Ocean Colour Scene announce 2023 UK tour

They play shows this August and December

Ocean Colour Scene UK tour
Author: Scott ColothanPublished 17th Mar 2023
Last updated 20th Mar 2023

Indie icons Ocean Colour Scene have lined up a new headline UK tour for 2023.

Alongside a series of previously announced festival performances, Ocean Colour Scene will play a trio of shows in August 2023 at Margate Dreamland, Bexhill De La Warr Pavilion and Halifax Victoria Theatre.

In December, the band hit the road again playing shows at Bournemouth Beacon, Bristol O2 Academy, Liverpool Uni Mountford Hall, Sheffield O2 Academy, Norwich UEA, Wolverhampton The Halls, London Eventim Apollo and Glasgow O2 Academy.

Ocean Colour Scene will perform their biggest hits and anthems, including 'The Riverboat Song', 'The Circle', 'Traveller’s Tune', 'Hundred Mile High City' and 'The Day We Caught The Train' across the two-leg tour.

Tickets go on sale from Absolute Radio Tickets at 10am on Friday 24th March.

Speaking about the upcoming shows, frontman Simon Fowler said, “After starting with a short run of dates in the summer, it’s going to be great ending the year on the road with Ocean Colour Scene, playing all the hits and more for some proper pre-Christmas partying with our fans who are the best in the land.”

Guitarist Steve Cradock adds: “This feels like the first proper tour Ocean Colour Scene have done in years. Last year we managed six dates because of the World Cup, and the year before Covid was still scaring people, so we are going to make it something special. Roll up, roll up for the magical OCS Tour!”

Drummer Oscar Harrison enthuses: “Looking forward to seeing everyone on tour – and we’re very happy that the final night will take place in Glasgow, a city with whom Ocean Colour Scene has always had a very special relationship.”

Ocean Colour Scene’s UK tour dates:

AUGUST 2023

Margate Dreamland – 18th

Bexhill De La Warr Pavilion – 20th

Halifax Victoria Theatre – 24th

DECEMBER 2023

Bournemouth Beacon – 3rd

Bristol O2 Academy – 4th

Liverpool Uni Mountford Hall – 11th

Sheffield O2 Academy – 12th

Norwich UEA – 14th

Wolverhampton The Halls – 15th

London Eventim Apollo – 16th

Glasgow O2 Academy – 18th

Buy Ocean Colour Scene tickets

Ocean Colour Scene UK tour

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99 in photos:

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

A couple sit in the mud at Woodstock 99 after water pipes burst on site. It's claimed the mud had traces of human faeces in it.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Litter is strewn across the Woodstock 99 site as attendees gather for the second day. It took three weeks to clean up the air base after the festival.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Two female attendees in the infamous mud at Woodstock 99.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Woodstock 99 attendees find a rare spot of shade to hide from the sun's blistering rays. Temperatures on the weekend reached 100°F (38°C). Sadly two people were reported to have died from heat-related causes over the weekend.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Fans washing up at one of the few locations with running water at Woodstock 99. The Netflix documentary features one fan explaining she contracted the delightful-sounding "trenchmouth" from the contaminated water supply.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

A mud-encrusted fan at Woodstock 99.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

A pine tree becomes a dumping ground for empty beer cups at Woodstock 99.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Woodstock 99 security – aka Peace Patrol – lift a crowd-surfing fan from the crowd. Criticism was levelled at the organisers for not employing enough security to deal with the quarter of a million strong crowd.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Festival goers rest among the litter at Woodstock 99. Multiple attendees in the Netflix documentary commented on the "filth" of the site, with little to no litter collection evident (much to the disgust of photographer Lisa Law who is filmed on a doomed mission to get festival-goers to collect it)

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Dozens of muddy Woodstock 99 goers gather at the main stage. An estimated $78,000 was spent on re-turfing the grass areas around the stages.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Attendees crowd surf on ripped down fencing boards at Woodstock 99. In the background can be seen the main sound tower, which was stripped of its fencing by the crowd during the festival.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst jumps onto a torn down fence panel at Woodstock 99.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Fred Durst on a fence panel during Limp Bizkit's performance at Woodstock 99. The band's performance of their anthem 'Break Stuff' was said by some to have aggravated the crowd to break the panels and boards around the site. Others point to the widespread logistical problems that led to the crowd feeling exploited by the festival setup.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland on stage during their Woodstock 99 set. Borland wore an early version of his makeup which would go on to become a key part of his outfits and the band's image. See a gallery of Wes Borland's costumes through the years here.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst says hello to the crowd from the stage at Woodstock 99.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Kid Rock dodges bottles and litter during his set at Woodstock 99.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Metallica's Kirk Hammett. Although barely mentioned in Netflix's 'Trainwreck: Woodstock 99', Metallica headlined the Saturday night. In an interview on site, Hammett describes the inflated prices associated with the festival as "Peace plus love = capitalism". Attendees reported that bottles of water which would have cost 60 cents outside the site were being sold for $4 inside, whilst temperatures exceeded 35°C (95°F).

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

A view of the main arena at Woodstock 99. Around 250,000 people attended over the weekend.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Peace Patrol security dealing with wave after wave of crowd surfers.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea performs naked at Woodstock 99.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

A man crowd surfing on a board at Woodstock 99.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Woodstock 99 attendees light peace candles, which were handed out by organisers on the Sunday night, intended as a gesture against gun crime. Moments later, fires erupted across the site as people began to light the piles of plastic bottles and fence panels.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

A man stands in a gas mask as fires blaze on the Sunday night at Woodstock 99.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Despite the widespread fires and carnage, a couple have a tender moment at Woodstock 99.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

A peace symbol on a flag starkly juxtaposes the bonfire backdrop at Woodstock 99.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Semi trailer trucks are set on fire at Woodstock 99. Propane gas bottles inside the trucks exploded, prompting panic on site, as crowds fled.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Attendees fuel fires with tables and litter on the Sunday night at Woodstock 99. Festival organisers claimed that the on-site fire fighters refused to leave their fire station to put out blazes, fearing the unruly crowd.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Fires rage on the Sunday night at Woodstock 99.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

Festival organisers John Scher (L) and Michael Lang (R) address the media at a press conference during the festival. Throughout the weekend in a series of tense press conferences the pair downplayed reported problems including price gouging, lack of water and food, lack of shade, violence, insufficient security and poorly planned festival infrastructure.

The chaos and carnage of Woodstock 99

State troopers in riot gear on site on Monday morning bring the carnage to a halt.

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