Kilimanjaro Live Presents
TARJA
PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS MY OWN GHOST

Manchester Academy 2 
Thursday 9th March 2017
Doors 7.30pm | Curfew 11pm

Tickets £17.50 advance STBF

“On The Shadow Self Tarja has got it brilliantly right … a supremely confident singer who … has found her sound” – 8/10 Metal Hammer

Tarja is very proud to announce two headline UK shows in 2017.

The UK shows will be a fantastic celebration at the end of a very successful year for Tarja. 2016 saw the release of a mini album “The Brightest Void” and her fourth studio album “The Shadow Self”, the heaviest record to date, to widespread critical acclaim. The first single (on both albums) “No Bitter End”, collected the essence of Tarja’s new work: massive guitar riffs, a driving beat and of course Tarja’s incredible vocals to create a powerful soundscape, that will be un-missable live.

The versatile singer is following up on the success of the multi-platinum and gold awarded previous records “My Winter Storm” (2007), “What Lies Beneath” (2010) and her most recent album “Colours In The Dark” (2013) which charted all over the globe including 4 Top 10 entries.

Magnum guitarist Tony Clarkin is a man who seems to never stop working. He is responsible for writing all the material released by the band, and on top of that he produces their albums from the very first demo to the final mix. “As soon as an album is finished, I start to collect new ideas,” he explains. “That’s how I’ve worked since the early seventies, for me that’s the ideal method.” On their latest album, Clarkin and Magnum’s other original member, vocalist Bob Catley, prove all over again just how perfectly this established system works.

Magnum have recorded eleven new songs which feature all the traditional strengths of the British act and also live up to the band’s ambition to explore a more rock-oriented direction. “Thanks to our current record company, we enjoy full artistic freedom,” Clarkin enthuses. “SPV understand how important this is to us.We’ve not always been in such a fortunate position. During the eighties, the label we were with at the time wanted us to sound as pop-oriented as possible because they hoped for better album sales. I used to hate that, despite the success we had.”

The new album was recorded by the Magnum line-up consisting of Clarkin, Catley, keyboardist Rick Benton and drummer Lee Morris, plus their latest addition, bassist Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69, Place Vendome, Unisonic, among others), who joined the fold to replace Al Barrow. “Unfortunately Al had to leave the band because he didn’t have enough time. He lives in the US, which had always caused organisational problems,” Clarkin explains the background of the line-up change. “Tobias Sammet of Avantasia recommended Dennis, who is a great musician and vocalist, exactly what we were looking for. His contribution to the album surpassed our wildest expectations. We’re really looking forward to touring with him.”

Talking of which: Magnum’s major European tour has been scheduled to start in March 2020, initially with a number of headlining shows, to be continued by a first-rate package together with Gotthard from Switzerland. This extremely successful collaboration first passed the litmus test a few years ago, and Clarkin, Catley & Co. are very enthusiastic: “Along with some classic numbers, we will also present four or five songs from the new release.” the band promises, providing even more reasons for their fans to mark the dates in their calendars.

LINE UP

Tony Clarkin – Guitar

Bob Catley – Vocals

Rick Benton – Keyboards

Dennis Ward – Bass

Lee Morris – Drums