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Reggae Greats Beres Hammond & Bunny Wailer To Tour UK

Jamaican reggae giants Bunny Wailer and Beres Hammond have confirmed they are to play a series of shows across the UK in July.

Beres will be at the O2 Academy in Leeds on Saturday, 11th July, before being joined by Bunny Wailer for a short run of joint-headline shows at the O2 Academy venues in Bristol (12th), Liverpool (16th), Brixton (17th) and Birmingham (18th).

Considered by many as the ultimate Lovers Rock singer, Beres Hammond was still the lead singer of Zap Pow when he merged his love of Alton Ellis’ rocksteady and Otis Redding soul, on his 1976 debut solo album ‘Soul Reggae’, which included the hit ‘One Step Ahead.’

For these UK tour dates, Beres’ fans can expect all the hits that followed, including ‘What One Dance Can Do’, ‘Tempted To Touch’ and ‘I Feel Good’.

As a founding member of The Wailers with childhood friends Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer has become a respected elder statesman of the Jamaican music scene.

With a recording career that stretches back more than fifty years, Wailers’ contribution towards introducing reggae to an international audience is not to be underestimated.

After releasing their self-produced recordings for their Wail ’n Soul’m and Tuff Gong labels, The Wailers’ signed to Chris Blackwell’s Island Records in 1972. The following year The Wailers released the albums ‘Catch A Fire’ and ‘Burnin’, with Bunny singing lead vocals on the songs ‘Pass It On’ and ‘Hallelujah Time’. But on the eve of The Wailers’ 1974 classic album ‘Natty Dread’, Bunny left the group to concentrate on a solo career.

Since releasing his debut solo album ‘Blackheart Man’ in 1976, Bunny Wailer has released more than 30 albums, and picked up three Grammy Awards.

The tour dates:

11th July: Leeds, O2 Academy *
Sunday, 12th July: Bristol, O2 Academy
Thursday, 16th July – Liverpool, O2 Academy
Friday, 17th July – Brixton, O2 Academy
Saturday, 18th July – Birmingham, O2 Academy

*Beres Hammond only. Special guest to be announced.

Tickets on general sale from 9am on Friday 1st May via Ticketweb
Words B&S