British vocalist Paul Carrack, well known for his work with Mike + The Mechanics, Squeeze, and Ace, has announced a new studio album, One on One, coming September 17, 2021, via his own label Carrack-UK. Listen to several tracks below. The LP will be the eighteenth LP of Carrack’s career, and his first since 2018’s These Days.
Carrack has spent time working in his recording studio since the first lockdown began in March 2020, where he wrote, recorded and produced every song on One on One. Carrack plays all of the instruments, making his latest work the definition of a solo album.
“The sound of the record is warm, I think, and engaging, and nourishing,” he says. “There’s two ballads on there, but the rest of it is surprisingly upbeat. I think that’s maybe because we were mid-tour when the touring was shut down but I was still in a kind of ‘live’ mode.”
Watch the video “Good & Ready” from the new album
Dubbed by the BBC as “The Man With the Golden Voice,” Carrack’s breakthrough moment came when he wrote and sang “How Long,” in 1974 from his days with Ace. Paul also enjoyed great success as the voice behind numerous hits for other bands, such as “Tempted” during his tenure with Squeeze and “The Living Years” with Mike + the Mechanics.
Since the turn of the century, Carrack, who turned 71 on April 22, has concentrated on his solo career, with his frequent, extensive tours. He also has been a constant member of Eric Clapton’s live band. Carrack has announced 2021 dates and the “Good and Ready” 2022 tour; tickets are available here.
Watch the video for the ballad, “You’re Not Alone,” from One on One
Paul Carrack U.K. Dates (Tickets are available here)
2021
AUG 26 Rye Jazz Festival, Bexhill on Sea
OCT 19 Bonus Arena, Hull
OCT 21 Regent Theatre, Ipswich
OCT 22 Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone
2022 — The “Good and Ready” Tour
JAN 19 Bath Forum Bath
JAN 21 King George’s Hall, Blackburn
JAN 22 Hull City Hall, Hull
JAN 23 Stockton Globe, Stockton
JAN 28 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
JAN 29 Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
JAN 30 Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
FEB 04 O2 City Hall, Newcastle
FEB 05 Caird Hall, Dundee
FEB 06 Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
FEB 10 Brighton Dome, Brighton
FEB 11 Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth
FEB 12 St. David’s Hall, Cardiff
FEB 17 York Barbican, York
FEB 18 Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow
FEB 19 Music Hall, Aberdeen
FEB 26 Victoria Hall, Stoke
FEB 27 Venue Cymru, Llandudno
MAR 04 Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea
MAR 05 New Theatre, Peterborough
MAR 06 De Montfort Hall, Leicester
MAR 10 The Palladium, London
MAR 11 Symphony Hall, Birmingham
MAR 12 The Anvil, Basingstoke
MAR 17 G Live, Guildford
MAR 18 Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham
MAR 19 Sheffield City Hall, Sheffield
Related: Our interview with Carrack on his varied career
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2 Comments
Paul Carrack is as much as blue-eyed soul icon as ‘most anyone. Such a fantastic voice and musical intellect.
Such a waste of such a talent languishing away primarily as the “keyboard player” in Clapton’s band. But I get it, and it’s sad that guys like him, who’ve always more or less operated behind the scenes, just need a gig to pay the bills. The fact that he’s touring just in the UK says a lot about how audiences in the US may know the voice, but they don’t know who the guy is. It’s tragic