11 Liverpool gigs for 1980s fans this autumn
Remember the 1980s when Corona was fizzy pop all we had to worry about was a little thing like nuclear war?
Well this autumn there’s a chance to step back to a more innocent, fun-filled time when we were allowed out of the house to play – a time of the New Romantics, leg warmers, neon, ripped stonewash jeans, Scott and Charlene and the Brat Pack - with a host of 80s acts heading for Liverpool venues.
From A-ha and Rick Astley at the arena to Heaven 17 at the 02 Academy and UB40 at the Olympia, the city is celebrating the music of the decade in style.
Here are 11 gigs set to take place in Liverpool from September onwards that fans of the 1980s will want to get in their diaries.
Go West & Paul Young
Philharmonic Hall – September 9
You get double bang for your buck in this joint tour which is due to arrive at Hope Street in September.
Peter Cox and Richard Drummie, better known as Go West, are celebrating 35 years since their debut hit We Close Our Eyes. Expect top 80s tunes including Call Me and Don’t Look Down as well as their 1990 track King of Wishful Thinking which featured in movie blockbuster Pretty Woman.
Meanwhile originally in the band Q-Tips, Paul Young went solo in the early 1980s, scoring a number one in 1983 with Wherever I Lay My Hat from his hit album No Parlez.
His other crowd-pleasers include Love of The Common People, Everytime You Go Away and Everything Must Change.
Book HERE
Kim Wilde
Philharmonic Hall – September 19
Kim Wilde and her band are back on the road this season following the worldwide success of Here Come The Aliens and the recent live album Aliens Live.
Featuring hit singles from 1981 onwards, including Kids In America, Hangin’ On, You Came and other less often heard hits like A Million Miles Away and Love Is Holy, this is a gig not only for Kim Wilde fans, but also for fans of the 80s in general.
And as an added bonus, she will be joined by Liverpool’s own China Crisis.
Book HERE
Simply Red
M&S Bank Arena – October 11
Mick Hucknall and co released a new album, Blue Eyed Soul, last autumn and now they are taking it out on tour across the UK and Ireland with a date planned at the M&S Bank Arena Liverpool on Sunday, October 11.
But never fear because alongside the ‘raw and soulful new grooves’ Simply Red will also be performing their all-time classic hits from Money’s Too Tight to Mention via Holding Back the Years and Fairground to Stars and beyond.
Book HERE
Level 42
Philharmonic Hall – October 17
If you want to catch Level 42 at the Phil this autumn you’ll have to be quick because tickets are close to being snapped up and the show sold out.
The band is criss-crossing the country with its From Here to Eternity tour, performing tracks from its many live and studio albums and 18 top 40 singles including Running in the Family, Lessons in Love, Something About You and Leaving Me Now.
Book HERE
Texas
Philharmonic Hall – October 19
Although they had their biggest success in the 1990s, Johnny McElhone and Sharleen Spiteri actually formed Texas in 1986 and hit the charts for the first time in 1989 with I Don’t Want a Lover which broke in to the top 10.
They have made consistently great music throughout a three-decade (and counting) career having sold more than 40 million records, had 13 top 10 UK singles, three number one UK albums and eight top 10 UK albums including their latest, Jump on Board.
Book HERE
Rick Astley
M&S Bank Arena – October 22
Newton-le-Willows’ finest Rick Astley returns to the arena this autumn in a show rearranged from April because of the Covid-19 lockdown.
His Greatest Hits tour will do what it says on the tin, mixing the famous hits that he made his name with alongside current fan favourites in what is being billed as a crowd-pleasing cocktail.
Meanwhile singer KT Tunstall is appearing as special guest at the gigs.
Book HERE
A-ha
M&S Bank Arena – November 11
Morton Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Pål Waaktaar-Savoy bring their Hunting High and Low tour to the Liverpool waterfront this November.
Fans will be able to enjoy the band performing in 'An Evening With...' format, with an interval.
For the first half of the concert, they will play the 10 songs from the album in the running order of the original release – including The Sun Always Shines on TV and Love is Reason.
Then, on returning to the stage after the interval, they will play new and old, familiar and less-familiar songs.
Book HERE
Jason Donovan
Philharmonic Hall – November 20
It’s more than 30 years since he arrived on British TV screens as Scott Robinson in Neighbours, and Jason Donovan has hardly been away from stage or screen since.
But before appearances in shows like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Rocky Horror, Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds (plus a stint on Strictly), Donovan enjoyed a string of hits in the late 1980s including Too Many Broken Hearts, Sealed With a Kiss and Especially For You (with a certain Kylie Minogue).
Now he's back on the road with his Even More Good Reasons Tour - his first music concert tour in four years.
Book HERE
Deacon Blue
M&S Bank Arena – November 27
Global pandemic or no global pandemic, Deacon Blue are celebrating a big year in 2020.
It’s 35 years since the band first formed in Glasgow, they have announced a new album called City of Love, and they are out on tour again.
The band’s Ricky Ross said: "We're so looking forward to you hearing City of Love and getting out on the road, playing new songs and old songs too. Every time we tour now it feels like a celebration because our fans are still there and it's a delight for us. We're planning to make this the best one yet.”
Book HERE
UB40
Eventim Olympia – December 5
Birmingham’s reggae finest UB40 formed in the UK’s second city in 1978 and the band is due to play its latest visit to Liverpool as part of a 40th anniversary tour celebrating the release of debut album Signing Off.
Sadly, saxophonist Brian Travers will be missing the shows after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
But the rest of the band will be live on stage at the Olympia playing all UB40’s greatest hits including Don’t Break My Heart, Food For Thought, One in Ten, (I Can’t Help Falling) In Love With You and Red Red Wine.
Book HERE
Heaven 17
02 Academy – December 11
Give in to Temptation and book tickets to join Sheffield synth-popsters Heaven 17 on their 40th (yes, 40th!) anniversary tour which comes to Liverpool this December.
Known as one of the most important post-punk bands in British music, Heaven 17’s songs are still as relevant today as they were at the beginning and this live show will be a celebration of their impact and career.
Book HERE