The Chemical Brothers are back with a new album and a massive UK arena tour that's rapidly selling out — including a date right here in Leeds.
Having just released their new record, For That Beautiful Feeling — the tenth studio album in a career spanning nearly thirty years, they've already back out on the road and are soon to rock back up to Yorkshire.
The electronic duo will be playing Leeds' First Direct Arena on Saturday, 28 October and ahead of the huge headline gig we had the opportunity to chat with one-half of The Chemical Brothers, Ed Simons.
Discussing all things past, present and future for the pair, it was an honour to chat with one of the biggest exports the British music scene has ever produced.
Back with more block rockin' beats and another massive UK tour
So, how much are you looking forward to being back touring new music?
 "It's good to be going back indoors — it's a big thing, you know, we play a lot of festivals; most of them are good but you get a much better sound [inside] and everyone's in the same place and, hopefully, in the zone.
"[Post-Covid] A lot of people have still missed out on their first experiences of big loud music and big raucous crowds. Maybe some people are waiting to let go again and thrust into it."
As for the album, first since 2019, what can you tell us about the direction you've gone in?
"Yep, well with performing live we really want to play the new music and just rest on what we've done before, we want to incorporate the two. It's exciting for us. People have heard some of [the record] at summer festivals but now it's is out there are lots of people that want to experience it for themselves.
"There's always a core thing: some kind of secret thing between us about what we like about our music. It's not so much a secret as it is the effect it has on other people but, hopefully, it's evolving and the sound is still fresh. We don't ever want people to say, 'Oh, it's just another Chemical Brothers record', there has to be some quality to it.
"It's a pretty rousing album and has the sense of people waking up again out of a long period where things still are difficult for a lot of people, but that sense of fragmentation that we went through in the lockdowns and what it's like to come out of that.
"We made a lot of music in that period, but we've kind of concentrated on the stuff that feels the most rousing and has a bit of get up and provocation to feel alive again."
https://youtu.be/Jm_WdaHBdlg
The Chemical Brothers are bringing the new music to Leeds in a month's time
Absolutely — the new singles like 'No Reason' definitely tap into that energy. What's the reaction been like so far?
"Yeah, it's been good. We had bits of and then had a sort of pressure to put it together into something we could play because we were about to DJ at fabric [in London] a few years ago at a charity gig for a friend of ours and the first time we played it at a club, even a really early version of it, you could feel it had an energy and sounded different. Great bassline too.
"It's been rewarding and it's been a really big live track for us this summer and we do a kind of live edit of it, which is fun and fresh.
"The track 'Tell Me I'm Dreaming' has also been a really big track. The visual that Flat Nose George [real name Adam Smith] and Marcus [Lyall] put together for that is really crazy, and, yeah, that's been going down really well. I think that could be pretty huge when played indoors.
"We've had versions of it for a long time, but I think the first time we played it was actually at The Warehouse Project in 2021, I think? You know, when things were picking up again and it just immediately had that impact with the loops and the vocal...
"A few DJs have been playing it like Erol Alkan now too, so yeah, it's kind of a big club track — a strange one but it works."
The kind of light shows the Leeds crowd can expect come October (Credit: The Chemical Brothers via Instagram)
The early days of The Chemical Brothers and how they got together
Tell us a little bit about the early days and how you and Tom [Rowland] came to meet at uni.
"We at the University of Manchester in 1989. We met really early on, pretty much the first week through a mutual friend. We were on this tiny little course on medieval history, so there weren't many of us, and then I think we were talking about wanting to play the Haçienda, which at that time was the big thing and we'd all heard about it.
"So yeah, we just kind of became friends because we were the only people in this course and we just wanted to go to the Haçienda and I think we ended up going every Friday from September to Christmas. We were just so into the music that Mike Pickering and Graeme Park were playing, and just the whole atmosphere. We also loved buying records together.
"Tom was actually in another band at the time called Ariel, so our thing was just DJing together at first and then after making some more friends about a year into our course we started putting on these nights around town and we got really friendly with a lot of local DJs.
"We used to buy some really brilliant records that Richard 'Moonboots' would put aside for us and then when we came to London, we were suddenly DJing and playing all these cool records that no one else had heard...
"Without those times, we wouldn't be coming back here to do big Arena gigs like this all these years later.
British-based reggae band UB40 are coming to Leeds for a celebration of all their greatest hits live at First Direct Arena.
Formed in Birmingham in the late 70's, this predominantly dub and reggae band has gone onto achieve much success including 50 UK charting singles.
UB40 have also sold over 100 million records as well as keeping a consistent line-up for almost 30 years, before lead vocalist Ali Campbell decided to leave the band.
Now, the band's lead vocalist is former Kioko lead singer Matt Doyle, who's taken on this role since mid-2021 and is ready to soundtrack your night while you enjoy some 'Red Red Wine'.
There's no official setlist confirmed for their latest tour, however, this 11-piece band have played an array of European dates with a pretty consistent roster of tracks:
Here I Am (Come and Take Me)
Maybe Tomorrow
Homely Girl
Sing Our Own Song
One in Ten
Home
Please Don't Make Me Cry
Many Rivers to Cross
Higher Ground
The Way You Do the Things You Do
I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
Cherry Oh Baby
Johnny Too Bad
Red Red Wine
Food For Thought
Forever True
Kingston Town
Can't Help Falling in Love
What are the stage times for UB40 in Leeds?
Anyone up for seeing UB40 play out at Leeds' impressive over 13,500 seater First Direct Arena will have to get there a tad early.
Doors will open at 6pm with a gig start time of 6.45pm due to the special guests who will be taking to the stage before them.
Make sure you get down early as you really won't want to miss the phenomenal duo Aswad, as well as standout vocalist Maxi Priest - It really is a reggae revolution.
Located on Dyer Street next to Leeds City Bus Station and approx. 15min walk from first direct arena and is wheelchair friendly.
Support and help for any persons with a disability is available as the station is a registered ‘Safe place’ to come into and ask for assistance.
Nearest Bus Stops
Clay Pit Lane
Wade Lane/Lovell Park Road
Woodhouse Lane
Nearest Train Station
Leeds City Station on New Station Street is around a 15min walk from first direct arena and a major hub on the national, regional and local rail network providing connections to a wide variety of destinations.
Parking
There are over 7,500 car parking spaces within a 15-minute walk of the arena. The arena doesn’t have it’s own car park however there are lots of options nearby. To receive 5% off Q Park when attending a show at first direct arena click here
The nearest Car Park with EV charging is located on Albion Street click here.
None of the above car parks are operated by the arena so for questions, queries or comments we ask that you contact the companies directly.
Hiring Bikes in LeedsÂ
If you’re looking to hire a bike in Leeds, here are some of the best options you can try:
Beryl bikes – you’ll find the ‘Leeds City Bikes’ from Beryl stationed throughout the city. These are all e-bikes, and they’re available to hire on a pay-as-you-go basis. It costs £1 to unlock the bikes, and then 16p per minute to use them. We’d say these are great for zipping around the city and getting from A to B.
Talio – for a wider selection of electric bikes to choose from, Talio based at Buslinthorpe Green is a great option. From this company, you can hire cruiser bikes, mountain bikes, and cargo bikes. Prices start from £20 per day for rental, but if you’re hiring for a month or longer you’ll get a good discount.
Featured Images - Press Shot (Mara Publicity via supplied)
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Iconic band Blossoms set for BIG return to Leeds Festival this year
Thomas Melia
Stockport-originating band Blossoms have just announced their big return to Leeds Festival, as the four-day music event continues to impress with its stacked line-up.
They might have a 'Joke About Divorce' from time to time but when it comes to entertaining a Leeds Festival crowd, Blossoms take it very seriously, playing at Bramham Park three times in the past decade.
This band have captivated audiences since the rise of standout track 'Charlemagne' and more recently with the addition of their fifth album studio album, Gary, named after an eight-foot-tall gorilla.
Known for always putting on a stellar performance, Tom, Joe, Charlie, Myles and Josh are bringing a brand-new set to Leeds when they pay us a visit this August.
As well as releasing new music, Blossoms are making a big return to Leeds Festival 2026 / Credit: Publicity Picture (Supplied)
Currently, Leeds Festival 2026 has seven headline acts spanning all genres from Dance and EDM to Pop and Rap with the likes of Charli XCX, Raye, Dave and more topping the bill.
The Stockport five-piece are featured alongside three other insane artists as 'Special Guests', appearing next to Skepta, Sombr and Role Model.
Also listed on the line-up are rising stars like R&B vocal powerhouse Skye Newman, pop princess Jade, Merseyside indie rockers The K's and Wigan-formed The Lilacs with more to be announced.
Although nothing is confirmed yet, this upcoming Leeds Festival set from Blossoms will contain high energy and obviously all their biggest and best bangers from across their four chart topping albums as well as new music.
Leeds Festival 2026 is set to be a belter with the addition of Stockport band Blossoms returning for a fourth time / Credit: Publicity Video (Supplied)
Whether you're there for 'Your Girlfriend' or 'What Can I Say After I'm Sorry', one thing's for sure, you're guaranteed to have an absolutely spectacular night.
Blossoms are making their big return to Leeds Festival 2026 which is taking place from 27 to 30 August at Bramham Park with tickets live HERE.
Danny Jones -
26th September 2023 
