The Flying Pickets
The History...
The Flying Pickets was first formed in 1982 by members of the 7:84 Theatre group, a socialist fringe theatre group who used acappella singing in a production called One Big Blow, the story of the 1972 miner's strike in the UK, from the miner's point of view. They enjoyed the singing so much that they started to work around the pubs and clubs of London, at a time when nobody else in the UK was performing pop/rock based acappella, and found immediate success.
The first recording was a live show 'Live at the Albany Empire' on the group's own label, which sold so well that they soon came to the attention of Virgin Records, who signed the group in 1983.
The very first single with Virgin, "Only You", a cover of a song by Yazoo, went straight to number 1 in the UK charts and was to remain there for five weeks over the Christmas of 1983 before going on to repeat the success throughout Europe.
This was soon followed by the band's first studio album, 'Lost Boys' (1984). More albums followed - 'Flying Pickets Live' (1986) and 'Waiting For Trains' (1988).
In 1989 the group were commissioned to write a musical theatre production for the Theatre Royal Stratford in London, a whole show based on songs about the working life, which they performed for a successful season. Around the same time, the group also performed the musical score on the BBC TV series Porterhouse Blue, which won a BAFTA TV award for Best Original Music.
In 1991 the group recorded the 'Blue Money' album, which had huge success throughout Europe, and continued through the nineties with the albums 'The Warning' (1994), 'Politics Of Need' (1996) and 'Vox Pop' (1998).
The group continued to tour, and in 2003 the album 'Live in Hamburg' was released; and the group made their first visits to Asia with 2 tours of Taiwan. 2005 saw the release of the album 'Everyday', produced by the Pickets' then bass singer Andrea Figallo. The group celebrated their 25th anniversary with a new stageshow 'Changing Times', featuring one song from every year of the band's existence, and which toured from October 2006 to December 2007. In 2008 the album 'Big Mouth' was released and accompanied the Big Mouth Tour.
2010 saw the Pickets travel to the USA to work on a Christmas themed collection of covers and original material. The resulting album, 'Only Yule', was produced by Grammy Award winner Bill Hare, and was extremely well received on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Pickets' 2015 album, 'Strike Again', was produced by band members Andy Laycock and Simon Foster, and proved a surprise hit with audiences. The group have just released their latest album 'Only Human' (again produced by band members Andy Laycock, Simon Foster and Henrik Wager), and are continuing to tour in support of it throughout the next year, in addition to working on new material for upcoming projects.
On tour
Yes
Followers
5,526
Category
Acappella, Pop, Vocal Music, Vocal Percussion, Soul, Vocal, Vocal Pop
Concerts
Dec
19
Flying Pickets Acappella Christmas
Wien
Tickets
Dec
20
Flying Pickets Acappella Christmas
Stadtschlaining
Tickets
Mar
07
Tonhalle
St. Gallen
Tickets
Mar
08
Hotel National Bern
Bern
Tickets
Mar
09
Kulturzentrum Braui
Hochdorf
Tickets
Mar
11
40th Anniversary Tour
Berlin
Tickets
Mar
12
40th Anniversary Tour
Leipzig
Tickets
Mar
15
40th Anniversary Tour
Kassel
Tickets
Mar
16
40th Anniversary Tour
Bensheim
Tickets
Mar
18
40th Anniversary Tour
Metzingen
Tickets
Mar
19
40th Anniversary Tour
Nürnberg
Tickets
Mar
20
40th Anniversary Tour
Augsburg
Tickets
Mar
21
40th Anniversary Tour
Obertraubling
Tickets
About The Flying Pickets
The History...
The Flying Pickets was first formed in 1982 by members of the 7:84 Theatre group, a socialist fringe theatre group who used acappella singing in a production called One Big Blow, the story of the 1972 miner's strike in the UK, from the miner's point of view. They enjoyed the singing so much that they started to work around the pubs and clubs of London, at a time when nobody else in the UK was performing pop/rock based acappella, and found immediate success.
The first recording was a live show 'Live at the Albany Empire' on the group's own label, which sold so well that they soon came to the attention of Virgin Records, who signed the group in 1983.
The very first single with Virgin, "Only You", a cover of a song by Yazoo, went straight to number 1 in the UK charts and was to remain there for five weeks over the Christmas of 1983 before going on to repeat the success throughout Europe.
This was soon followed by the band's first studio album, 'Lost Boys' (1984). More albums followed - 'Flying Pickets Live' (1986) and 'Waiting For Trains' (1988).
In 1989 the group were commissioned to write a musical theatre production for the Theatre Royal Stratford in London, a whole show based on songs about the working life, which they performed for a successful season. Around the same time, the group also performed the musical score on the BBC TV series Porterhouse Blue, which won a BAFTA TV award for Best Original Music.
In 1991 the group recorded the 'Blue Money' album, which had huge success throughout Europe, and continued through the nineties with the albums 'The Warning' (1994), 'Politics Of Need' (1996) and 'Vox Pop' (1998).
The group continued to tour, and in 2003 the album 'Live in Hamburg' was released; and the group made their first visits to Asia with 2 tours of Taiwan. 2005 saw the release of the album 'Everyday', produced by the Pickets' then bass singer Andrea Figallo. The group celebrated their 25th anniversary with a new stageshow 'Changing Times', featuring one song from every year of the band's existence, and which toured from October 2006 to December 2007. In 2008 the album 'Big Mouth' was released and accompanied the Big Mouth Tour.
2010 saw the Pickets travel to the USA to work on a Christmas themed collection of covers and original material. The resulting album, 'Only Yule', was produced by Grammy Award winner Bill Hare, and was extremely well received on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Pickets' 2015 album, 'Strike Again', was produced by band members Andy Laycock and Simon Foster, and proved a surprise hit with audiences. The group have just released their latest album 'Only Human' (again produced by band members Andy Laycock, Simon Foster and Henrik Wager), and are continuing to tour in support of it throughout the next year, in addition to working on new material for upcoming projects.
Follow on Bandsintown
Genres
Acappella, Pop, Vocal Music, Vocal Percussion, Soul, Vocal, Vocal Pop
Band members
Henrik Wager, Andy Laycock, Simon Foster, Chris Brooker, Martin George.
Similar Artists On Tour
Robbie Williams
Bruce Springsteen
Madness
Blondie
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Simple Minds
UB40
Kim Wilde
Bonnie Tyler
The Human League
Duran Duran
Billy Joel
The Flying Pickets Tour Cities
Bensheim, Germany
Obertraubling, Germany
Leipzig, Germany
Metzingen, Germany
Augsburg, Germany
Kassel, Germany
Sankt Gallen, Switzerland
Bern, Switzerland
Berlin, Germany
Hochdorf, Switzerland
Vienna, Austria
Frequently Asked Questions About The Flying Pickets
Concerts & Tour Date Information
Is The Flying Pickets on tour?
Yes, The Flying Pickets is currently on tour. If you’re interested in attending an upcoming
The Flying Pickets concert, make sure to grab your tickets in advance. The The Flying Pickets tour
is scheduled for 13 dates across 11 cities. Get
information on all upcoming tour dates and tickets for 2024-2025 with Hypebot.
How many upcoming tour dates is The Flying Pickets scheduled to play?
The Flying Pickets is scheduled to play 13 shows between 2024-2025. Buy
concert tickets to a nearby show through Hypebot.
When does the The Flying Pickets tour start?
The Flying Pickets’s tour starts Dec 19, 2024 and ends on Mar 21, 2025.
They will play 11 cities; their most recent concert was held in
Wien at Theater Akzent and their next upcoming concert
will be in Obertraubling at AIRPORT-EVENTHALL.
What venues is The Flying Pickets performing at?
As part of the The Flying Pickets tour, The Flying Pickets is scheduled to play across the following
venues and cities:
2024 Tour Dates:
Dec 19 - Wien,
Austria @ Theater Akzent
Dec 20 - Stadtschlaining,
Austria @ Burg Schlaining
2025 Tour Dates:
Mar 07 - St. Gallen,
Switzerland @ Tonhalle
Mar 08 - Bern,
Switzerland @ Hotel National Bern
Mar 09 - Hochdorf,
Switzerland @ Kulturzentrum Braui
Mar 11 - Berlin,
Germany @ Passionskirche
Mar 12 - Leipzig,
SN @ the ANCHOR e.V. Leipzig
Mar 15 - Kassel,
HE @ Anthroposophisches Zentrum Kassel e.V.
Mar 16 - Bensheim,
HE @ Musiktheater REX
Mar 18 - Metzingen,
BW @ Hirsch
Mar 19 - Nürnberg,
BY @ Gutmann am Dutzendteich
Mar 20 - Augsburg,
86 @ Spectrum
Mar 21 - Obertraubling,
Germany @ AIRPORT-EVENTHALL