Embrace Tickets

In the wake of Britpop, Embrace entered the conversation at the perfect time. Bands of the era and tastes of their fans were maturing after the youth-driven cultural explosion, so up stepped the indie rock five-piece to fill the void with their affinity for anthemic hooks and universal ballads.

Natives of Bailiff Bridge in West Yorkshire – a village five miles down the road from Huddersfield – brothers Danny and Richard McNamara formed Embrace in 1990. They placed an advert in a local newspaper for additional members, and once drummer Mike Heaton, bassist Steven Firth, and keyboardist Mickey Dale answered the call, the line-up was complete.

The release of rousing debut single ‘All You Good Good People’ proved to be the band’s breakthrough however, peaking at number eight in the UK charts and paving the way for their 1998 debut album, The Good Will Out, to enter the album charts at No.1.

Having received a Brit Award nomination for Best New Band, comparisons to Oasis and The Verve stuck to the band – for better or worse – as their success remained predominantly UK-centric. But they continued to write compelling works that resonated with the rock community, notably follow-up albums in 2000’s Drawn from Memory – in which they toured with an emerging Coldplay in support – and If You've Never Been in 2001.

An acrimonious split from Hut Recordings proved to be inspired however, as Embrace worked on their lauded 2004 album, Out Of Nothing. Ironically, trusting their instincts marked a period of mainstream notoriety for the Yorkshiremen, particularly because of their comeback single ‘Gravity’ in 2004, which was penned by none other than Coldplay’s Chris Martin. Charting at No.7 in the UK charts, Embrace kicked on, releasing This New Day in 2006 which spawned several more unlikely hits. ‘Nature’s Law’ proved to be their highest-charting single to date reaching number two, whilst ‘World At Your Feet’ reached number three after being chosen as the official song for the England World Cup squad ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign.

Then, Embrace went on a lengthy hiatus to pursue side-projects and other various creative ventures. Though their break was further protracted even after they reunited as they wanted to wait until they had an album which was of equal standing to their debut record. The result of which was 2014’s eponymous album, a bold statement of return by simply naming the album after their own moniker. Expanding into electronic-tinged indie which echoed fellow melodic soft rock titans in Snow Patrol and Keane, Embrace’s ardent fans lapped up their return, propelling them back into the top five of the album charts. To mark the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough, the five-piece released the rootsy Love Is a Basic Need in 2018. Four years later came How to Be a Person Like Other People, their eighth studio album and first to be released on Embrace's own record label, Mobetta.