On 19 May the band will play at Zanzibar in Liverpool, as part of a 'David Gedge curated' event for Sound City 2012. David was asked to select two support bands and he chose The Brownies and Low Roar. He will also be DJ-ing at the event. Later in the month [25 May] The Wedding Present will be appearing at the John Peel Centre for Creative Arts in Stowmarket near Ipswich.

The band then reassemble in July to appear at the 'Music Event One' Festival which takes place in the gardens of Rochester Castle in Kent on July 28th and also features Public Image Limited.

What started as a little idea for a Record Store Day EP has become a reality, via Paris, Maine-et-Loire and Los Angeles. David Gedge likes to give himself a challenge… so for Record Store Day 2012 he decided to release an EP… of not just four songs, but of four songs sung in French. Why not? A 'Twitter' campaign was launched to find a translator and Marie Causse, who also translates television shows like ‘The Family Guy’ for French TV was happy to help.

The songs [recorded in the same session as the recently released album ‘Valentina’] would sound magnificent in any language. ‘Deer Caught In Headlights’ sounds fantastic on vinyl… the up-tempo tale of an obsessive in love is a classic five-minute Wedding Present track that leaves you wanting more. A vignette gives you a slight breather before ‘End Credits’ pounds in with its heart beating double drummer rhythm… this time about the end of a love affair. ‘Metal Men’ is the surprise on the disc with a danceable beat and is about as perfect as a punk-pop song can be! ‘Mystery Date’ brings up the rear as it twinkles and lilts… tricking you into thinking that it’s going to be the soft story of the very beginnings of love… but then absolutely thunders in with a cacophony of tempo changes and soaring guitars… leaving you gasping for breath as a Japanese voiceover trails on…

In other cycling-related news, the band will also be playing live for Seattle radio station KEXP at Lance Armstrong's bike shop "Mellow Johnny's" in Austin, Texas on March 15th.

From a launderette in Cincinnati, Ohio to a seaside music festival in Brighton, England... "Tales From The Wedding Present" chronicles the sublimely quixotic adventures of  David Gedge and his band.

For Issue 1, Gedge's long-time former bass player, Terry de Castro, teamed up with cartoonist Lee Thacker to create a surreal hotchpotch of on-the-road tales. If the band aren't being menaced by furtive hotel critters, they might be getting pulled over by the Nebraska State Police. Gedge has been touring for more than 25 years, and, with over 250 songs under his belt, he's not short of tales to relate.

You can purchase a copy of this comic by visiting our merchandise pages here.

This is an ongoing project, so please let us know, of course, if you have any suggestions or requests.

All the best from Scopitones, the home of Cinerama and The Wedding Present.

According to the event organisers, the festival will considerably increase its scope this year, with a large-scale event open to all. The Lluis Compants Promenade, around the area of the Arc del Triomf of Barcelona, will be the venue for two days of concerts celebrating the opening and closing days of the festival. Several artists will perform on this site, including The Wedding Present, who are scheduled to perform 'Seamonsters' live from 8-30 PM on Wednesday 30th.

For full details of all confirmed Wedding Present concerts, please visit the concerts page of our web site by clicking here.

The first, the brilliant 'YOU JANE', with Gedge comparing yet another flailing love affair to classic Hollywood romances, is a digital single which should be downloadable from all the usual digital distribution services.

You can watch a video of 'You Jane' at The Wedding Present's YouTube TV Channel by clicking here and hear David Gedge singing it in German[!] by clicking here.

You can also sample Valentina's crunchy opening track 'YOU'RE DEAD' by visiting the Spin web site here.

You can pre-order a copy of Valentina on CD or 180-gram vinyl from the merchandise page of this web site by clicking here.

Valentina comes four years after 2008’s 'El Rey' and is performed by David Gedge [singing, guitars & percussion], Graeme Ramsay [guitars, piano, harmonium & co-writer with Gedge of all but one of the songs], Pepe le Moko [bass & backing vocals] and Charles Layton [drums & percussion].

Following an album launch event at the 'South By Southwest' music festival in Austin, Texas, the band will be embarking on a tour of North America. This tour will be extra special because, as well as celebrating the release of Valentina, the band will be playing their classic album 'Seamonsters' live, in its entirety. Following the North American dates the band will be moving on to Australia, Japan and Continental Europe before bringing the whole event home with an extensive tour of The United Kingdom and Ireland in the autumn.

The Valentina track listing is: You’re Dead / You Jane / Meet Cute / Back A Bit... Stop / Stop Thief! / The Girl From The DDR / Deer Caught In The Headlights / 524 Fidelio / End Credits / Mystery Date

Valentina will be released on CD by:
Stickman Records in Germany, Benelux, Scandinavia, Austria, Switzerland & Italy
'&' Records in Japan
Lost And Lonesome Records in Oceania
and Scopitones [the band's own label] throughout the rest of the world.

A 12" vinyl LP version of the album will also be released by Stickman for Europe and This Will Be Our Summer Records of Athens, Georgia for North America.

Valentina will also be available for download from all the usual digital outlets. If you don’t find us on your preferred site, please let us know by emailing Jessica at : info@scopitones.co.uk

Confirmed Valentina release dates:

UK : 19.03.12
North America : 20.03.12
Japan : 21.03.12
Oceania : 23.03.12

You can also pre-order a copy of Valentina on CD or 180-gram vinyl from the merchandise page of this web site by clicking here.

For up to date information about the band's 2012 touring schedule please click here.