The Long Blondes have reformed for a handful of live shows as they continue to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their debut ‘Someone To Drive You Home‘.

2021 marked the milestone, with Rough Trade re-issuing their classic as a deluxe version at the tail end of last year. Now, the Sheffield duo will extend the celebrations into 2022.

Kate Jackson (lead vocals) and Dorian Cox (lead guitar and keyboards) have today (June 8) announced a handful of new gigs, which will be the first time that they’ve performed together as band since splitting up in 2008.

The original line-up was comprised of Jackson, Cox, Reenie Hollis (bass guitar and backing vocals), Emma Chaplin (rhythm guitar, keyboards and backing vocals) and Screech Louder (drums).

Jackson said in a statement [via Clash]: “I can’t wait to stand on stage and look over at Dorian while we perform our songs again for the first time since 2008. Something I thought would never happen.

“The reaction to the 15th anniversary reissue of ‘Someone To Drive You Home’ convinced us both that we had to play it live and we have spent the last six months reworking the songs as a duo using a lot of junk shop synths and electronic sounds. We’re so excited to be back.”

It’s not known at this stage if new music is on the horizon. Earlier this year, a new track of theirs featured in Jackson’s art installation at Leicester’s LCB Depot.

The Long Blondes 2022 tour dates (find any remaining tickets here):

JULY
16 – Bury St Edmunds The Hunter Club (SOLD OUT)

AUGUST
04 – Ramsgate Music Hall
12 – Hebden Bridge Trades Club (SOLD OUT)
19 – 21 Green Man Festival (SOLD OUT)

The band’s 2006 debut was hailed by NME and described “as fantasy pop, performed to perfection”.

Our review added: “With a music scene awash with [Arctic Monkeys copyists], such gritty realism is a welcome relief. The Long Blondes have had enough of life-kicking around takeaway trays on the streets of Planet Earth. Instead, they’ve made a record that’s in a world of its own.”

The Long Blondes released a follow-up album, ‘Couples‘, in 2008 but split up that same year after Cox suffered a stroke.