The Boo Radleys Reveal Three Vinyl Reissues To Celebrate The 30th Anniversary Of 'Giant Steps'

The Boo Radleys reveal three vinyl reissues to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their nineties genre-hopping masterpiece 'Giant Steps'

The Boo Radleys reveal three vinyl reissues to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their nineties genre-hopping masterpiece 'Giant Steps' (Credit: Supplied By Publicist).

• The Boo Radleys – Giant Steps (Remastered 30th Anniversary Edition)

• Dinked x 2 LP Marble Coloured Vinyl with bonus 12” (1000 copies)

• Deluxe x 2 LP Orange / Purple Coloured Vinyl with bonus 10”

• Standard x 2 LP Black Vinyl

• Released Fri 1 September 2023 on Two-Piers

• Giant Steps UK Tour Dates – June 2023

• Pre-Orders and Tickets visit www.thebooradleys.com

NME’s 1993 Album Of The Year, named in the Top 20 of Pitchfork’s The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time and lauded as one of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, The Boo Radleys’ classic album, 'Giant Steps' will be reissued in three, special remastered vinyl editions almost 30 years to the day since its original release.

With a clutch of rarities pressed onto bonus discs coming with limited, coloured variants of the three new vinyl editions, the band’s genre-ambiguous and widely-acclaimed masterpiece will become available to fans old and new on Friday the 1st of September 2023 via Two-Piers.

Strictly limited to 1000 copies, a soon-to-be-sought-after Dinked Edition, comprised of two marble-coloured discs with a special, bonus 12” featuring alternate, non-album mixes of four tracks, Lazarus, Rodney King and Peachy Keen leads in the collectors’ stakes. A deluxe, double LP on orange and purple-coloured vinyl, including a separate 10” record featuring remixes by fellow end-of-century voyagers in sound, Saint Etienne joins the running with a standard black double-vinyl edition, also on offer. A super-limited, 500 copy Boos Store-only edition comes with a special edition pin badge.

'It was the point where everything kind of came together for us in a way that I don’t believe had happened before. We stopped trying to be something else and allowed ourselves to just be.' - Simon ‘Sice’ Rowbottom.

All versions, comprising the same 17-track running order, have undergone remastering in a collaborative process undertaken by all four original band members, Simon ‘Sice’ Rowbottom, Tim Brown, Martin Carr and Rob Cieka.

Coming at the closing stages of a celebratory and dates-packed year for the band, the vinyl reissues are preceded by the band – touring without Carr – taking to the road for seven Giant Steps Tour live dates, opening with a SOLD-OUT warm-up date at Reading, South Street Arts Centre on Tuesday the 13th of June.

The Boo Radleys reveal three vinyl reissues to celebrate the 30th anniversary of 'Giant Steps' (Credit: Supplied By Publicist).

Only the second of their five albums to be released on the legendary Creation Records, at a time when label mates including Slowdive, Teenage Fanclub and Ride were also casting long shadows across the indie landscape, pre-the Oasis hurricane making landfall at the label, Giant Steps broke into the canon of great, experimental rock albums soon after its release. It’s first single, Lazarus, issued as a standalone release in November 1992, its blend of brass and guitar-squall and acutely introspective lyrics, gave a hint of what was to come and remains lodged in the band’s most-loved and best-known songs. For the 2023 reissue, Lazarus’ 12” version appears on the all-formats track listing.

Recorded at London’s Protocol Studios, where Carr and Brown took on self-production duties with support from engineer, Andy Wilkinson, The Boo Radleys set about responding to their shared sense of dissatisfaction with their 1992 album, Everything’s Alright Forever.

Free to do as they please, they set about making a record of complete artistic freedom, bringing in reggae (Upon 9th And Fairchild), dance (Rodney King) and irresistible, warped indie pop (Barney And Me) influences into the studio and, without limitation, weaved them into the satisfyingly complex fabric of Giant Steps. Snapshot incidentals, intermissions and between-radio-station static intro/outros added to the sense of unrestrained exploration.

Writing about the album, drummer, Cieka reflected on Giant Steps, stating: 'Creation loved it, people's reactions seemed really positive. I do listen to it from time to time and still find great moments I’d forgotten about. I think it stands up pretty well today. I'm always left feeling happy to have been a part of the record.'

Sice says: 'It was the point where everything kind of came together for us in a way that I don’t believe had happened before. We stopped trying to be something else and allowed ourselves to just be. It was fantastic to play some of those songs live again last year, and it will be great to play even more when we support the re-release with some live shows.'

After taking on such a hands-on role, bassist and co-producer, Brown, adds: 'More than anything, I believe Giant Steps showed where self-belief could take you. I can’t believe the audacity that led to our self-produced third album. Were there many labels around that time that would have allowed an untested hairy bunch of plastic scousers to produce a record such as this? I am delighted that the album has got the re-master it deserves and that it can again be enjoyed in all its double vinyl loveliness.'

The Boo Radleys reveal three vinyl reissues to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their nineties genre-hopping masterpiece 'Giant Steps' (Credit: Supplied By Publicist).

Playing the majority of the album on the road, in order on dedicated 30th Anniversary outings, with other greatest hits promised at each date, all confirmed The Boo Radleys Giant Steps Tour 2023 appearances are as follows:

• Tue 13 June – Reading, South Street Arts Centre – SOLD OUT.

• Wed 14 June - London, The Garage.

• Thu 15 June - Tunbridge Wells, The Forum.

• Fri 16 June – Birkenhead, Future Yard.

• Thu 22 June – Dublin, The Grand Social.

• Fri 23 June – Belfast, The Limelight.

• Sun 25 June – Glasgow, Hug and Pint – EVENING SOLD OUT – MATINEE ADDED.

• Sat 28 October – Manchester, Bread Shed w/Cud.

• Sun 29 October – Liverpool, O2 Academy 2 w/Cud.

• Mon 30 October – Sheffield, O2 Academy 2 w/Cud.

• Tue 31 October – Birmingham, O2 Institute 2 w/Cud.

• Thu 2 November – Bristol, The Fleece w/Cud.

• Fri 3 November – Oxford, O2 Academy 2 w/Cud.

• Sat 4 November – London, O2 Academy Islington w/Cud.

Tickets for all dates are on-sale now with links available through The Boo Radleys website.

Confirmed formats for The Boo Radleys, Giant Steps (Remastered 30th Anniversary Reissue) are as follows:

1. Dinked Edition Deluxe LP – 2 x LP Marble-Coloured Vinyl with Bonus 12” including four extra tracks (Strictly Limited to 1000 copies):

   1. Bonus 12” Tracklisting:

   2. E1: Lazarus (Saint Etienne Remix)

   3. E2: Lazarus (7” Version)

   4. F1: Rodney King (Saint Etienne Remix)

   5. F2: Peachy Keen

2. Deluxe LP – 2 x LP Orange and Purple-Coloured Vinyl plus Bonus 10” including 2 extra tracks:

   1. Bonus 10” Tracklisting:

   2. E1: Lazarus (Saint Etienne Remix)

   3. F1: Rodney King (Saint Etienne Remix)

3. D2C Only Deluxe LP – 2 x LP Orange and Purple-Coloured Vinyl plus Bonus 10” AND Ltd. Edition Pin Badge.

4. Standard LP – 2 x LP Black Vinyl.

For further information and advance notice of future releases and live dates, connect with The Boo Radleys online at: www.thebooradleys.com

Previous praise for The Boo Radleys:

'Wow, now THIS is what music can be!' – The Quietus on Giant Steps.

'It deserved the accolades and praise heaped on its shoulders.' – The Line of Best Fit.

'A masterwork...' - Pitchfork.