Arab Strap

Arab Strap celebrate 25 years of their album ‘Philophobia‘ at Future Yard on 9th June…. quietly. Not wanting to live too long in the past, yet still wanting to mark the key birthday of their seminal album, The Philophobia Undressed tour will feature the album in full, but straying away from the nostalgic decadence often found amongst album tours, will be performed by just the two core member of AS– Malcolm & Aidan with a guitar or two, some drum machines and probably a digital Mellotron – as the pair sing old songs about being young, in intimate surroundings and, in some cases, visiting towns they haven’t played in a long, long time.

Tickets on sale now.

“With a new album about halfway ready for release next year, we thought we could easily ignore our second album’s 25th birthday. But we find it hard to say no to Philophobia. If our first album was a ramshackle oddity filled with in-jokes and formerly private tape moments that we never expected to bother many ears, it was Philophobia where everything started to come together, when we began to realise making music might have a future for us, and the Arab Strap sounds and themes began to take shape. If you’ve seen us play in the past few years, you’ll know we still include quite a few of its songs in our set lists. These tunes seem to have endured, and it’s probably the only album we’d ever consider performing all the way through.

But, with our new forward-facing philosophy and 8th album on the way, we didn’t want to make too big a deal of it. We hummed, we hawed. Venues for a bells-and-whistles full-band Philophobia tour were on hold for a while, but those plans were abandoned because it just didn’t feel right and, as Aidan said on our last album, we don’t really give a fuck about the past. But, as we say, it’s hard to say no to Philophobia, and we couldn’t just let its 25th birthday shuffle by unmarked … so we’ve decided to celebrate it after all, but quietly.”

Future Yard presents
Arab Strap 
Philophobia Undressed Tour
+ support TBA
Friday 9th June 2023
75 Argyle Street
Doors 7.45pm
Tickets £25 advance
#thefutureisbirkenhead

Tickets available online in advance or in person at the Future Yard Box Office. Any remaining tickets will be available on the door.
Future Yard is a cashless venue – all payments are taken by contactless or chip and pin. Live curfew 11pm.
If you have any specific access requests, please read all of the details about accessibility at Future Yard here.