Crash Test Dummies will be embarking on a UK tour this June to celebrate 30 years of their debut album ‘The Ghosts That Haunt Me’.
It’s been 30 years since the Crash Test Dummies recorded their debut album, ‘The Ghosts That Haunt Me’. Their first album garnered them their first big hit, “Superman’s Song”, and a Juno Award for Group of the Year, before its 1993 follow-up ‘God Shuffled His Feet’ secured them further success as “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm,” became a worldwide Top Ten hit and broke the band into the US.
Over three decades later, their sold out 25th Anniversary Tour for multi-Grammy nominated “God Shuffled His Feet” served as proof that audiences still wanted to hear what they have to say.
Of the upcoming run of dates, original member Ellen Reid explains:
“We have been so excited with the response to the 25th anniversary tour that we knew we had to continue the party and celebrate 30 years since we made our first album. We had no idea that fans would be so enthusiastic and we are all a little gob-smacked that we can still play sold out shows to our fans and, awesomely enough, their kids.”
The special anniversary tour will see the band play shows to anxiously waiting fans in Nottingham, Manchester, Glasgow, London and Dover. The shows will include hits and fan favourites from the band’s vast catalogue, and original members Brad Roberts, Ellen Reid, Dan Roberts and Mitch Dorge will be joined on stage by Stuart Cameron and Marc Arnould.
Singer/songwriter Brad Roberts says:
“After a long absence from the road, Crash Test Dummies have begun to tour again. Not something I’d planned on, but surprisingly, at least to me, there are lots of people who years later still want to come and hear us. That people continue to return to see the band all these years later still stuns me. It’s very humbling. The folks that come out to these shows tell us their stories and there are many gems: many are very funny, some are very dark, and all are very personal. It’s very humbling being in the confidence of so many people.”
Check out the band’s track Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm, below:
*****
With their clever lyrics and folk-tinged melodies, the Crash Test Dummies were a perfect rock band for affluent ’90s college students and yuppies. Their first album was a multi-platinum hit in their native Canada, but only gained a small cult following in other parts of the world. Thanks to former Talking HeadJerry Harrison‘s clean, radio-friendly production, the follow-up album,’ God Shuffled His Feet’ (1993), broke big in the States and, in turn, Europe. The first single from the record, “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm,” became a worldwide Top Ten hit, making the group a minor sensation with their self-consciously bizarre lyrics and singer/songwriter Brad Roberts‘ deep baritone. ‘A Worm’s Life’ followed in 1996, and three years later the Crash Test Dummies returned with ‘Give Yourself a Hand’, which found Roberts sharing vocal duties with bandmate Ellen Reid.
Frontman Brad Roberts resurfaced in fall 2000 with a solo album, ‘Crash Test Dude’, a collection of acoustic hits from the Crash Test Dummies and eclectic covers. It was also during this time that Roberts suffered a serious car crash, almost losing his arm. Seven months later, however, he returned to the Crash Test Dummies circuit to issue ‘I Don’t Care That You Don’t Mind’, a brand-new batch of songs written with lobster fishermen/musicians whom Roberts met during his rehabilitation.
Late 2001 and early 2002 saw more solo albums from the band’s members (Ellen Reid‘s ‘Cinderellen’ and Mitch Dorge‘s ‘As Trees Walking’), and the Dummies gradually became more Brad Roberts’ project than a traditional band.
A new three-piece unit consisting of Reid, Roberts and original bassist Dan Roberts released the Christmas album ‘Jingle All the Way’ in late 2002, but limited distribution made the album hard to find. The album was reissued in late 2003 along with a new album, ‘Puss ‘n’ Boots’, with Reid and Dan Roberts adding to what was originally planned as a Brad Roberts solo album. The trio embraced a more stripped-down acoustic sound on their next album, 2004’s ‘Songs of the Unforgiven’, while 2010’s ‘Oooh La-La!’ proved to be more symphonic.
Now, Crash Test Dummies will return to UK audiences to play a range of songs from across their fast and eclectic catalogue. Full dates and details below.
CRASH TEST DUMMIES – CELEBRATING 30 YEARSUK LIVE DATES 2022
JUNE
07 – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
08 – Academy 3, Manchester
09 – St Lukes, Glasgow
10 – The Forum, London
11 – Booking Hall, Dover
Tickets available here
Find out more via the band’s Website or Facebook
