Released 23th April on Island Records“Musically lush and deftly-arranged, somewhere between Queen, The Beatles and a hint of crackly old 78s” - The FlyWhether or not you believe he was raised by pheasants following his birth in 1904 as his Myspace page purports, a glimpse of the refined, debonair and charismatic Luke Toms leads you to think he may just believe it himself.Equally influenced by Hercule Poirot (moustache, pre war fascination) as Freddy Mercury (moustache, consummate showman) and with a Bowie-esque performance on the hazily rich new single ‘Peace By Myself’, Toms really is quite unlike any other singer songwriter in the UK today. A tour with Mika at the end of 2006 pitted together two upcoming troubadors bringing old school values bang up to date, where the performance, the song and an unbridled individualism are pushed firmly to the fore and heralding a solo artist that can hold a stage and an audience’s attention without breaking a sweat.“All I wanted was sleep, one place to keep, peace by yourself is alright, the night, but that’s not enough for me” - keening and ambiguous, Toms tells the kind of tales that whisk you into another world, fulfilling the classic and oft forgotten secret of the best pop music – escapism. His ability to blend sublime balladry with sunshine melodies and some heavily experimental sonic curveballs is borne out of his love for decades of music that takes in his Gran’s collection of pre-war jazz through to the likes of Supertramp, Elton and his Dad’s 70s prog pomp.
Luke will play the following headline shows in April….
12/4 Slaughtered Lamb, London (solo).
16/4 Brighton Joogleberry Playhouse
17/4 Oxford Zodiac
18/4 Liverpool Barfly
19/4 Glasgow kings Tuts
20/4 Aberdeen moshulu
22/4 Bristol Louisiana
23/4 Cardiff Barfly
24/4 London Hoxton Bar & Kitchen
25/4 Southampton Joiners
26/4 Penzance Acorn Arts Centre
Luke Toms