Funeral For A Friend call it a day, announce final tour

Welsh post-hardcore band Funeral for a Friend were one of the genre’s most enduring; but after (nearly) fifteen years, and seven studio albums - most re...

Welsh post-hardcore band Funeral for a Friend were one of the genre’s most enduring; but after (nearly) fifteen years, and seven studio albums - most recently this January’s ‘Chapter and Verse’ - they’ve decided to call it a day.

“I guess the main reason behind it is time,” lead vocalist Matthew Davies-Kreye tells Upset. “Fourteen and a half years is way longer than any of us considered this band would exist for, and to have pretty much ticked off all the ‘musical bucket list’ options we had was good. We made a record that we loved and we felt that it marked a full stop for us, it was us coming full circle again and that really gave us a sense of closure so it felt like the right move.”

It’s something the band have been considering for a while - “on and off since we finished recording ‘Chapter and Verse’,” in fact. “I think we all felt that record was a full stop and to try to continue past it was a bit pointless.

“We didn’t articulate it fully until last Christmas. I felt that I had done everything I could do in Funeral and it felt time for me to move on and as it turns out everyone else felt the same way.”

The band’s last hurrah will take the form of a tour early next year, which will see them play a rotation of two different sets on a run of dual nights in Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and London.

“We decided that we’d like to play both [2005 album] ’Hours’ and [2003 debut] ’Casually Dressed…’ one last time as both those records really stand as a testament to what Funeral is in a nutshell.

“There will be a few surprises along the way but only those who want to come along to say goodbye to this band will get to find out what those are.”

“We’re not a complicated band,” Matt continues, “we don’t like pomp or over dramatic theatrics. I’ve always believed if you can’t captivate an audience with just the music and the 4/5 people on stage giving it everything then there’s no point.

“That’s just me I guess. We’ll have one final statement to make after Shepherd’s Bush, but that’s something we’ll divulge near the end.

“There’s nothing left to give [in terms of new material], we gave everything during the last record and our Hell Is For Heroes cover was the last time we’ll step inside a studio together. That’s crazy to think, but it’s cool as one of our very first shows was opening for that band. It’s fitting that our last piece of recorded material would be that.”

The ‘Last Chance To Dance’ Tour will feature an ‘Hours’ show one night followed by a ‘Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation’ show the next in each and every city the band play. Tickets are on sale from Friday 18th September at 10am. The dates read:

FEBRUARY
11 Brisbane, The Brightside
12 Brisbane, The Brightside
13 Sydney, Oxford Art Factory
14 Sydney, Oxford Art Factory
16 Melbourne, Richmond Central Club
17 Melbourne, Richmond Central Club

MARCH
23 Hamburg, Knust
24 Hamburg, Knust
25 Berlin, Magnet
25 Berlin, Magnet
28 Munich, Kranhalle
29 Munich, Kranhalle
30 Wiesbaden, Schlachtof
31 Wiesbaden, Schlachtof

APRIL
2 Cologne, Luxor
3 Cologne, Luxor
5 Cardiff, Y Plas
6 Cardiff, Y Plas
8 Manchester, The Ritz
9 Manchester, The Ritz
10 Glasgow, Garage
11 Glasgow, Garage
13 Birmingham, Institute
14 Birmingham, Institute
15 London, O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
16 London, O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

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