Blur star to bring orchestra tour to North East next year
Alex James’ Britpop Classical will hit the road for its first ever UK tour next year, including a North East date.
Expected to bring the biggest hits of the Britpop era to life with the epic scale of a full live orchestra, this one-of-a-kind live experience will open at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and will come to the O2 City Hall Newcastle on Wednesday, March 18.
Created and performed by Blur bassist and Big Feastival founder Alex James, the show takes the best songs from a golden age of British music. Classic songs from Blur, Oasis and Pulp to Supergrass and The Verve are expected to make up much of the setlist.
Guest vocalists will also make up the performance alongside the London Concert Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.
Joining James on stage will be an all-star guest line-up including Phil Daniels, Saffron of Republica, and Gary Stringer of Reef, with more names to be announced soon.
Alex James said: “We can't wait to bring this to Newcastle. Somehow all of these songs mean more to people now than they did when they were first released. They really resonate with my kids' generation too. Bringing them back to life with a symphony orchestra, a kick ass band, some old friends and very special guests totally blew the roof off at Feastival and I absolutely cannot wait to get this show on the road.”
Owen Kent, Director of Events at RG Live, added: “The energy at Big Feastival was off the scale - the crowd reaction made it instantly clear we had something special on our hands.
“Britpop Classical takes songs that people already love and reimagines them in a way that’s powerful, and totally exhilarating. Kicking off the tour at the Royal Albert Hall is the perfect way to launch what we believe will be one of 2026’s must-see shows.”
Tickets are on sale now.