Following the announcement of their best of album ‘Black Gold,’ Editors have shared a first taste of the deluxe version’s second disc, ‘Distance: The Acoustic Recordings,’ with a beautiful new version of Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors. Listen to this version via YouTube below.
‘Black Gold,’ which will consist of 13 tracks from Editors six studio albums, alongside three brand new offerings, also comes in a deluxe 2CD version, including a second disc of eight stripped back recordings of tracks from the band’s catalogue titled ‘Distance: The Acoustic Recordings’. 2007’s Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors is the band’s highest-charting UK single and the ‘Distance’ version is a fresh take on the classic indie rock anthem. Replacing Chris Urbanowicz’s energetic lead guitar with soft acoustic strumming, gentle piano and melancholy strings, the ‘Distance’ version is a hauntingly beautiful ballad that retains the emotional intensity at the core of the original, with Tom Smith’s inimitable vocals soaring above the sensuous arrangement.
Remembering the creation of the original, Smith explains: “I remember looking out the back of a van on tour somewhere in England, and saw a group of smokers outside a hospital. I wrote down the observation my notebook. Then later, coming to write songs, there were a few things going on in my life, people around me getting poorly – older people – for the first time. So a lot of the songs were fixated on mortality. And to have that title on this big, grand indie-rock song and have that land in the Top Ten, was interesting.”
From their Mercury Prize shortlisted debut ‘The Back Room,’ to platinum selling ‘An End Has A Start,’ #1 debuting ‘In This Light and On This Evening,’ sprawling, transitional ‘The Weight of Your Love,’ moody, self-produced ‘In Dream’ and their 6th top 10 album in a row, 2018’s explosive ‘Violence,’ Editors have refused to either stay still or compromise. This is perhaps the key to their longevity. It also no doubt also owes something to a hugely dedicated fanbase, both home and abroad, which sees them regularly performing sold out tours across the UK, Europe and further afield, as well as headlining festivals ahead of many more household names, such as 2018’s Werchter Classic Festival in Belgium, which they headlined and curated with Kraftwerk and The National supporting.
‘Black Gold’ is a chance to reflect on the past 15 years, but it also offers a glimpse into a very exciting future for one of the UK’s most enduring bands.
Track listing
Disc 1
1. Frankenstein
2. Papillon
3. Munich
4. Sugar
5. Hallelujah (So Low)
6. An End Has A Start
7. Upside Down
8. Bullets
9. Ocean Of Night
10. No Harm
11. Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors
12. A Ton Of Love
13. Magazine
14. The Racing Rats
15. Black Gold
16. No Sound But The Wind
Disc 2 (Deluxe Version Only)
1 . Violence (Distance: The Acoustic Recordings)
2 . Walk The Fleet Road (Distance: The Acoustic Recordings)
3 . Blood (Distance: The Acoustic Recordings)
4 . Let Your Good Heart Lead You Home (Distance: The Acoustic Recordings)
5 . Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors (Distance: The Acoustic Recordings)
6 . Fall (Distance: The Acoustic Recordings)
7 . Two Hearted Spider (Distance: The Acoustic Recordings)
8 . Distance (Distance: The Acoustic Recordings)
Pre-order ‘Black Gold’ here
The band will be embarking on a 27 date European and UK Greatest Hits tour in early 2020, which will see them play shows in Birmingham, Manchester, Dublin and Glasgow, with a landmark performance at London’s SSE Arena Wembley set for Friday 28th February. Full tour schedule below.
Greatest hits tour on sale here
1/30/2020- Paris, France – Salle Pleyel
1/31/2020 – Dusseldorf, Germany – Mitsubishi Electric Halle
2/1/2020 – Antwerp, Belgium – Sportpaleis
2/3/2020 – Berlin, Germany – Velodrom
2/4/2020 – Krakow, Poland – Studio
2/5/2020 – Warsaw, Poland – Torwar
2/7/2020 – Vienna, Austria – Gasometer
2/8/2020 – Zagreb, Croatia – Dom Sportova Zagreb
2/10/2020 – Rome, Italy – Atlantico
2/11/2020 – Milan, Italy – Alcatraz
2/12/2020 – Milan, Italy – Alcatraz
2/14/2020- Zurich, Switzerland – Komplex 457
2/15/2020 – Fribourg, Switzerland – Fri-Son
2/17/2020 – Madrid, Spain – The Box (Wizen Center)
2/18/2020 – Barcelona, Spain – Razzmatazz
2/27/2020 – Birmingham, UK – Arena Birmingham
2/28/2020 – London, UK – The SSE Arena Wembley
2/29/2020 – Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo
3/2/2020 – Dublin, Ireland – Vicar Street
3/3/2019 – Glasgow, UK – Barrowland
3/27/2020 – Thessaloniki, Greece – Principal Theatre
3/28/2020 – Athens, Greece – Tae Kwan Do Arena
4/1/2020 – Kiev, Ukraine – StereoPlaza
4/3/2020 – Moscow, Russia – GlavClub
4/4/2020 – St. Petersburg, Russia – Morze
6/22/2020 – Hamburg, Germany – Stadtpark
6/27/2020 – The Hague, Netherlands – Zuidepark
