Therapy? celebrating 30th anniversary of Troublegum with series of concerts

The rock three-piece will be gigging in the UK and Ireland as well as Australia and mainland Europe, with a date at Belfast’s Ulster Hall on Saturday, November 2.

Enduring over three decades as the musical, cultural and social landscapes have shifted around them, the trio have forged and retained a powerful and lasting connection with a dedicated fan base around the world.

Andy Cairns of the band said recently: “To celebrate the 30th anniversary of our album Troublegum we’ll be heading out on tour to celebrate with a set (not just a perfunctory play through), based on Therapy? in 1994 and featuring songs from that era alongside the TG tunes.

“When we started out in County Antrim in 1989 we could never have foreseen this beast of punk metal noise being such a landmark record. Come along and celebrate with us as we play banger after banger!”

Released by A&M Records on February 7, 1994, Troublegum quickly established itself as one of the ‘Albums of the Year’, winning Album of the Year in Kerrang, #2 in Metal Hammer and scoring highly in NME and Melody Maker End of Year charts.

Featuring five hit singles and five appearances on Top of the Pops, it garnered a Mercury Prize nomination and also led to two MTV nominations that year.

As Therapy?’s fourth decade finally gets underway in earnest, sixteenth album ‘Hard Cold Fire’, written and pre-produced during an unprecedented time for music, is hefty, compact, and accessible.

Therapy? have resolutely carved their own path, from the 'thrown' noise-rock clang of their early mini-albums 'Babyteeth' and 'Pleasure Death'; to genre-defying mainstream success in the 1990s with Gold-certified albums 'Troublegum' and 'Infernal Love'; to enduring, cult-hero status in the post-millennial climate.

Building on an eclectic range of influences and an unending desire to push their sound forward, the band developed a reputation as a hard-gigging outfit early on, catching the ear of A&M Records in 1992, and racking up a dozen UK Top 40 singles during their time on the major label, including signature tunes like 'Teethgrinder', 'Screamager', 'Nowhere', and 'Stories' - newly-recorded versions of which formed the basis of their 'Greatest Hits - 2020 Versions' release, via current label home Marshall Records.

They have continued to confound critical and commercial expectations, from the filth and fury of 2004 fan favourite 'Never Apologise Never Explain', and the Krautrock-inflected explorations of 2009's critically acclaimed 'Crooked Timber', to the sludgy riffage and social commentary of 2018's 'Cleave', the band's Marshall Records debut.

In doing so, they've won and maintained the trust of a loyal and dedicated fanbase, keeping on the road with consistent annual touring.

Not content with the stage and studio, the band collaborated with UK music journalist Simon Young on their official print biography ‘So Much for the 30 Year Plan’, sharing a story that ranges from the realities of Troubles-era Northern Ireland, to travelling the world on a wave of commercial success, to putting the foundations in place for a lasting musical legacy.