Why The Farm chose the Jacaranda for tonight’s surprise Liverpool gig

Legendary Liverpool band The Farm are back in the city for a surprise live gig tonight.

The five-piece, founded in the 80s and famous for mega hits like All Together Now and Groovy Train, are playing at the Jacaranda in Slater Street to launch their first single of the year, Moment In Time.

It’s their first gig since an intimate, sell-out show at Liverpool’s The Arts Club last November.

And Farm frontman Peter Hooton revealed:

“We are playing the Jacaranda as we love it, and we want to support local venues.

“It’s also a celebration of our new single, which will have come out at midnight.”

“The new album is going to surprise a lot of people. Mike Cave, our co-producer, said it was full of bangers. And he’s right!”

Peter said the band had decided to release new material ‘as people were asking us to record what they’ve heard of the songs at festivals over recent summers’.

Moment In Time is the second track to be released from their first album in more than 30 years, Let The Music (Take Control), due out on June 20.

It features the band’s original ‘heyday’ line-up of Peter on vocals; Steve Grimes on guitar and keys; Keith Mullin on guitar; Carl Hunter on bass, and Roy Boulter on drums, and is the result of The Farm’s new studio sessions first heard in 2023 when BBC Radio 2 played Feel the Love.

Feeling a new creativity within themselves and a sensing a hunger among fans for more of the same, The Farm connected with Liverpool-based music label Modern Sky and completed a further nine tracks to complete Let The Music (Take Control), their first album since 1994.

When the single Let The Music (Take Control) debuted on Jo Whiley’s Radio 2 show last year Peter said he felt he had been transported back decades.

“We were all at my dad’s house waiting for it to get the first play. It was like a real moment in time.

“It’s exciting releasing new stuff. We didn’t realise how exciting it would be.”

Recorded in their home city and produced in the company of Mike Cave (The Charlatans, Bloc Party) the new album is set for release on vinyl, CD and digital.

The Farm’s earlier music created era defining singles. All Together Now, written about the 1914 Christmas day Armistice which saw British and German troops laying down weapons for a game of football, is still their biggest hit to date, having reached number 4 in the singles charts.

In 2014 they teamed up with the Premier League to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the WW1 Christmas Truce, raising money for the Red Cross/Shorncliffe Trust by recording a version of the song with artists like Clean Bandit, Leo Sayer, Suggs, The Proclaimers, Mick Jones and Gorgon City.

Renowned campaigners for justice – not least in connection with the search for truth and justice in connection with the 1989 Hillsborough Stadium disaster – the band formed The Justice Tonight Band with Mick Jones of The Clash in 2011, going on to support Stone Roses at their huge reunion shows. Becoming The Justice Collective a year later, The Farm were the catalyst for the 2012 Christmas UK Singles Chart No 1 cover of He Ain’t Heavy, with collaborators including Paul McCartney, Holly Johnson, Paloma Faith, Paul Heaton, Robbie Williams and football legend, Kenny Dalglish.

The Farm are appearing at the Jacaranda in Slater Street at 7pm today – Wednesday, April 9. 

Find out more on the Jacaranda Records website.

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