Kid Creole & The Coconuts have announced their ‘The Creolian Bye Bye Birdy’ farewell tour which sees the colourful zoot suited August Darnell aka ‘The Kid’ and his chums signing off with dates across the UK this June.
The tour will run from 18th to 29th June and they will be calling in at Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Bath, Guildford, Sunderland, Edinburgh and Glasgow. However, they have added one more later date and this will see a welcome return to the Chalk venue in Brighton on Friday 15th August.
It’s here last year on 19th July that Kid Creole & The Coconuts played a blinder of a gig and of course we were there to report on proceedings – Read our account of that night HERE.
Let’s hear what the man himself, Kid Creole (August Darnell), has said about this farewell UK tour:
Hello Music Lovers of all ages and persuasions. Welcome to the Lifeboat Party! 15 years ago, I said it was time for me to retire. I lied. It was not. 10 years ago, I said, “Now it is truly time for me to retire!” I lied. It was not. Now, it is 2025. I’m not going to say it again. I’m just going to do it. It’s been an amazing journey from my little neighbourhood in the Bronx to every continent in the world. I could not have done it without one major companion – MUSIC.
It is very fitting that the first ‘Bye Bye Birdy Tour’ should take place in Great Britain because I am told that is where the first ‘foreign’ Kid Creole and the Coconuts Tour took place in 1981. I say ‘I am told’ because I have no recollection of such details. I trust the OTHERS who have better memories. And I say ‘foreign’ because the band was born in New York City. The music will live on. Of this I am certain. It is ageless.
May I introduce the cast? Of course. I am not alone on that stage. I am extremely fortunate to have by my side:
Coconut – Roos Van Roosum
Coconut – Charlotte De Graaf
Coconut – Kristina Hanford
M.D./ Keys – Mike Gorman
Keys – Tim Vine
Bass – Otto Williams
Guitar – Jamie McCredie
Guitar – Mark Anthony Jones
Drums – Dave Imbue
Trombone – Barnaby Dickinson
Saxophone – Edgar Jones
Trumpet – Nathan Bray
I can guarantee two things: We’re gonna have a funky good time. And you’re gonna find out who Annie’s Daddy really is. At last.
HaChaChaCha!
Tropical Gangsterly Yours,
The Kid
Tickets for the June tour dates can be located HERE.
Tickets for the Brighton concert at Chalk on Friday 15th August are on sale now and can be purchased HERE and HERE.
Support for this concert will come from Brighton based DJ Mike Panteli of Sweet Grooves, Heart, and Capital fame.
