Netherlands
20 Mar – De Oosterpoort, Groningen, Netherlands
09 Jul – Robin 2, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
Check out Paul’s official website at http://www.paulcarrack.net/
Pre-order Soul Shadows at Amazon.co.uk – available January 16, 2016
Pre-order Soul Shadows at Amazon.de – available January 29, 2016
Pre-order Soul Shadows at Amazon.com – available February 12, 2016
Pre-order Soul Shadows at Amazon.ca – available February 12, 2016
Pre-order Soul Shadows at Amazon.jp – available February 12, 2016