Alabama 3 set for Birmingham gig
No-one imagined Alabama 3 would still be standing 20 years into their career – least of all themselves.
But the Brixton collective are still on the road and will headline Birmingham's O2 Institute on Thursday.
They will play songs from throughout their career, from 1997's debut, Exile On Coldharbour Lane, through to their 2013 and 2014 albums, The Men From W.O.M.B.L.E. and The Women From W.O.M.B.L.E.
The band will also be previewing songs from their 13th studio album, Blues. Recorded with the full band, Blues is a straight up rock 'n' roll record, full of chain gang clarion calls, bittersweet dope laments, sleazy whiskey rhythms and wailing harmonicas.
Founding member Larry Love, aka Rob Spragg, is proud the band have been bringing their prophetic and profane music for so long, which has fused techno and blues and made listeners question whether they are drug addicts or Christians.
He said: "If you read the Bible four times a day since an early age it always lives with you in your lyrics. I've got loads of words from the Bible.
"There's a few people who took it at face value. There's got to be an element of irony. Some people think we're too heavy, but we've been accused of being a novelty, hilarity band."
