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The Brian Jonestown Massacre - three UK shows announced for July 2012, tickets Friday 9th March

Posted: 12 years ago
The Brian Jonestown Massacre

With a moniker formed from the name of a dead Rolling Stones founding member and the site of the infamous mass suicides of Jim Jones' People Temple cult, you'd probably expect the unexpected from Anton Newcombe's The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

And you'd be right. Best described as experimental or progressive, and loosely categorized as 'indie rock', Newcombe has been defying convention and classification since forming the band more than 20 years ago. Two decades or so on, and he is the only remaining founding member. Newcombe currently shares songwriting duties with Matt Hollywood, as the duo build on a back catalogue that boasts numerous intriguingly-titled musical missives, including the albums Methodrone, Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request and the offertory Thank God for Mental Illness.

Anton Newcombe's interest in cults like that of Jim Jones and Charles Manson is, apparently, well known and, in a way, BJM has become Newcombe's very own cult - a temple of his furtive imagination - with the musician its Jones or Manson, albeit without the murderous tendencies (one presumes).

Into 2012 and the creativity keeps flowing with the new album, Aufheben, set for release at the end of April. Newcombe and his band will be bringing the record to his followers here a couple of months later with three dates in July.

The short tour kicks off at the Shepherds Bush Empire on 7th July, followed by The Ritz in Manchester on the 8th and then, finally, the O2 Academy on Birmingham on 9th July 2012.

We will have tickets for all three gigs when they go on sale at 9am on Friday 9th March, priced £15 for London and £13.50 for the other dates.

Stewart Darkin