Alain Whyte and band mini Ireland tour (August 21, 2023)

The BIG news is here and we're so excited to finally share it with you. We will be playing some very select live shows later this year in the following cities/venues:

29 November - Belfast, Northern Ireland (Ulster Sports Club)
1 December - Cork, Ireland (The Pavilion)
2 December - Dublin, Ireland (Whelans)

The gigs will feature my band of all-stars most of you already know and love:

Craig Gannon - guitars
Gary Day - bass
Spencer Cobrin - drums
Gustavo Manzur, Jr. - keyboards

We'll be playing sets filled will songs we've all been involved in (either written, co-written and/or played on) as well as a surprise or two each night which you won't want to miss.

Tickets go on sale this Friday (25 August at 10am GMT) via AlainWhyteMusic.com/tour & Eventbrite.ie

More info will follow, so please stay tuned. We really can't wait to play for you all!

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

Good points but ... that article is nearly 10 years old.
I hadn't read it before. Really touching stuff from Gustavo about Morrissey.
Unfortunately, though, it makes his decision to leave Morrissey and join Alain's odd outfit (having only known Alain for a short amount of time) all the more devastating.

Yes. I agree. I was going side step that.
A lot can change in 10 years, also a lot is said in interviews to "get in with the boss"
The thing about the humour is its so deeply in him. That British sense of humour, it doesn't just vanish- its always been a part of him
I don't know why gus left, I don't mean this is a fecking nasty way, I just don't care. I never found the Gus influence that interesting. That Spanish Speedway was appalling, a real, just-going-to-the-bar moment
Boz and Alain, are nice guys but I found them completely uninteresting. They have always been completely uninteresting to me. I liked the Smiths, but even the Smiths for me was about M. I mean I loved the Johnny and M thing, it was fecking great, that love for music, the mission they were on, there really was a connection. You could certainly see M loved Johnny. So, it was something to behold those Smiths gigs, I think they were some of the best times of my life.
But even that,I was just there for M. So, I don't mean to sound nasty or anything, but I just don't care about the people in his band. Dont get me wrong, when I go to the gigs I want the band to be fire, as long as the music is fire, I don't care. I hope the gig goes well for Alain and the rest, its not for me though. If M wasn't seeing on top on their songs, i wouldn't be in the slightest bit interested and that rockabilly culture is so naff. That is whats great about M, he took from here and there but like Bowie he created his own world.
Boz and Alain and the rest could never do anything like that. Dont even get me started about the singing

 

[DagenhamDan]

Opinions
For me it's a nice little jam lp but I honestly can't see how people think it is a great LP?
For me it was a true downturn in quality, his first ever, up to that point. I remember seeing the Smiths going to gigs, loving the cover art, music and the air of excitement. When Smiths ended, some of us were stunned.
Then Viva came out, it was truly an emotional moment for the fans - people thought he was done without Johnny but he pulled it off.. The only other time, i have seen it done was when Ian Brown released Unfinished Monkey Business = Ian was a Smihs/M fan (bigger than he ever let on ), I often wonder if he thought of M when he made that Lp.
M released a flurry of singles with great covers, all with him on, he went from fan of working-class cool to the actual pop star of working-class cool. Then came Bona Drag, to some his greatest solo lp, to this day (I wonder if it's M's as well, which is why he gave it to Alan Bennett) .I think its got some real fecking bangers on it. Then came Kill Uncle, fecking great cover art and some good songs. People think it is a bad lp, but they missed the fecking point,
Part of the issue was Brit-pop was starting to bubble and bands like Blur, Suede and Pulp came along offering, for the first time, pop stars that could steal some attention from him.
But M found his band of amateurs and got what he wanted a rockabilly punk band. M switched gear plugged into the zeitgeist, which was 70s working class UK (along with Auetures, Suede and Pulp and some others ) and delivered Your Arse
Another iconic Lp fecking cover.. After a bit of touring M and the band delivered something very special Vauxhall and I (wink and a node to Withnail, wink and a nod to a London homo bar or rent a friend Jake or both )
I thought he was on a roll, then came Southpaw and it had an awful cover, his worst at that point and the songs were nothing special, not really. Some were good but not on a par with what went before- maybe that's why some think it's great now, as there have been worse songs since then.. I personally think World Peace, Low In Highschool and Dog piss all over Southpaw. Opinions we all fecking have em

I do think its one of his best but i do take your point Dirk, even on its release it was slated, especially coming a year after the untoppable (is that a word?) Vauxhall.
And yes Kill Uncle, for that moment in his career where he was sorting his band out and a little lost shall we say, is a great album from an artist finding his way again, and the sleeve is probably my favourite of all Moz albums. Morrissey himself slagged off the Southpaw sleeve near the time which was worrying because up to that point, sleeves were almost as important to us fans as what was inside, but it was blurred and looked a bit thrown together, he should have saved the World of Moz album cover for Southpaw.
But for some reason its an album i still love playing, even though its often seen as the runt of the litter

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

Thanks

I do think its one of his best but i do take your point Dirk, even on its release it was slated, especially coming a year after the untoppable (is that a word?) Vauxhall.
And yes Kill Uncle, for that moment in his career where he was sorting his band out and a little lost shall we say, is a great album from an artist finding his way again, and the sleeve is probably my favourite of all Moz albums. Morrissey himself slagged off the Southpaw sleeve near the time which was worrying because up to that point, sleeves were almost as important to us fans as what was inside, but it was blurred and looked a bit thrown together, he should have saved the World of Moz album cover for Southpaw.
But for some reason its an album i still love playing, even though its often seen as the runt of the litter

I do like the LP , don't get me wrong.At the time it came out it got slated to feck, Nobody in the press seemed to like it. This is the thing, people now go on about Boz and Alain being great, hardly anyone was saying that in the 90s. Certainly not in the UK music press. .
I like the demos for Southpaw as well. Reader Meet Auther etc , they are fun. I always think Something is Squeezing my Soul, could have been on southpaw would have fitted nicely

 

[DagenhamDan]

Thanks

I do like the LP , don't get me wrong.At the time it came out it got slated to feck, Nobody in the press seemed to like it. This is the thing, people now go on about Boz and Alain being great, hardly anyone was saying that in the 90s. Certainly not in the UK music press. .
I like the demos for Southpaw as well. Reader Meet Auther etc , they are fun. I always think Something is Squeezing my Soul, could have been on southpaw would have fitted nicely

Was thinking about this a few days ago, we look back at the '91- '95 period now with great fondness, Alain, Boz etc. A lot of great music was created, but at the time the band was absolutely slagged off as useless and incompetent.
I remember the shows i saw in '91 there were a few bum notes and dont forget these guys went from playing small pub gigs to Arenas and the Hollywood Bowl in the space of a few months ffs. And it showed.
But it was great to see them over time become the tight and talented unit they were. And Your Arsenal is testament to that.

 

[Famous when dead]

 

[Famous when dead]

 

[Jett Rink]

Alain's a great guy. Very talented as a composer and guitarist but man I can't take his singing voice. He may only be slightly better than Johnny Marr. Actually, that's a toss up. I hate saying anything negative about Alain but the guy has terrific backing vocal skills but certainly not lead vocal skills. He's a good guy. I still wish him the best of luck!

 

[Johnnie Ray]

They are ready to take the baton in case... !!!

like in a Relay race

List of the Lost style.

 

[Mozzypaws]

View attachment 94727

That Moz lyrical genius didn't rub too much on him... but it's alright for a little diddy

 

[Famous when dead]

 

[Jamie]

View attachment 94879

This is a dynamite rendition. I'll bet Spencer is well-pleased.

Funny to think: if they play this one live in December, it will mark the first time the co-author played it live. It didn't appear in Morrissey set lists until after Spencer departed.

 

[dneuer]

This is a dynamite rendition. I'll bet Spencer is well-pleased.

Funny to think: if they play this one live in December, it will mark the first time the co-author played it live. It didn't appear in Morrissey set lists until after Spencer departed.

(edited to cover obvious, but unintended omissions *)

Spennie is chuffed… especially with the comments from the fans about the love for the song.

Obviously I don’t wanna give away the set lists, but they’re intentionally going to try to include songs they’ve all been involved with while playing with Moz on top of the foundation of Alain solo stuff. It’s been mentioned elsewhere, but it’s going to be the best of both worlds.

I was thinking about it again the other day, there sadly is no one in M’s current band that has any ties to the first half of his career now… and all those great songs (*except Mozzer, obviously!). Many in attendance won’t mind or care… he literally could have any random musicians on stage with him (not a slight against the current band. They are fine musicians!), but there is a large portion of the old-schoolers (like myself) that the band always meant something to, as well. Personally, I want to hear those that were “invested” in those amazing songs (like Lost) play them. Most that attended the shows when Alain came back noticed the difference and that was because they weren't just "songs to be learned up", if that makes sense.

 

[Castro]

Spennie is chuffed… especially with the comments from the fans about the love for the song.

Obviously I don’t wanna give away the set lists, but they’re intentionally going to try to include songs they’ve all been involved with while playing with Moz on top of the foundation of Alain solo stuff. It’s been mentioned elsewhere, but it’s going to be the best of both worlds.

I was thinking about it again the other day, there sadly is no one in M’s current band that has any ties to the first half of his career now… and all those great songs. Many in attendance won’t mind or care… he literally could have any random musicians on stage with him ;not a slight against the current band. They are fine musicians), but there is a large portion of the old-schoolers (like myself) that the band always meant something to, as well. Personally, I want to hear those that were “invested” in those amazing songs (like Lost) play them. Most that attended the shows when Alain came back noticed the difference.

How are ticket sales going?

 

[dneuer]

How are ticket sales going?

It's interesting, really, because no one knew what to expect, but there has been a really good response so far (maybe downplaying it a little, but don't want to overhype it ). Typical initial surge with steady interest since... (this, with almost three months to go and without the proper wheels of promotion such as interviews/publications involved yet to spread the word).
I'm a boring analytical sort in some ways, but it's fascinating to me to see where fans are coming from. People have stated they have bought tix and are traveling from various places in the US (California, Texas, various places on the east coast, etc. Even fans from Canada bought tickets), Europe, The UK and Ireland, obviously. Dublin is Dublin and so one would expect a great turnout there (and Whelan's is a legendary venue... sorry for using that word lol, and will prove to be a great place for a show), BUT the numbers for Belfast are what have caught my eye so far. They genuinely seem appreciative when bands make their way up there. Not sure what to make of it, but there was a recent surge in sales for Cork, too.

That all said, there are still tickets available (not sold out yet ) and biased or not, I can't stress just how amazing these shows are likely to be and hope everyone that wants to attend can find a way. Sales pitch over... I'll probably catch hell for saying too much already. Back to my cave.

 

[Famous when dead]

 

[DaveJCarr]

(edited to cover obvious, but unintended omissions *)

Spennie is chuffed… especially with the comments from the fans about the love for the song.

Obviously I don’t wanna give away the set lists, but they’re intentionally going to try to include songs they’ve all been involved with while playing with Moz on top of the foundation of Alain solo stuff. It’s been mentioned elsewhere, but it’s going to be the best of both worlds.

I was thinking about it again the other day, there sadly is no one in M’s current band that has any ties to the first half of his career now… and all those great songs (*except Mozzer, obviously!). Many in attendance won’t mind or care… he literally could have any random musicians on stage with him (not a slight against the current band. They are fine musicians!), but there is a large portion of the old-schoolers (like myself) that the band always meant something to, as well. Personally, I want to hear those that were “invested” in those amazing songs (like Lost) play them. Most that attended the shows when Alain came back noticed the difference and that was because they weren't just "songs to be learned up", if that makes sense.

Oh that makes sense, and I agree. If the Ireland tour Spurs Moz to include some of the songs or really any from that era in his set list, we will all have something for which we can be extra thankful!

The weird thing about the band lineups to me (and nothing against the current one and its potential to grow and do interesting things different arrangements etc.) is that as things currently stand even the band members that I most associate with almost decade of music are themselves all gone, Jesse and Moz aside. World peace, low in high schoo especially our albums of the Gus/Mando/Walker Boz school so much – the sound of the band and the 2010s was extremely defined and unique and it it won't ever be that particular way again, just like the 90s bands are as cas to history as the Smiths are now.

All of this makes having without music the world dies as a pending release even weirder – because I think the influence and identity of Alain and Gustavo are going to be very present on the record – if we are ever able to hear it

 

[Famous when dead]

 

[Famous when dead]

 

[Famous when dead]

Irish Tour, English Heart : Alain Whyte (Morrissey guitar/songwriter) announces Irish tour.

Irish Tour, English Heart : Alain Whyte (Morrissey guitar/songwriter) announces Irish tour

Alain Whyte, the bequiffed guitarist and songwriter who is perhaps best known for the total of 84 known songwriting credits he wrote for Morrissey but has also written for Madonna, Black Eyed Peas etc has announced his own mini tour, initially taking a trip to Ireland... Alain Whyte, the...

louderthanwar.com

 

[Famous when dead]