The tour takes in 17 dates across the UK and Ireland during February and March, including a London show at Shepherds Bush Empire. Support at all shows comes from THE PROFESSIONALS.
Coming together in the West London district of Southall in 1977, The Ruts sound fundamentally fused rabble-rousing punk with the dub-reggae influence of their surroundings. Their classic debut single 'In A Rut' was released at the start of 1979 on People Unite Records, the label owned by friends and neighbours MISTY IN ROOTS.
Their pioneering debut album The Crack was released on Virgin that autumn and is rightly regarded as one of the most important releases of the immediate post-punk - and indeed punk - era. Driven by a string of hit singles in 'Babylon' Burning', 'Something That I said' and the reggae-fuelled 'Jah War', The Ruts were poised for major international success, only for their plans to be disrupted by the sudden death of charismatic frontman Malcolm Owen from a heroin overdose in July 1980.
Having played a benefit for guitarist Paul Fox, who was suffering from terminal cancer, in 2007, with Henry Rollins taking Owen's role, surviving members Segs Jennings and Dave Ruffy decided to continue with The Ruts DC, recruiting guitarist Leigh Hegarty for the critically acclaimed album Music Must Destroy in 2016.
Celebrating the released of The Crack in 2019, the band will be performing the album live onstage in its entirety for the very first time, and in doing so will be paying tribute to Owen and Fox.
"It’s always been important to us to be a current and forward-thinking band, releasing and playing new material whilst being proud of our past,” states Segs. “A milestone to many, The Crack is an important piece of work to us too. We now feel ready to celebrate where we came from.”
“Making The Crack was a real game changer for me,” continues Ruffy. “The Ruts were a band that were greater than the sum of their parts and wrote music inspired by everything we had ever heard. It’s a piece of work that I am immensely proud to have been a part of. Now forty years on we will be playing the album in its entirety, it’s quite a challenge as some of the songs have not been played since 1980! Our legacy is large, and we are and will continue working hard to make this a great show.”
Full dates are as follows...
11th Feb Phoenix Exeter
12th Feb Concorde 2 Brighton
13th Feb O2 Ritz Manchester
15th Feb 02 Institute 2 Birmingham
16th Feb 02 Academy 2 Sheffield
17th Feb The Junction Cambridge
18th Feb 02 Academy Oxford
20th Feb Waterfront Norwich
21st Feb Riverside Newcastle
22nd Feb Garage Glasgow
23rd Feb Tunnels Aberdeen
24th Feb Liquid Rooms Edinburgh
26th Feb Rescue Rooms Nottingham
27th Feb SWX Bristol
28th Feb O2 Shepherds Bush Empire London
2nd Mar Button Factory Dublin, IE
3rd Mar Limelight Belfast
Tickets go on sale at gigsandtours.com and ticketmaster.co.uk on Friday 29 June.
Check out The Ruts playing 'Jah War' live in Paris....
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