HARD-Fi announced their first live show for 2024. The Staines band will play London’s Roundhouse on Saturday, November 30th 2024. Tickets are on sale this Friday, 1st December, at 10 am (HERE). Fan pre-sale begins Wednesday, November 29th. Sign-up HERE.
Earlier this year, HARD-Fi made a triumphant festival return at Victorious Festival over the August bank holiday weekend, playing to over 60,000 people. Followed soon after with an outstanding 13-date nationwide tour in October ’23 – their first tour in a decade -that included a sold-out show at London’s Troxy. Over the course of the tour, they previewed some new songs in the works, a taster of things to come in 2024! Next year’s London show will be their first time headlining at the iconic Camden venue, the Roundhouse.
Speaking about the announcement, frontman Richard Archer says, “Very excited for HARD-Fi to be playing this iconic venue for the first time; I have great memories of appearing there with Paul Weller for The Electric Proms back in the day – who’s up for it!?”
Having made their debut with the Mercury Prize-shortlisted Stars Of CCTV in 2005, the four-piece proved progressive yet accessible, as with its tales of high street life, club-driven weekends and keeping your head above water on the breadline, the album yielded five Top 40 singles.
Stars Of CCTV itself reached No.1 and has since gone double platinum in the UK alone. Their second studio LP, Once Upon A Time In The West, also topped the charts, while its lead single, Suburban Knights, became a Top 10 hit and a firm life favourite at festivals around the globe.
The third album, Killer Sounds, boasted tracks produced by Stuart Price, Greg Kirsten, Andy Grey and HARD-Fi’s long-term producer and collaborator Wolsey White. It was a Top 10 hit, too.
Having played one of the longest residencies at O2 Academy Brixton (a feat they share with the likes of Bob Dylan, The Clash and The XX) after the band performed at the landmark London venue for five nights straight in 2006, HARD-Fi’s shows have been consistently praised by critics and gig-goers alike for living up to good times invoked by their anthemic single, “Living For The Weekend”.
Though regularly heard over the years, calls for HARD-Fi’s return became particularly vocal during the 2020 lockdown after Richard Archer staged a solo, livestream show for charity from his home, performing the group’s acclaimed debut album, Stars Of CCTV in full.
Once live music returned, a show with the full original HARD-FI of Archer, Kai Stephens (bass), Steve Kemp (drums) and Ross Phillips (guitar) seemed a logical next step, not only due to the fan’s clamour but also down to way in which the Staines-based group’s influence has been increasingly being felt on a new generation of artists who similarly fuse dancefloor-friendly grooves and beats with words that candidly chart modern life.
In addition, supporters of Brentford FC were regularly regaled by the band’s 2005 single, “Hard To Beat”, as the team made its way up to the Premier League for the first time ever.
And so, after a lengthy hiatus, the influential band returned to the stage in October 2022, selling out the O2 Kentish Town Forum in under 10 minutes. After an incredible set at Victorious Festival this summer and a brilliant UK tour in October 2023, next year’s Roundhouse show will continue to attest to HARD-Fi’s prowess as a killer live band.
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