Reunited Ben Folds Five embark on UK tour

Known in the late 90s as the piano-led alternative to grunge, Ben Folds once described their music as “punk rock for sissies”. Comedy and tragedy were equally at home on their albums. 'Underground', their first single, was an upbeat, cabaret-style dissection of the underground indie rock world, while 'Brick', their biggest hit, was a boldly honest and melancholy tale of Folds' high school girlfriend undergoing an abortion. It was these shades of light and dark that made the band stand out from the angsty world of late 90s rock.

In 1999 the band released their 'final' album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, before breaking up in 2000. Folds has said about that album: “I think in a way it shows how naïve we were, and idealistic we were as a band to think the music business would care about us extending ourselves and developing and being something different, because that record was a failure – in almost every way that you can fail. As a commercial release, it didn’t sell up to anybody’s expectations; critically, it got sort of lukewarm reviews; and yet, I think that was our best work. I think it’s a great record."

Ben Folds went on to forge a successful solo career, recording and releasing several hit albums, working on film soundtracks, and even co-writing and producing William Shatner's “Has Been” album. But rumblings of the band getting back together began in 2008, culminating in a one-off concert where Ben Folds Five played their 'final' album in its entirety. Over the past few years, the band have been recording new material, and finally in 2012 have started playing live again in support of the brand-new album The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind. It's this tour that brings them to the UK for the first time in over a decade, and with their new video featuring the cast of Fraggle Rock, a night of 90s nostalgia is definitely on the cards.

Ben Folds Five tour dates:
O2 Academy Bristol (November 23)
Nottingham Rock City (24)
Dublin Vicar Street (26)
O2 Apollo Manchester (29)
O2 Academy Glasgow (30)
O2 Academy Leeds (December 1)
O2 Academy Birmingham (3)
O2 Academy Brixton (4)

Words: Matt Fawbert