Young Knives Announce Voices of Animals and Men 20th Anniversary Tour
Post-punk-art-rockers Young Knives have announced a UK tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their Mercury Music Prize-nominated debut album Voices of Animals and Men.
The 14-date tour will kick off in Norwich on 12th November and will play further dates in Nottingham, Portsmouth, Carlisle, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Bristol and Brighton, before ending with two nights in Oxford on 10th and 11th December.
Pre-sale will begin at 10.00am on Wednesday 4th March, with tickets going on general sale from 10.00am on Friday 6th March, available from www.young-knives.com.
Released on 26th August 2006, Voices of Animals and Men was produced by Gang of Four’s Andy Gill, and features the Top 40 hit singles ‘Here Comes The Rumour Mill‘, ‘She’s Attracted To‘, ‘Weekends And Bleak Days (Hot Summer)‘, and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2007.
Young Knives frontman Henry Dartnall said, “We’ve connected with so many people through Voices of Animals and Men, and it feels like the right moment to celebrate it. We owe a debt of gratitude to this record, so these shows are a chance to acknowledge where we came from.”
Looking back at Voices of Animals and Men, and at themselves as a band, Henry said, “I can recognize a very specific energy, especially in the writing. It’s simple, but also emotionally raw and obvious, which makes the songs easy to digest. Working with Andy Gill helped us push that further, as he had a way of getting under the songs and bringing more emotion out of them. It was a funny, drinky time at his house/studio, but also thoughtful, very memorable, and life changing of course.”
Young Knives formed in 1996 in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, founded by brothers Henry Dartnall and Thomas Bonsu-Dartnall (aka The House of Lords) alongside school friend Oliver Askew. Post-college, the band relocated to Oxford, where local record label Shifty Disco released their early material as the mini-LP The Young Knives… Are Dead, prompting the NME to describe them as “an enigmatic concern.”
As momentum grew, the Young Knives signed to the then-fledgling Transgressive Records, who as a subsidiary of Warner Music meant they suddenly found themselves receiving major-label backing. For a time, it worked, with the band’s awkward outsider image, explosive live shows and deliberately odd, often hilarious videos receiving heavy rotation on MTV2, earned them a devoted following of geeks and misfits.
Across two albums (Voices of Animals and Men and 2008’s Superabundance) they scored Top 40 singles, sold out tours, and received a Mercury Music Prize nomination in 2007. Tracks such as The Decision, She’s Attracted To, Hot Summer, Terra Firma and Turn Tail were playlisted at BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music, alongside appearances on Later… with Jools Holland.
In 2010, Young Knives formed their own record label, Gadzook, and built their own recording studio so they could continue to make music on their own terms, or not at all. They have since released the albums Ornaments From the Silver Arcade (2011), Sick Octave (2013), Barbarians (2020) and Landfill (2025), all of which testify to the band’s creative freedom.
Following sell-out tour dates in 2025 in support of Landfill, Young Knives will now take a moment to honour their debut album Voices of Animals and Men at these very special 20th anniversary tour dates.
Support comes from London trio Hot Face, who have just released their debut album Automated Response via producer Dan’s Speedy Wunderground imprint.
The full list of dates is as follows:
12 Nov – Norwich, Waterfront Studio
13 Nov – Nottingham, Metronome
14 Nov – Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
19 Nov – Carlisle, Old Fire Station
20 Nov – Glasgow, Oran Mor
21 Nov – Newcastle, The Grove
27 Nov – Leeds, Brudenell
28 Nov – Manchester, Band On The Wall
03 Dec – Birmingham, Hare & Hounds
04 Dec – London, Heaven
05 Dec – Bristol, Strange Brew
09 Dec – Brighton, Concorde 2
10 Dec – Oxford, The Bullingdon
11 Dec – Oxford, The Bullingdon