Turin Brakes

South London band Turin Brakes were formed by two childhood primary school friends, Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, who were also in a cathedral choir together that performed for the Queen. Although they’d been experimenting with music for years, in 1998 the duo added long-time collaborators Rob Allum and Eddie Myer, and released The Door EP a year later.

In 2001, Turn Brakes came out with their debut The Optimist LP, which not only achieved gold status in the UK but was also shortlisted for a Mercury Prize. They followed it up with 2003’s Ether Song, featuring their top five hit single Pain Killer (Summer Rain).

Five more studio albums followed between 2005 and 2016 – including Jackinabox, Dark On Fire, Outbursts, We Were Here and Lost Property – as well as numerous extended plays and a compilation album.

In honour of the 10th anniversary of their lauded Optimist LP debut, Turin Brakes took to the road in 2011 to play a series of shows where the album was performed in its entirety, resulting in the release of The Optimist Live concert record.

The quartet’s eighth album, Invisible Storm, arrived in 2018 with tracks like Deep Sea Diver and Don’t Know Much emanating from their acoustic centre, while songs like Wait and Life Forms tapped into their indie-pop groove. Turin Brakes supported it with a 28-date acoustic tour that kicked off in autumn 2019 and covered most of the UK including Scotland and Wales.

Over their career, the group have racked up a total of seven top 40 singles, six top 40 albums and over a million sales worldwide.

Turin Brakes announced another huge UK tour for October 2021 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Optimist LP.

“We can’t wait to get out and perform this big milestone set comprising of The Optimist and other TB faves for everyone,” said the band. “The Optimist means so much to us and the people it touched in the early part of this century. So, let’s climb into our TB time machine where we’ve set the controls for 2001.”

Turin Brakes' 2021 UK dates

• 7 October 2021 – The 1865, Southampton
• 8 October 2021 – Cambridge Junction
• 9 October 2021 – O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
• 10 October 2021 – CHALK, Brighton
• 14 October 2021 – O2 Academy Bristol
• 15 October 2021 – Manchester Cathedral
• 16 October 2021 – Boiler Shop, Newcastle
• 17 October 2021 – Barrowlands, Glasgow
• 21 October 2021 – O2 Institute Birmingham
• 22 October 2021 – University Stylus, Leeds
• 23 October 2021 – O2 Academy Liverpool
• 24 October 2021 – Cardiff Tramshed