Danny from Danny & The Champions of the World will be playing a special instore at Music’s Not Dead at the The De La Warr Pavilion to celebrate the release of the new album ‘YOU ARE NOT A STRANGER HERE’ which is out on the 18 October.
EVENT INFORMATION
This event will start at 3pm at Music’s Not Dead, the independent record store located in our main foyer.
Danny & the Champions of the World have today unveiled their new single ‘Sooner or Later’ Taken from their forthcoming album ‘You Are Not A Stranger Here,’ (out 18th October on Loose), the single is the follow up to last month’s single ‘I’m In Love’ and coincides with the announcement of a major UK tour in March, 2025. As previously revealed, Danny & the Champions of the World will perform at London’s The Garage on 2nd November with special guest Annie Dressner.
Their seventh studio release and first since 2017’s ‘Brilliant Light,’ ‘You Are Not A Stranger Here’ is the sound of a band exploring new and surprising musical terrain. Produced by Champs keyboard player Thomas Collison and featuring frontman Danny George Wilson’s most compelling songs to date, the album will be available on transparent vinyl, CD and download.
WATCH VIDEO TO NEW SINGLE ‘SOONER OR LATER’
LISTEN TO NEW SINGLE ‘SOONER OR LATER’
The old contradiction that in creating something intensely personal, you can share something inspiringly universal, is at the heart of a remarkable new album by Danny & the Champions of the World. ‘You Are Not A Stranger Here’ is a formidable body of work that dates back to 2007. It’s full of brilliantly cohesive performances that come together to reach a new creative peak, founded on the most reflective and deep-seated lyrics to date by frontman Danny George Wilson. It’s an intricate and beguiling tapestry of highly-crafted sounds by a band at the top of their game and a songwriter on an honest and unpretentious quest for some truth. If that sounds potentially dark and doom-laden, the results are anything but, on a record that’s deeply relatable, infectious and moving.
UK DATES
2024
Sat 2 November London The Garage (special guest Annie Dressner)
2025
Wed 12 March Cardiff Acapela Studios
Thu 13 March Oxford Jericho
Sat 15 March Exeter Phoenix
Sun 16 March Birmingham Hare & Hounds
Tue 18 March Nottingham Angel Microbrewery
Wed 19 March Manchester Gulliver’s
Thu 20 March Leeds Brudenell
Fri 21 March Glasgow Hug & Pint
Sat 22 March Gosforth Civic Theatre
Sun 23 March Birkenhead Future Yard
Wed 26 March Norwich Arts Centre
Thu 27 March Guildford The Keep
Fri 28 March Bristol Louisiana
Sat 29 March Brighton Green Door Store
Sun 30 March Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Fri 4 April Chelmsford Social Club
Tickets go on general sale HERE on Friday 13 September at midday
It’s also drawn career-best performances from long running Champs members such as Collison, guitarist Paul Lush, pedal steel player Henry Senior, drummer Steve Brookes and saxophonist ‘Free Jazz’ Geoff Widdowson, alongside equally fine contributions from Daniel Hawkins on bass and a second saxophone player, Lachlan Wilson, who is Danny’s uncle, based in the family’s native Australia. On ‘The Robot Cries’ in particular, Wilson Sr. evokes the freewheeling spirit of Mel Collins with Dire Straits, Andy Mackay on Roxy Music’s Avalon or Raphael Ravenscroft winding his way down to ‘Baker Street.’ “That space is all there,” says Wilson. “The bed is synths, piano, bass, drums, and then Lushy’s got all the sky in the world. He’s kind of the David Gilmour of the record and Henry is the Robert Fripp.”
‘You Are Not A Stranger Here’ also has its own subtle concept. “The way the record is laid out is across a day,” explains Danny. “You hear the weather report in the morning and then you’re immediately into this question of ‘I know what I’m doing, but I don’t know why I’m doing it anymore. As it goes through the day, you get the commute, the hold message from a call centre and finally ending the day back home with ‘Sooner or Later.'” The theme is embellished by some beautifully expressive mood pieces such as ‘Kicking Tyres’ and deft, inter-song soundscaping by Collison. Both ‘The Robot Cries’ and the valedictory ‘Sooner or Later’ will soon be augmenting the band’s stockpile of singalongs. ‘Sooner or Later’ is definitely our stab at doing a ‘Modern Love,’ ’80s Bowie thing,” notes Danny. “I totally love it. We did a tour in Spain recently and that was our encore, and it went down an absolute storm.”
More than a quarter-century since Wilson emerged with his brother Julian at the helm of the much-loved Grand Drive, he acknowledges the step change in his approach to his song craft this time. “I think it’s one of those records where you suddenly think, you’re not old but you’re not a kid anymore, and you wake up and go, ‘What’s this all about? The songs don’t profess to know anything. In fact, they’re a lot less self-assured than all of the previous thirty years of songs. I’m looking in the mirror a bit here.”
“As a result, it’s a weird mix of looking at yourself and looking at the world. There’s nostalgia in there, and there’s regret. I’d been reading and talking about lots of things that maybe you don’t do so much when you’re young. Not the big questions, but you find yourself going ‘Sorry, can we just stop and think ‘What’s the point here?’ And I guess the title of the album is reflective of that.” ‘You Are Not A Stranger Here’ grew out of extensive discussions among the Champs, and between Wilson and Collison in particular, about what type of album they wanted to make, and how it needed to reflect Danny’s far-reaching set of recent sonic and literary fuel. “I made a playlist that I shared with the band, and I was constantly adding to it,” he says, adding with a laugh: “No, I didn’t test them. But it wouldn’t have taken more than a few songs for them to realise ‘OK, the terrain is different here.’
Circling back to that contradiction between the intensely personal and the inspiringly universal, Danny concludes “These aren’t huge epiphanies. They’re little things that you’ve suddenly realised about yourself, about life and the weirdest thing is that by singing about not trying to be universal, these are possibly the most universal things I’ve ever written.”
‘You Are Not A Stranger Here’ Track Listing:
Talking a Good Game (5.01)
Kicking Tyres (8.57)
Last Exit (1.16)
Every Door You Have Ever Opened (0.53)
I’m in Love (5.47)*
Future Past (5.28)*
In Search of Koji (1.08)
The Robot Cries (6.37)
The Poetics of Space (2.48)
Sooner or Later (5.57)
Please note that Booking Fees apply on the following transactions:
Online: Tickets booked online are subject to booking fees when purchased through our website. E-tickets are emailed instantly on the account you have registered with DLWP, please check your Junk folder if they don’t arrive within 30 minutes. Customers can also download their tickets through our website within ‘My Account’.
Telephone: £3.50 per transaction + £2 postage or free collection at the Box Office.
In Person: There are currently no charges for booking tickets in person.
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Full terms and conditions can be found here.
Book online: Pre-show dining can be booked online as an add-on when purchasing tickets for selected events. You will be purchasing a ticket to guarantee your meal before the show.
Please note you must be a ticket holder to the show to book pre-show dining.
Already booked your tickets? If you’ve already booked tickets for a show and would like to add dining, please contact Box Office: boxoffice@dlwp.com
On the night: If you have pre-booked please come to the bar to order from the gig menu and sit at one of the reserved tables.
Please be aware that we operate no re-entry for gigs. This means that once you have entered the building, you cannot go out and re-enter. This policy is in line with other major music venues across the UK and put in place on police advice. No re-entry is clearly signposted as you come through security on the front door.
There is a fenced-off area on the terrace for people who go out to smoke or vape.
There are plenty of welcoming and good value B&Bs & boutique hotels in Bexhill. The De La Warr Pavilion regularly uses the following:
- By Rail
Direct trains go from London Victoria, Brighton and Ashford to Bexhill.
There are also trains from London Charing Cross, changing at St. Leonards Warrior Square and from London Bridge or Charing Cross going to Battle. Battle is only a short taxi journey away (15 mins approx).
Visit www.nationalrail.co.uk for up-to-date train travel information. - Taxis
Town Taxis: 01424 211 511
Parkhurst Taxis: 01424 733 456 - By Car
If driving from the London area:
Take the M25, then A21 to Hastings. Turn off at John‘s Cross and follow the signs to Bexhill.
OR
Take the A22 to Eastbourne, go across the Bishop roundabout to the A271 and follow the signs to Bexhill and the seafront. The De La Warr Pavilion is on the Marina.
From the Brighton area:
Follow the A27 out of Brighton until you arrive in Bexhill On Sea. - Parking
Please be aware the Rother District car park outside the De La Warr Pavilion operates paid parking until 7pm. After this time parking is free.
Within the limits of this Grade One listed building, the De La Warr Pavilion strives to be fully accessible with a range of facilities to support your visit.
If you have specific access needs for a daytime visit or for a bookable event, please email customerservice@dlwp.com or call 01424 229111
Current facilities are:
- Assistance Dogs are permitted into the building (not in the carpeted area of the Café Bar)
- Ramped access at the front of the building
- A low counter at the Box Office and Information Desk
- Disabled toilets on two floors
- A lift to all floors
- Accessible galleries on both floors
- An accessible Café
- Spaces for wheelchairs in the auditorium for seated events – please note that currently our balcony seating is not accessible for wheelchairs/walkers.
- Ramped access in the auditorium for events during the day
- Ramped access into the Studio
- Two travel wheelchairs are available for use at the De La Warr Pavilion. To reserve, please call our box office and information desk on (01424) 229111 or ask a member of staff on arrival. The chairs are provided on a first come, first served basis and are intended for use inside the Pavilion. Please contact us for more information.
Facilities for blind or visually-impaired
- Large print season brochures
Facilities for the hard-of-hearing
- An T-Switch induction loop in some areas of the auditorium (please indicate when booking as this facility is not available on the balcony)
- British Sign Language interpretation tours of the building and exhibitions are available on request.