Pixies announce tour of UK and Europe - this is when tickets go on sale, and how they plan to tackle touts

Alt-rock legends Pixies have announced a new tour of the UK and Europe - including a return to the North East.
Pixies have announced 13 dates in the UK and Ireland as part of their 2019-20 World Tour.Pixies have announced 13 dates in the UK and Ireland as part of their 2019-20 World Tour.
Pixies have announced 13 dates in the UK and Ireland as part of their 2019-20 World Tour.

The band, who have been credited with influencing a whole generation of of guitar bands, are enjoying a welcome renaissance since reforming in 2012.

Their last tour in 2016 was played to sold-out venues wherever they went as a whole new generation of music fans tuned in to their 'loud-quiet-loud' signature sound.

Pixies will play at the O2 Academy in Newcastle on Saturday, September 21, three years after their last appearance in the North East.Pixies will play at the O2 Academy in Newcastle on Saturday, September 21, three years after their last appearance in the North East.
Pixies will play at the O2 Academy in Newcastle on Saturday, September 21, three years after their last appearance in the North East.
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Today it was announced they are hitting the road again this autumn, with a date at the O2 Academy in Newcastle on Saturday, September 21.

Their last appearance there attracted rave reviews as they toured their latest album Head Carrier.

Formed in Boston in 1986, the original Pixies made five genre-defining studio albums before disbanded in 1993.

They got back together for a reunion tour in April 2004, and played to sell-out crowds across the globe for 15 years - twice as long as they had originally.

Pixies will make up their nightly setlist as they go along, with leader Black Francis calling out which song they will play next.Pixies will make up their nightly setlist as they go along, with leader Black Francis calling out which song they will play next.
Pixies will make up their nightly setlist as they go along, with leader Black Francis calling out which song they will play next.
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But writing, recording and releasing new music was something they'd wanted to do for a long time, so secretly booked studio time in Wales at the back end of 2012.

Six days into recording, founding bassist Kim Deal decided to leave; the other members, Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering made the decision to carry on, finishing the album and then working with a variety of touring bassists.

That included former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin, who started touring with Pixies in 2014, and was welcomed as a permanent member in 2016.

December 2018 saw the new-look band hole up at Dreamland Studios near Woodstock, New York, with producer Tom Dalgety, who had worked on Head Carrier, to make their second album as a unit.

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They invited Signal Co. No1, the New York-based podcast company,along to document the entire process and give fans an up-close-and-personal look at every aspect of the process. The result, a 12-episode weekly podcast series called Past is Prologue, Pixies, begins on June 27.

A new studio album will be released in the autumn, and the accompanying tour will begin on September 13 at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, with tickets for all shows going on sale this Friday, April 5.

The band will rehearse and be prepared to play some 90 songs from all points of their career, as well as introducing songs from the new album. And, as there is no nightly set list, the songs performed at every show are determined mere seconds in advance, as frontman Black Francis calls out what the next song will be.

As long-time opponents of ticket touting, the band will be doing as much as possible to put face-value tickets directly into the hands of their fans, with purchases being limited to four tickets per buyer.

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Pixies say that if any ticket is being sold for more than its face value, or found to be on sale anywhere other than www.pixiesmusic.com or links designated on the band’s website, it will be invalid, at risk of being cancelled, and will be resold to a fan at the correct price.

The UK dates for Pixies 2019-20 World Tour are as follows:

September 13: Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff

September 14: Pavilions, Plymouth

September 16: O2 Academy, Birmingham

September 17: O2 Academy, Leeds

September 18: O2 Apollo, Manchester

September 20: Alexandra Palace, London

September 21: O2 Academy, Newcastle

September 22: O2 Academy, Glasgow

September 23: Usher Hall, Edinburgh

September 25: Ulster Hall, Belfast

September 26: Olympia Theatre, Dublin