The Pop Corporation

When people outside of Manchester think about the city, they think of dour faces emerging from long coats with a Joy Division problem, or cheeky scallies wobbling around like Ian Brown or Liam Gallagher. Ask around the venues though, and the picture is pretty different.

See, Manchester is a hotbed of DIY punks, veering from hardcore mayhem to garage goodness. Concerning the latter, one of the city’s finest groups – Fruit Tones – are back with a new album, which means gigs and bug-eyed pop, which is exactly what we all need.

If you’ve ever got yourself in a mess with the Teenage Shutdown comps, The Stooges, The Sonics, or wished you were there for the Pub Rock scene of the late ’70s with Dr Feelgood and Nick Lowe, or even wondered where the next NRBQ were coming from, then this is your call to get yourself to the table of Fruit Tones.

In their press release, they say “No budget. No gimmicks. No nothing.” God bless the enthusiastic amateur! And we say that as the highest of compliments. The various members of the group are in other bands, but we’re thrilled the main act is back together, with an album called ‘Easy Peelers’.

It’s the group’s third album and will be released on Alien Snatch! records and, fortunately we’ve been able to listen to a preview, and it’s tuneful, noisy, boots-on-the-ground good time rock ‘n’ roll that’ll blow your head clean off!

If you want to pre-order the album, click here.

TOUR DATES

SEPTEMBER – UK / FRANCE

10th – LONDON – Moth Club w/ The Bug Club
26th – BRIGHTON – The Oak
27th – Coucou Festival, RENNES, FR

OCTOBER – UK

1ST – GLASGOW – The Flying Duck w/ Gee Tee
3rd – LONDON – Moth Club w/ Gee Tee
4th – MANCHESTER – White Hotel w/ Gee Tee
27th – YORK – The Crescent w/ The Bug Club

NOVEMBER – EU

3rd – BRUXELLES, BE – Le Chaff
4th – COLOGNE, DE – Sonic Ballroom
6th – WIEN, AT – B72
7th – BRATISLAVA SK – Zalar
8th – DJAKOVO, CR – Rock Bar King
9th – GRAZ, AT – Su’s Mansion
10th – SUBOTICA, RS – JMS Club
11th – BELGRADE, RS – Karmakoma
12th – ZAGREB, CR – TBA
14th – ROMA, IT – Formiche
15th – FAENZA, IT – Clan Destino
16th – BOLOGNA, IT – Freakout
18th – BIEL, CH – Eldorado
19th – BASEL, CH – Hirscheneck
20th – FELDKIRCH, AT – Rauch Club
21st – MUNICH, DE – Cafe Kult
22nd – ANNECY, FR – La Coloc
24th – KORTRIJK, BE – The Pits

DECEMBER – UK

19th – BIRMINGHAM – The Castle & Falcon w/ The Bug Club
20th – MANCHESTER – YES (Pink Room) Matinee show w/ The Bug Club
20th – MANCHESTER – YES (Pink Room) Evening show w/ The Bug Club