The Overtones release Say A Little Prayer from forthcoming album

There’s a much-loved thread that runs through from the earliest days of popular music; the idea of male voices blending in delicious harmony. It goes right back – The Ink Spots in the ‘30s and ‘40s, the 1950s doo-wop boom, the explosion of Motown – but also continues right to the present day in the way the likes of Bruno Mars, Sam Smith and Pharrell Williams interact with their vocal collaborators. Bedded deep in this tradition for the last decade have been The Overtones.

With their innate charm and adherence to vintage-modernist style, The Overtones are a bridge between pre-rock’n’roll classicism and lively 21^st Century entertainment. They’ve sold over a million albums, made countless TV appearances and filled venues to capacity on tour after tour, all the while building a relationship with their fans that has real depth and devotion. When tragedy struck the band this year with the death of one of their own, Timmy Matley, they drew strength from their fans and their fans drew strength from them. And now The Overtones are exploding back into action with an extensive tour and a new album, their sixth. It’s entitled simply The Overtones.

“It’s our first album in six years not to have a theme,” explains the group’s Mike Crawshaw, “In the past we’ve often come up with album concepts with our producer Julian Hinton, like the cinema-themed ‘Saturday Night at the Movies’ or the soul album, ‘Sweet Soul Music’, but, ultimately, this time the concept is The Overtones themselves. It’s a celebration of everything that’s happened to us, dedicated to the friend and brother we’ve lost.”

The new album, however is not a maudlin affair. It’s seasoned with moments of sadness but also contains songs of joyous affirmation such as the band’s own gospel-soul banger ‘Stand Up’ or the frivolous, frolicking version of ‘Rockin’ Robin’. It’s the sound of a band on the up, bouncing back, ready for the fray. And anyone who’s been to an Overtones concert knows that they like to bring the party. When they hit the stage in November, on a tour that runs for a month-and-a-half, anyone present will be entertained. That’s the tradition they come from and they’re certainly not about to stop now. That, and a devotion to the timeless appeal of male vocal harmonies.

The group’s 24 concert UK tour starts on November 22^nd at Watford Colosseum and ends with a special festive show at London’s Indigo at the O2 on December 20^th 2018. Promising “a night to remember” the group will be joined on stage by their band to perform favourites from their previous Top 10 albums as well as songs from the new record. Tickets for the tour are available from gigsandtours.com with VIP packages from sjm-vip.com.