News archive.

CHOOSE YOUR DRILL & STREAM THE ALBUMApr 07

We have a bounty of DRILLS! On the main page of drillfestival.com you can now CHOOSE YOUR DRILL- either the newly launched DRILL : CHICAGO June 11-13 - full line up here or the previously announced DRILL : LEXINGTON April 14-18.

It is now also possible to stream the New album WIRE in its entirety - either from NME.com or npr.org. Which one works will be dependent on your location.

DRILL : LEXINGTON - Full Lineup - NEW Track UPMar 12

The full line-up of DRILL : LEXINGTON can now be announced. Brought to you by a the team of The Quietus, The Lexington & Wire who were also responsible for DRILL : LONDON the latest edition of the festival with no fixed City, Date or Format comes perfectly formed and Lexington sized! Each night Wire will host a different support band in a way that echoes DRILL : FESTIVAL's roots in 2 nights at the Lexington in November 2010. See below for Lineup and ticket links.

Alongside the announcement we are making a further track from the new album WIRE available to stream on Soundcloud. The track is entitled Split Your Ends

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In addition we have just now added 2 dates to the US tour
Portland OR, Dantes - May 26th
Millvale PA, Mr Smalls Theatre - June 7th

New album!Feb 11

Today, Wire's new album - simply entitled WIRE - is being launched. You can right now stream the track "Joust & Jostle" at Noisey and pre-order from pinkflag mail order. We are also announcing a UK tour (including DRILL : LEXINGTON) and a US tour. You can read more about the album HERE.

6 Music Festival Jan 27

Today we are able to share that we will be part of the 2015 6 Music festival line up. The show will be in the main concourse at the Sage in Gateshead. More info can be found here. For those who cannot get to Gateshead the show will be filmed and be able to view under the red button as well as online.

Watch this space for further announcements

UK datesJan 09, 2015

Today we are announcing a couple of UK dates:

19th February 2015 - The Musician, Leicester
20th February 2015 - Unity, Wakefield

There will be plenty more announcements in 2015 but for now that's all we can say, apart from all the best for 2015!

Oct 27, 2014

Today we are announcing the 2nd wave of artists added to DRILL: BRIGHTON
New additions include - British Sea Power, Young Fathers, These New Puritans, Cassetteboy, Graham Duff, Younghusband, Jesca Hoop, Monotony, Sauna Youth & Paul Kendal.

We are also announcing he date & venue of Wire's headline show at the festival which is - The Sallis Benney Theatre, Brighton on Thursday the 4th of December.

Event tickets can be found HERE

For more details and the full line up so far, check out drillfestival.com

Sep 17, 2014

Wire and One Inch Badge are pleased to present DRILL : BRIGHTON. Following on from previous DRILL : FESTIVALS in London and Seattle, DRILL : BRIGHTON will be the most ambitious yet, featuring upwards of 100 bands, artists, films, talks and exhibitions, across 14 different venues, across 4 days from the 4th to the 7th of December, 2014. For more details and to buy early bird tickets, check out drillfestival.com

Jan 06, 20142014

Here's wishing everyone a great 2014! 2014 will be a quieter year for Wire than 2013 nonetheless we will be opening the year account with a gig marking the 5th Anniversary of the Lexington on 17th Jan. Tickets will go on sale today, expect it to sell out fast! Meanwhile an Australia / New Zealand tour will follow it in Feb. There are plans to do at least one DRILL : FESTIVAL this year, we'll keep you posted about that. Meanwhile the band plans to record this year towards a 2015 release. More news to follow...

Pic by Fergus Kelly

October 19, 2013DRILL : SEATTLE

We can now finally resolve the mystery of the "missing" West Coast dates with the announcement, first carried on Pitchfork of the 2nd edition of Wire's festival DRILL to take place in the US city of Seattle. The Festival, to take place on the 21-23 November will be at the end of a short run up the West Coast with support provided by Chastity Belt, who like Xaviers in the UK & Traams on the EU dates have been personally chosen by Wire. The Portland date will be a co-headliner with Helmet, Page Hamilton being an old friend of the band, even having played on Object 47.

The Festival line up is as follows
Nov 21st: at Barboza - Earth, Pillar Point, Drill
Nov 22nd: at The Crocodile - Helmet, By Sunlight, FF
Nov 23rd: at Neumos - Wire, Chastity Belt, Vestals

The Festival will feature some of the quirky Wire elements from the London edition including - The "in"famous Pinkflag Guitar Orchestra (closing the bill on the 23rd @ Neumos), the collaborative Drill (with Earth on the 21st @ Barboza) and Wire "unnanounced" opening the bill for another band (you'll have to figure that one out yourselves!).

More news to follow!

Aug 16, 2013John Kennedy's Exposure

Following the recent session the band recorded for John Kennedy at XFM we are today announcing that WIRE will be playing a special show in John's Exposure series at the Barfly in Camden on 12th September, immediately prior to the UK tour. The venue has a capacity of 200 and will sell out quickly. You can buy tickets here.

Jun 19, 2013MORE GIGS

A couple of extra gigs have been added to the list below they are
July 18th: The Clifton Center, Louisville, KY, USA
as an extra date on the N.American Tour and
Aug 16th: The Continental, Preston, UK
which will be an "intimate" warm up before the Beacons Festival

May 29, 2013CBU VINYL

We can now announce that the vinyl version of Change Becomes Us is now finally available in the pinkflag shop. This edition is exactly the same as the version available on Record Store Day (Double Vinyl in a gatefold sleeve) but lacks the numbering.

April 24, 2013NORTH AMERICA

We have just added the final date to our short East Coast & Midwest North American Tour for July (see below). This year the band have decided to split North America into two visits. The one just announced in July and a follow up West Coast run in November of which, of course, more later.

There are quite a few more dates upcoming through the year so please keep up to date here an by signing up to the newsletter.

We will also be recording a session for Marc Riley on the 9th of May. The scheduled session for John Kennedy has been cancelled due to factors beyond the band's control and will now be recorded on July 29th.

March 26, 2013POST : DRILL

Wire would like to thank everyone who has been part of our DRILL:LONDON Festival and everyone who came to the shows. The festival exceeded our most widely optimistic expectations and we have many new friends as a result! Special thanks are due to Luke of the Quietus, Matty from the Lexington & Jason without whom..

Wire's next Live performance will be for Record Store Day (20th April) in London at Sister Ray in Soho. We will also be announcing some US dates for July very soon.

Meanwhile, if you are yet to hear Change Becomes Us you can stream it on pitchfork.com.

March 8, 2013DRILL : LONDON - UPDATED

As announced in our latest newsletter the initial line-Up of Wire's DRILL : LONDON can now be revealed. You can read a full article about it in the Quietus, who are co-curating the event which will take place between March 21st & March 24th.

Thu 21st Mar, 2013 - The Lexington
Charlie Boyer and the Voyeurs + Malka Spigel + It Hugs Back
Charlie Boyer moonlighting from Electricity In Our Homes in his new "pop" guise co/headlining with Malka Spigel's UK debut with her band featuring Wire's Colin Newman, To Roccoco Rot's Ronald Lippok and Gil Luz & Uri Frost from Mambas. The evening is rounded off with a performance by Matt Simms' It Hugs Back, who have a new album out in March.

Fri 22nd Mar, 2013 - The Lexington
Comanechi + Stranger Son + Mambas
Comanechi have long staked their reputation as one of the fiercest bands in London, with gargantuan riffs topped with Akiko Matsuura's hectoring scream. Now joined by a drummer, they'll be celebrating the release of new album You Owe Me Nothing But Love. Support comes from the equally unhinged dance noise of Mambas and psychedelic Stranger Son.

Fri 22nd Mar, 2013 - Cafe Oto
Gazelle Twin in collaboration with Scanner + Land Observations + Edvard Graham Lewis + Klara Lewis
Friday night at Cafe Oto unites an disparate group of artists with connection to Wire, all with a connection - of sorts - to ideas of place. Think Map Ref expanded. Klara Lewis builds her music from field recordings made in locations that range from Turkey to Germany and Russia. Mute's Land Observations (a solo project of James Brooks, ex of Appliance) uses looped guitar eddies to evoke the ghosts in the landscape left by the Roman Road network. Finally, long-time friend of Wire Robin 'Scanner' Rimbaud will perform a unique collaboration with Gazelle Twin, whose music explores dystopias of real and imagined worlds.

Sat 23rd Mar, 2013 - Cafe Oto(daytime)
Q&A with Wire presented by Graham Duff (free entry) As if Wire were not busy enough on this day! This will be an afternoon session (4.00PM to 5.00PM) at Cafe Oto, hosted by comedy genius and long time Wire afficionado Graham Duff (Ideal, Hebburn). Please note: the Cafe will need to be cleared after the Q&A, so that Teeth of The Sea can soundcheck.

Sat 23rd Mar, 2013 - The Lexington
Toy + Wire
Although their long hair suggests an early '70s cosmic rock group, young Londoners Toy share with Wire a love of melodic psychedelia and songs that build and build before knocking you down. Last year's debut album was a critical hit and their live show is something to behold. Support WIRE

Sat 23rd Mar, 2013 - Cafe Oto
Teeth Of The Sea (including "Drill" with Wire) + Verity Susman
After supporting Toy at the Lexington, Wire will hotfoot it to Cafe Oto... there, ToTS will have been playing a set of their Giorgio Morodor-TG-Wolf Eyes genregasm. Wire will then join ToTS for an semi-improvised encore of 'Drill' featuring both bands. Also on the bill will be Verity Susman of Electrelane, whose solo sets feature an intriguing mixture of electronics, sax, performance and film.

Sun 24th Mar, 2013 - Heaven
Wire + East Inda Youth + pinkflag guitar orchestra
East India Youth is the first signing to the Quietus' new record label, The Quietus Phonographic Corporation. Real name William Doyle, EIY is a solo project based around very English pop melodies over burbling, electronic noise described by the Guardian as "pleasingly mental".

There are links to buy tickets below.

Readers of the newsletter will also know that we have now formally launched the 2nd set of the Legal Bootleg Series. The first 3 are:
17th Feb 1978, West Runton Pavillion - (PFB 705)
12th June 1987, Maxwell's, Hoboken - (PFB 805)
21st May 1990, Hibernian, London - (PFB 901)
alongside - 23 February 2000, Nottingham Social - (pfb 0050) - Recycling Sherwood Forest & 04 April 2011, WFMU - 13 April 2011, KEXP (PFB101) which are only available to subscribers to the full series.

January 19, 2013Doubles & Trebles

Change Becomes Us has now been launched to the world's media and news items are going up online about it. We particularly like the the one on The Quietus. At the same time you can now hear the album's opener "Doubles & Trebles" streaming on WireHQ's soundcloud it is already proving rather popular!

At the same we are making the first announcement about DRILL : LONDON a series of events taking place at various venues across London in March 2013. This will culminate with a performance by Wire playing Change Becomes Us in full at Heaven on Sunday, March 24th. The set will close with the massed guitars of The Pinkflag Orchestra playing the track 'Pink Flag' by way of an encore. The ticket link is below.

December 11, 2012Change Becomes Us (pf19)

As Pinkflag newsletter subscribers will already know, a new Wire album will be released on CD and digital in March 2013, with vinyl following for Record Store Day on April 20. "Change Becomes Us" began as an exploration of unrecorded material originally written in 1979–80. Some of this material had only ever existed as quickly prepared sketches for one-off performance; however, subjected to the rigour of a Wire working process of both touring and studio, it evolved organically into what we think is a fascinating hybrid. Liberated from its historic roots, it simply took off! "Really fresh!" is the common quote of the few who've heard it!

You can pre-order the "Special Edition" from our Mail Order (regular CD or vinyl will be available to order at a later date) and you can read more in our most recent newsletter archived here.

Subscribe to the Pinkflag newsletter to be the first to hear upcoming Wire news.

October 11, 2012Short Tour Of Japan Announced

A Short tour of Japan has been announced today. The gigs (listed below) include one Festival in Tokyo, a return to Club Unit (also in Tokyo) which was one of Wire's most memorable shows of 2011, and the first visit to Osaka since 2004.

For most of the year the band have been involved in making the follow up to "Red Barked Tree". More news about this to follow soon!

July 16, 2012Wire confirmed for ATP

WIRE are today confirmed in the first batch of announcements for ATP's NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS CURATED BY SHELLAC OF NORTH AMERICA to take place between November 30th - 2nd December 2012 at Pontins, Camber Sands, UK.

The festival marks ATP's return to it's original (now refurbished) venue which ATP describe thus - "We look forward to returning to the festival's spiritual birthplace for an incredible weekend - Shellac headline and choose the rest of the 35 band bill playing across the event on the venue's excellent indoor stages featuring award winning sound, with DJs until late, Cinema and much more." and go on to say "Two thirds of the event's tickets have been sold in the month since our initial announcement, with some apartment sizes now gone." So we recommend you book sooner rather than later!

Buy Tickets HERE

July 09, 2012"On The Box" in Quietus half year chart!

The reissued WIRE ON THE BOX: 1979 DVD/CD has been included as No 18 the Quietus Magazine's top 50 of Reissues, Compilations & Mixes Of 2012 So Far. The chart is compiled by Quietus staff to "honestly reflect what we listen to and find interesting ourselves" and also features releases by artists as diverse as Simian Mobile Disco, Andrew Weatherall, The Human League, Minny Pops, Suede, The Cure, Drexciya, David Sylvian, Trevor Jackson, Cornershop, Bo Ningen, Laibach, Paperclip People, My Bloody Valentine, Sunn O))), Swans & Can!

For those unfamiliar with this release, extracts from which have also recently featured in Arte's London Calling & BBC4's Punk Britannia, it is the most complete footage of a 1970's Wire performance available, and is from the WDR TV program Rockpalast.

The release (which contains both a DVD & a CD) features the complete live set - Another The Letter/ The 15th/ Practice Makes Perfect/ Two People In A Room/ I Feel Mysterious Today/ Being Sucked In Again/ Once Is Enough/ Blessed State/ A Question of Degree/ Single KO/ Mercy/ 40 Versions/ Former Airline/ A Touching Display/ French Film Blurred/ Men 2nd/ Map Ref. 41°N 93°W/ Heartbeat/ Pink Flag - as performed on the show as well a contemporary interview with the band (recorded directly after the performance) and was recorded on Valentine's day 1979. The audio has been remastered for this release

You can order it from our mail order HERE

November 09, 2011Black Session, Paris - 10th MAY 2011 (pf19)

As Wire nears the final leg of this extraordinary year of activity, pinkflag is announcing the next release. Recorded back in May in Radio France's Paris studios in front of an invited (and enthusiastic) audience this live album captures the band razor sharp from 4 months of touring distilling the set and featuring many of the songs that made it special for many.

WIRE - Black Session, Paris - 10th MAY 2011 (pf19)

01. Adapt
02. Comet
03. Smash
04. Please Take
05. KIdney Bingos
06. Clay
07. Map Ref 41°N 93°W
08. Moreover
09. Two People in a Room
10. Down To This
11. Drill
12. Red Barked Tree
13. Pink Flag

PRE-ORDER RIGHT NOW

For those unable to make the gigs Wire will be appearing on the radio during the tour. There will be a session on the Marc Riley on the 21st November with an additional track being recorded for Gideon Coe plus an appearance on the Radcliffe and Maconie Show on the 16th (the day of the Manchester show) by the usual chatty members!

September 07, 2011Berlin Live

During the week following the Berlin Festival Wire will be making it's 3rd visit to Berlin this year to take part in the "ZDF Kultur" music culture event series entitled Berlin Live. The event on the 15th September features Einstürzende Neubauten & Caspar Brötzmann massacre (back from a 10 year hiatus) alongside Wire and will be hosted by veteran Anglo-Berliner Mark Reeder.

The show is performed in front of a live audience and entry is free! Tickets can be applied for on this page of the motor.de website.

August 17, 20112nd UK Tour plus Live Album

In spite of having toured extensively throughout the world with their brilliantly received Red Barked Tree album during the 1st half of 2011 Wire's line-up of Colin Newman, Graham Lewis & Robert Grey, supplemented since May 2010 with live guitarist Matt Simms have recently announced their 2nd UK tour of the year. Twice as long and covering several cities where the band have not played since the 70's, the November tour will see the band end the year with a flourish.

To accompany the tour Pinkflag will be releasing a live album (all formats) of a prestigious show from earlier in the year. The album will be available as exclusive tour merchandise during the tour and will only be released to shops once the tour is over.

Support on all dates will be provided by the highly acclaimed American duo Talk Normal who are just now putting the finishing touches to their debut album.

April 28, 20111st Legal Bootleg Series Complete!

The last 3 gigs from the 1st Legal Bootleg Series have now been made available completing the 1st cycle. They are - 12 Nov 1978, SO36, Berlin (pfb 703) // Wire: 17 Dec 1985 Paradiso, Amsterdam (pfb 804) // Wire:02 May 2000 Great American, San Francisco (pfb 004) // They join previously released 25 October 1978 Bradford University (pfb 701) // 21 July 1988 Astoria, London (pfb 801) // 08 Dec 2000 Queen's Hall, Edinburgh (pfb 001) // Wire: 10 Nov 1979 Jeannetta Cochrane Theatre, London (pfb02) // Wire: 01 Dec 1987 The Town & Country, London (pfb 803) // Wire: 19 Apr 2002 Fleece & Firkin, Bristol (pfb 003) and the series subscription exclusive DVD - 21 Jul 1985 Bloomsbury Theatre (pfb 802). Pricing options are available HERE

Various options are being considered for the next series why not have your say on the Forum.

April 7, 2011Stay tuned to your TV set

Wire took time out from its US tour to appear on the Jimmy Fallon show. Watch Wire perform Red Barked Trees in the April 5 episode (or watch this edit on YouTube), and then check out the web-exclusive Map Ref. And if you're still not done with video, there's Wire's official video for Adapt.

February 2, 2011Wire play Coachella

Wire's upcoming US tour takes in dates in Boston, NYC, Chicago and Seattle, among others (dates are on the home page if you scroll down a bit), and Wire will also be playing the Coachella Festival. You can grab tickets from coachella.com/tickets. Regrettably, because of the festival gig, this means Wire isn't able to play an LA show on this tour.

January 11, 2011Red Barked Tree is out

Our new album Red Barked Tree is now available to buy in the UK and USA. Wire's 12th studio album has been described as Wire's most diverse (and accomplished) for many years.

Buy Red Barked Tree direct from our mail order and you may get extras. The first 2000 sales get a copy of Strays, featuring brand-new studio recordings of Underwater Experiences, He Knows, German Shepherds and Boiling Boy. Anyone buying the vinyl gets a FREE digital copy in MP3 or FLAC.

Links:
Buy Red Barked Tree | Red Barked Tree lyrics | Strays lyrics
Red Barked Tree discussion on the Wire forum
Press page with Red Barked Tree track-by-track interview

November 15, 20102011 Tour Dates (part 1)

Following a series of low key (and not so low key) performances culminating in 3 "exclusive, sold out weeks in advance" nights in intimate venues (Quietus curated, NME gig of the week at the Lexington, London & Audioscope Festival in Oxford) Wire's core trio of Colin Newman, Graham Lewis & Robert Grey augmented by new live guitarist Matt Simms will be bringing their brand of what Clash calls, "musical history in the making" to a bigger audience in support of their forthcoming album "Red Barked Tree" (Jan 10th 2011). During the first 4 months of 2011 the band will play in 16 countries on 3 continents kicking off with an album launch at The Rough Trade East Store and finishing at a location in North America we cannot for the moment reveal.

Further live news will be revealed as and when we are able it make it available, this will include festivals throughout the summer.

October 15, 2010Red Barked Tree - Release dates

As previously announced in our newsletter Wire has a new album - Red Barked Tree (pf18) set for release on 10th Jan (UK) 11th Jan (USA) with digital available from 20th December.

The full tracklisting of the album, described as Wire's most diverse (and accomplished) for many years, is:

01 Please Take
02 Now Was
03 Adapt
04 Two Minutes
05 Clay
06 Bad Worn Thing
07 Moreover
08 A Flat Tent
09 Smash
10 Down to This
11 Red Barked Trees

One track Two Minutes is already available for preview on Pitchfork.com. (UPDATE: This track is now also available as a free download from this website's listen page.)

Mail Order customers will also be able to receive a free bonus EP Strays featuring live favourites which have never acheived greatness as recorded artefacts.

There are extensive touring plans which we will share as soon as we are able. Meanwhile sign up to the mailing list to keep track of the latest Wire news.

Sept 18, 2010Wire on iTunes Ping!

Wire have become one of the first independant artists to have been offered an artist profile on "ping", Apple's new social media experiment within iTunes 10 (sort of like myspace without the spam as of yet).

We are sure you'll all want to "follow" us. In which case the page is HERE

Aug 18, 2010WIRE At The Lexington

The Quietus is going to present 2 very special Wire shows at the uberhip Lexington in Islington, London. The shows on the 8th & 9th of November will feature Factory Floor (the London-based post-industrial trio fronted by Nik Colk) & Lonelady (Warp records' eloquent minimalists) respectively, two of the most tipped of the current crop of artists.
Expect the dates to be preceded by some European warm up shows.
Read more about the Quietus HERE

Wire has also (some what belatedly) finally got it's own facebook page.

July 05, 2010Send Ultimate & The Legal Bootleg series

Those of you signed up to our mailing list will already know that today is the release date of Send Ultimate (a re-release of "Send" as a double with all the studio material from that period on the 2nd disc) and the launch date of our legal bootleg series (follow links for more information).

May 21, 2010Wire 4.2: The New Cycle

This month sees Wire return to the live arena, presenting a new set featuring material which shall appear on the next Wire studio album slated for release in January 2011. For these and future live dates, the group will be augmented by guitarist Matt Simms.

The group would also like to take this opportunity to thank Margaret Fiedler-McGinnis for her fantastic contribution to the cycle of live performances between 2008-9, we wish her all the very best in her future projects.

May 19, 2010Mojo (not quite) working

It appears that whoever booked Wire for the "Mojo Magazine Honors Show" got their dates confused and while we were informed that the show would be on the 9th June it appears that by 9th they actually meant 8th! so the show is actually taking place on the 8th June. Our sincere apaologies to anyone this has inconvenienced. We can also conform this will be a full set.

Meanwhile the 12th studio album is progressing nicely and we hope for a release date in January 2011.

March 07, 2010French Warm Up Dates

Wire will be playing a series of French dates (our first dates since October 2009 and our first series of French dates ever) as a warm up for the appearance at the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona now confirmed for the 28th May.

Expect a couple more dates to be added before Paris.

January 19, 2010Primavera

We are announcing today that Wire will be included in this year's Primavera Sound festival. This will be both a return to Spain, where Wire played a very successful set of dates last October, and a return to Primavera which Wire played last in May 2003. As the band will not have played live in over 6 months expect a series of warm up shows beforehand.

Wire is currently engaged in writing & recording towards the next album.

January 18, 2010Ford Focus Ad

Various people have contacted us to point out that the music accompanying the new Ford Ad bears an uncanny resemblance to Wire's "Kidney Bingos". This is in fact something we became aware at the back end of last year and have had our people look intro. Seemingly while any self respecting Wire fan would spot the similarity instantly, as the law stands right now, the "composers" have made just enough difference to escape censure. Seemingly there are some who create music for ads who know exactly how close to the wind they may sail in these matters...

The song used in the ad, and released now as a single, is called "Half Way Home" and the "group" responsible is called The Cool Hearts.

Sept 04, 2009Italian date change

The date formerly announced for the 12th September at the Totem club, Vicenza, Italy has now been moved to the 3rd October 2009 at the request of the club. Apologies for any inconvenience caused by this.

We are also announcing Wire's first date in Oslo since 2002 as part of the Garage club's 5 year anniversary.

Mar 17, 2009Pink Flag, by Wilson Neate

As announced in the Newsletter 2009 will see the publication of not one, but two, books on the subject of Wire! The first one off the blocks is Wilson Neate's treatise on Pink Flag as part of Continuum's 33 1/3 series. The book deals with the lead-up to and recording of Pink Flag, setting it within the context of Wire's history, the history of the times and within the greater story of its influence and relevance. The text is ably lavished with personal commentary from the band, insight by the author and how Wire's influence was felt by a number of artists, including Steve Albini, Graham Coxon, Richard Jobson, Henry Rollins, Glen Matlock and many others. In short, it's a recommended read for all Wire fans, and comes endorsed by all band members, past and present. You can read an early review here.

Of course, we wouldn't leave you high and dry without a way to pre-order via our wonderful mail-order, so follow the link HERE - you can have them just as soon as we get them!

ADDITION

If you would like to read a conversation between Wilson Neate and Jon Savage on the subject of Wire and the undermining of punk orthodoxy there is one now published on The Quietus.

Feb 05, 2009Gallery update

To whet your appetite to the upcoming rescheduled German/Austrian Tour and additional dates (see the Pinkflag.com home page for more information), we've updated the gallery with a selection of images from some of 2008's gigs. The new images start six rows down in the 'live' section.

Jan 14, 2009Revised dates schedule

Wire are pleased to announce that we have rescheduled the German/Austrian Tour for March (see dates on the Pinkflag.com home page) and are also announcing today four dates in Italy at the end of February. The special warm-up show at Cargo, in London has also been rescheduled. All the clubs promise us that all tickets sold for the previous dates will be honoured for the new ones.

PLEASE NOTE - Mannheim now re-instated, Lausanne added.

Jan 12, 2009German tour and London show cancelled

Wire are sorry to have to announce the cancellation of January's German tour and the preceding warm-up show at Cargo in London. This is due to a domestic accident suffered by bassist Graham Lewis. Graham says: "I've injured my left hand. My doctor has advised me that I will not have recovered sufficiently, in time to undertake the German tour. Therefore we (Wire) felt it best to cancel the tour as quickly as possible to minimise inconvenience. We are very sorry about this and hope to reschedule the German tour as soon as possible, and to be back performing at full strength by the end of February."

Nov 24, 2008German & Austrian Gigs

We have just added a set of dates in Germany & Austria for late January 2009.

November 10, 2008Wire - Daytrotter session FREE DOWNLOAD

US hipster indie internet "radio station" Daytrotter has just uploaded a session from Wire. Recorded in their Rock Island studios the day after the final show of the recent US Tour (which was in fact the final show of 2008), the session finds the band "match fit" and presenting a 4 song selection from the 2008 set. The session can be downloaded for free by following this link.

October 28, 2008Order Object 47 on Vinyl

The vinyl version of Object 47 is now available for order in the pinkflag shop (click on "buy now" under the "Object 47" cover to be taken to the order page). This is being released in 2 flavours with the first version being a limited edition also containing a vinyl version of Read & Burn 03 (the EP that preceded "Object 47"). Both flavours are on heavy vinyl with an inner bag featuring full lyrics. We expect the limited edition version to sell out quickly...

PLEASE NOTE THAT AS OF 28Th OCTOBER 2008 WE HAVE NOW TAKEN STOCK OF THIS ITEM. ALL EXISTING PRE-ORDERS WILL BE DESPATCHED STARTING ON 29th OCTOBER.

October 15, 2008Vancouver Cancellation

Due to factors beyond the band's control the gig in Vancouver on October 16th 2008 has been CANCELLED.

September 01, 2008Manchester WIRE - BBC

Wire will be making a short trip to Manchester this week to appear in session on both Radio 2's Radcliffe & Maconie show (Monday, 1st Sept) AND Marc Riley's 6 Music show (Tuesday, 2nd Sept). Radcliffe & Maconie are on between 8.00 PM & 10.00 PM UK time & Marc Riley is on between 7.00 PM 9.00 PM. The sessions were in fact instigated by Marc Riley who downloaded "One Of Us" from this very site and started enthusiastically playing it on his 6 Music show.

August 20, 2008"One Of Us" Video

We have posted a video for "One of Us' on Wire's youtube page, it can also be found on the video page of this site. The video was shot in New York and London by Malka Spigel who incidentally also shot the video for In The Art of Stopping.

In further news, the North American tour listing is now complete with shows in LA and NYC (the latter being a free show to celebrate WFMU's birthday) now announced.

July 17, 2008Autumn Gigs

We are now unveiling our Autumn schedule (see gig listing) and while we can't pronounce it festival-free, it is more than likely that residents of North America, The UK, Holland and Belgium will be able to see the band in more intimate surroundings.

There also remain a couple of US shows that are not yet confirmed, so keep an eye out on the gig listinge for further additions. More European shows should also join the line-up.

July 07, 2008Object 47 released today

Today sees the release of Object 47, Wire's 11th studio album. Following on from the well-received Read & Burn 03, it stands as a confident statement of where Wire are in 2008.

The album can be ordered now from Pinkflag mail-order, and the Object 47 page is now live on the website, including all of the album's texts.

June 10, 2008Festival Wire

There are quite a lot of reports online concerning Wire's last two shows. We have been reliably informed that over the course of two weekends we played to 17,500 people! Some of them appear to have written about it and photographed it... Amongst the "official" reports are Prefix Mag, Village Voice, Stereogum, Brainwashed, Billboard and QRO Magazine.

There are also of course a ton of youtube clips some of which (for the NYC show) can be reached from here and others (for Serralves in Porto) connected to here. There is doubtless more than can be found by judicious searching. If you find something good why not post it to the forum.

April 21, 2008Object 47 cover and release date

As Wire gears up to its first live dates in a few years, Object 47 is also nearing release. A sneak preview of the album's cover, designed by Jon Wozencroft, can be seen to the right, and a provisional release date of July 7 has been set.

Object 47 will be on sale later this year, direct from Pinkflag Mail Order and via record stores worldwide. Sign up to the mailing list to keep track of the latest Wire news.

April 06, 2008New Wire album details: Object 47

Wire is proud to announce that it has completed work on its 11th studio album, continuing the momentum that began with the band's 2006 reactivation and Read & Burn 03. Dubbed 'Object 47' - 47 representing its position as the 47th release in the Wire discography - the album finds Wire utilising the core writing partnership responsible for Pink Flag, Colin Newman and Graham Lewis. The latest release is described by the band as having "tunes with zoom", and this is best illustrated by the melodic and textural development already suggested by elements of last year's Read & Burn 03.

The full track-listing for the album is: One Of Us; Circumspect; Mekon Headman; Perspex Icon; Four Long Years; Hard Currency; Patient Flees; Are You Ready?; All Fours.

Object 47 will be on sale later this year, direct from Pinkflag Mail Order and via record stores worldwide. A final release date will be announced shortly, and so sign up to the mailing list to be the first to find out when the album will surface.

April 06, 2008Live Wire

As regular visitors to pinkflag.com will no doubt have realised, Wire now has a list of upcoming gigs in Europe. Those so far announced are just the initial dates showcasing a rejuvenated Wire, with the band fired-up after its lengthy hiatus from touring. Expect more gigs during 2008 to be announced in the coming weeks, not only in Europe (including London), but also in the USA. Again, ensure you're signed up to the mailing list to be the first to hear about upcoming gigs.

One announcement we can make right away, however, is that due to Bruce Gilbert's resignation from the group in 2004, upcoming Wire gigs will have Margaret Fiedler McGinnis augmenting the band on rhythm guitar. Known for her work in Laika (masterminds of one of the best Wire covers to date, the Whore version of German Shepherds), her live credentials are further enhanced by her being a part of PJ Harvey's touring band earlier in the decade.

March 06, 2008More gigs added

Today we are announcing some more dates for the late April / early May period.

These are: Ekko, Utrecht, Netherlands (April 30), Hedon, Zwolle, Netherlands (May 02) and Futuresonic Festival, Manchester, UK (May 03)

February 26, 2008 New Wire album in 2008

Critical and personal reception to Read & Burn 03 has been excellent, and while we are, due to reasons of copyright, unable to share full reviews with you, we have instituted a 'quote generator', which throws up a fresh quote each time one refreshes the front page of pinkflag.com. We are also pleased to announce that Wire is, of course, now well advanced in recording and mixing its 11th (as yet untitled) album, due for release later this year.

February 26, 2008 Gigs in the offing!

After a considerable absence from the live scene (the last show was at Benecassim, Spain in 2004), Wire is set to announce dates for new live shows this year. As yet unconfirmed dates will include European festivals during the summer season and a trip to North America in the autumn.

At this time, we are able to confirm the following early show dates: Stuk, Leuven, Belgium (April 29), 4AD, Diksmuide, Belgium (May 01, as part of their 20th anniversary), Nuits Sonores Festival, Lyon, France (May 07); The Nuits Sonores Festival is one Wire played previously, in 2004.

January 24, 2008 Pinkflag contact form

The contact form on this site has been doing some odd things over the past couple of weeks. If you have used it to send a message to Wire and have not received a reply, please resend your message. Apologies for the inconvenience.

January 08, 2008 Wire reach 14 on CMJ 200

Over the back end of 2007 Read & Burn 03 has been steadfastly scaling the USA based CMJ college radio charts and on the reporting of the week of January 8th 2008 has reached no 14. The chart, which is based on the playlists of the many highly influential College Radio stations, such as WUMD & KFAI, tends normally towards releases from newer bands so it is doubly amazing that Wire can continue to do well in such company.

December 15, 2007 New Track added to Free Downloads

The 3 minute 17 second "radio" edit of 23 Years Too Late from Read & Burn 03 is now available in the listen section of this site. This area carries tasters from most pinkflag releases ans well as a few exclusive unreleased items and best of all, the downloads are all free...

November 07, 2007 Pinkflag Christmas offers

In the weeks running up to Christmas 2007 Posteverything are offering special Christmas deals on either WIRE: On The Box 1979, The Scottish Play: 2004 or 'Live At The Roxy 1977 / CBGB 1978'.

To find out more go to the WIRE: On The Box, Scottish Play and Live - Xmas combo page on Posteverything.com.

Read & Burn 03 is also available digitally now, exclusively from the same source.

October 23, 2007 Read & Burn 03 release date moved forward!

The UK release date of "Read & Burn 03" which had been conservatively set at 12th November, due to worries about stock availability has now been moved forward to November, 5th, 2007. Those who have pre-ordered through Posteverything should receive their copies on or before this date.

October 22, 2007 Read & Burn 03 is on its way & now available for pre-order!

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, Read & Burn 03—the latest in Wire's series of 'research & development' vehicles—is finished, mastered, designed and in production for a November 5th UK release. Featuring four new tracks—23 Years Too Late/Our Time/No Warning Given/Desert Diving—and with a total running time of over 25 minutes, Read & Burn 03 is both a substantial chunk of audio and significant signposting in the third reactivation of Wire as a recording and live entity.

The EP is available for pre-order through Posteverything and, we would be happy if you spread the word that Wire is most definitely back! Please note: unlike previous Read & Burn releases, this item is intended as a complete standalone entity. None of the tracks will be included on the next full-length Wire album, so there are no excuses not to buy it!

October 21, 2007 Help promote Wire

In general, Pinkflag uses the same promotional tools as any label—press officers, mail-outs, etc.—but we often wonder if we're reaching the right people with such a scatter-gun approach. This is where you come in.: if you've ever opened your local paper and wondered why Wire never gets written about in the culture pages, you can help. Use our contact form to send us contact details (preferably email) of people who'd be likely to review a Wire release. If you're responsible for helping get some Wire press published, contact us and we'll give you the correct address to send a scan of a piece or a website link to; in return, we'll make available to you an exclusive download of a completely unreleased track!

September 12, 2007 CBGB's Wire photos on show in New York from the 19th

Eugene Merinov the photographer, who took photos of Wire at CBGB's in 1978 included in the gallery and who has been described as "the ultimate and sharpest visual recorder of the emerging & amazing post-punk scene" by Jack Rabid of Big Takeover, has a show of work entitled Press the Eject and Give Me the Film: The Photography of Eugene Merinov, 1977-1981 opening at Etheria in Manhattan on September 19th. The show runs until December 12th and also features images of, Bauhaus, Gang of Four, X, XTC, New Order, Monochrome Set, The Contortions, The Voidoids, Suicide, Pere Ubu, Lydia Lunch, Only Ones, Bush Tetras, the Ramones and many more. www.eugenemerinov.com

September 10, 2007 Graham Coxon performs Sand In My Joints at V Festival

Wire's favourite ex-Blur member Graham Coxon performed Sand In My Joints (originally on Chairs Missing) as an encore during his set at this year's V Festival. Footage has been posted on YouTube. While on the subject of YouTube, a video clip has been located with an impromptu although somewhat literal reading of Two People In a Room. It's, as you might imagine, two people, in a room...

September 3, 2007 Pinkflag.com relaunched!

After a period in the doldrums, Wire finally launch a brand-new expanded super version of pinkflag.com. We hope to make this version the best and most comprehensive resource for Wire fans possible! This version features brand new sections, including a gallery and a place to download MP3s from various Pinkflag releases, past present and future!

The site also carries a discography (each release has complete lyrics alongside), and a skeletal gigography. This section, we'd like to expand, so can you help? Were you at a Wire show at which you took pictures? Were you at one of the early shows marked with a question mark? Can you say for sure that a show thus marked did or didn't happen? Were you at a Wire show not mentioned? Or were you at a Wire show we weren't at? If the answer to any of the above is yes, we'd like to hear from you. Get in touch via the feedback form and help us make the site an even better resource for Wire fans.

Site design: www.snubcommunications.com.

August 8, 2007 Save water: shower with Wire!

Wilson Neate (who is currently engaged in the task of writing a book about Pink Flag for Continuum's 33 1/3 series) found, during his research, a BBC news story from last year about water shortages in Australia that contains a Wire mention. The article talks about singing short songs whilst showering in order to conserve water and, in a side-bar, lists Three Girl Rhumba as an example of something people might want to try. The BBC journalist obviously hadn't heard Field Day For The Sundays!

August 1, 2007 Digital availabilities

After a rather protracted period of R&D PostEverything has quietly launched its digital service in the last few days. Pinkflag releases may be found by going to www.posteverything.com/pinkflag or www.posteverything.com/wire.

The site has a lot of new features, most notably the radio (tip: log in to hear full-length clips) and, of course, plenty of releases by projects associated with Wire. However of most direct interest to Wire fans will be the fact that all the long out-of-print, early Pinkflag releases are now available in digital format. These include The Third Day, It's All In The Brochure, and Twelve Times You. Also, we are making available Wir's Vien, a CD originally released by Touch in 1997. This item will mark the first of our digital-only availabilities, something we will be exploring further in the fullness of time. All PostEverything digital files are LAME-encoded 320kbps DRM-free MP3s. Unfortunately, neither Pinkflag nor PostEverything currently have the rights to sell items originally on EMI or Mute, but we are working on possible solutions to this.

July 29, 2007 YouTube Wire: the 'alternative' videos

Alongside its MySpace Wire also has an official YouTube page, which is a little sparse as we only post videos we have rights to. However, YouTube has more to offer the interested Wire fan than excepts from On The Box tagged as 'rare punk video', or Mute-era videos recorded from MTV, because there is now a small industry of video 'interpretations' of Wire songs. By far the most popular title is Outdoor Miner of which there are three versions: one, two and three. Alongside are videos for Champs and the vaguely unsettling reading of Love Ain't Polite. However, the most fascinating must be the 1990 'disco' video for I Am The Fly, which manages to be lo-fi, funny, psychedelic and groovy all that the same time. Congrats to Gaz, Stu, Ian and Nay.

June 25, 2007 Wire gets 10000

That's 10000 friends, NOT years! In spite of the advanced years of Wire's members, its collective age doesn't yet add up to 10000, but today we reached 10000 MySpace friends.

8500 have been added since we 'liberated' the page in July 2006, and that's despite the fact we didn't put in any friend requests at all! Visit Wire's MySpace page.

March 25, 2007 Wire's Secret

Rather extraordinarily lingerie company Victoria's Secret launch a new television advertising campaign in the USA today for their Ipex bra sound-tracked by Wire's "I Don't Understand" (from Read & Burn 01). The advert will run for 1 week only in the USA.

March 7, 2007 Six-hour special on VPRO

Dutch national broadcaster VPRO will feature a three-hour special on Wire as part of their series on the 30th anniversary of punk. The show will be broadcast in two parts on the 5th and 8th of April. Immediately after broadcast, the shows will be available for on-demand streaming via www.concertzender.nl (April 8) and VPRO (April 5).

February 5, 2007 Wire in Rotterdam

Wire were in Rotterdam during the last week of January/first week of February recording at Frank Lievaart's Metropolis 22 studio. While no release formats or dates can be currently discussed, subscribers to the mailing list will be the first to hear about any results becoming available.

December 5, 2006 '70s Wire vinyl at PostEverything

The vinyl re-releases of the first three Wire albums—Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154—are now available by mail order at PostEverything. These remasters are on 180 gram vinyl, come in bags (with inner sleeves) that echo the mini-vinyls of the 1977-1979 box set and shout 'collectable'! PostEverything is offering the three together for a special price.

November 13, 2006 New '70s Wire release

The much awaited Live at The Roxy, London (1977)/Live at CBGB Theatre, New York (1978) album set is released today as a double CD, cunningly packaged to look like two separate albums in one pack. The album catches Wire live at two key moments in its history. The Roxy set documents Wire's debut as a four-piece at the punk club's 1977 'festival' over the nights of the 1st and 2nd of April; the CBGB Theatre set catches the band on its first and only '70s visit to the USA.

The timing of these releases, coming just after the sad closure of CBGB and just a few months ahead of the 30th anniversary of Wire's debut as a four-piece at the Roxy, was not a factor in their releases, but does provide a special context for these performances to reach a wider public.