Without a doubt, the hardest working band in the melodic rock/AOR community stalwart UK rockers FM are back with a new album, ‘Thirteen’ set to drop March 18th, 2022 via Frontiers Music. The first single, ‘Waiting On Love’ is another in a string of seemingly effortless melodic gems for which FM have made their name and whets the appetite rather nicely for the new record. As this is FM, they’ll naturally be touring in support of ‘Thirteen’ with UK and European shows already on the books. Those tour dates and more about FM and the new record follow:
Album pre-order link
orcd.co/thirteen
signed copies available from official band store
fmofficial.com/fmofficial/preorder-thirteen
FM’s current and longest running line-up has been in place since 2008, thus spending over a decade writing, recording and touring together and becoming an incredibly well gelled unit. The rhythm section of bassist Merv Goldsworthy and drummer Pete Jupp anchor the band with a rock-solid backbone, guitarist Jim Kirkpatrick delivers delicious hooks full of melody and keyboardist Jem Davis adds lush layers to their dynamic sound. And, what more can be said about Steve ‘The Voice’ Overland? His set of golden pipes have easily withstood the test of time and he still sings like an angel while also adding delightful guitar parts to proceedings. The quintet bonds together once again as a mighty force on ‘Thirteen’, delivering the beautiful brand of superlative melodic rock that their fans have come to expect.
FM formed in 1984 when singer Steve Overland and his brother, guitarist Chris (both formerly of Wildlife), teamed up with drummer Pete Jupp (ex-Wildlife and Samson) and bassist Merv Goldsworthy (ex-Diamond Head and Samson). They were joined by Didge Digital on keyboards and by the end of the year had secured a record deal with CBS/Portrait and toured Germany with Meat Loaf.
Subsequent tours with Tina Turner, Foreigner and Gary Moore maintained their momentum and in September 1986 FM released their debut album ‘Indiscreet’ (including the single ‘Frozen Heart’) to great acclaim, promoting it by supporting Bon Jovi on their ‘Slippery When Wet’ tour.
The group consolidated their position at the forefront of British melodic rock for the next decade, performing extensively as headliners and also joining the likes of Status Quo and Whitesnake on tours to promote releases such as ‘Tough It Out’ (1989), 'Takin’ It To The Streets’ (1991), with Andy Barnett replacing Chris Overland, ‘Aphrodisiac’ (1992) and their 'final' album, ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ (1995), with new recruit Jem Davis (Tobruk, UFO) on keyboards.
Following a lengthy sabbatical, they returned in 2007 for a one-off headlining slot at Firefest IV held at Rock City in Nottingham. The rapturous reception they received led to a decision to make a new album and, after a return to Firefest two years later, 2010 saw the release of their much-anticipated sixth studio album, ‘Metropolis’, on which Jim Kirkpatrick replaced Andy Barnett on lead guitar.
The band haven't stopped since! They have headlined tours in the UK and overseas, played special guest slots with Foreigner, Journey, Thin Lizzy, Heart, Saxon and Skid Row, made festival appearances at Download, Planet Rockstock, Sweden Rock, Graspop, Steelhouse, Frontiers Rock Festival and Ramblin’ Man Fair, plus performed their first-ever show in the USA at Melodic Rock Fest 5 in 2018.
Always active in the studio when not on the road, they have gone on to release ‘Rockville’ and ‘Rockville 2’ (both 2013), ‘Heroes And Villains’ (2015) and ‘Atomic Generation’ (2018), as well as ‘Indiscreet 30’ (a re-recorded version of their debut album, 2016), the live CD/DVD ’The Italian Job’ (2019), plus the live album ‘Tough It Out Live’ (2021).
FM - THIRTEEN
EUROPEAN TOUR 2022
UK
31.03.22 BARNSLEY Birdwell
01.04.22 COTTINGHAM Civic Hall
02.04.22 MANCHESTER Club Academy
07.04.22 LONDON Islington Assembly Hall
08.04.22 NUNEATON Queens Hall
09.04.22 NORWICH Waterfront
15.04.22 BOURNEMOUTH Madding Crowd
16.04.22 SWANSEA Patti Pavilion
17.04.22 NANTWICH Civic Hall
22.04.22 NEWCASTLE University
23.04.22 GLASGOW G2 Garage
29.04.22 READING Sub89
30.04.22 NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms
01.05.22 DURHAM Northern Kin Festival
MAINLAND EUROPE
10.05.22 OBERHAUSEN Resonanzwerk (DE)
12.05.22 LANDGRAAF Oefenbunker (NL)
13.05.22 MANNHEIM 7er Club (DE)
14.05.22 AARBURG Musigburg (CH)
15.05.22 MILAN Legend Club (IT)
16.05.22 MARSEILLE Le Cherrydon (FR)
18.05.22 BARCELONA Razzmatazz 2 (ES)
19.05.22 MADRID Shoko (ES)
20.05.22 SEGOVIA Teatro Juan Bravo (ES)
21.05.22 PAMPLONA Sala Totem (ES)
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OTHER SELECTED DATES
27.08.22 COLNE The Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival
25.11.22 HELMOND Cacaofabriek (NL)
26.11.22 ANTWERP All Star Fest (BE)
