After an absence of 35 years, Fairground Attraction are back together again for a 14-date UK tour and a brand-new studio album.

The band’s meteoric rise to the top of the charts in the late 80s was as surprising as it was welcome, not least for the members themselves, who struggled with having their lives turned upside down and, unfortunately, the whole thing was over too soon, leaving a legacy of just four singles and one double-platinum album, The First of a Million Kisses.

During the past three decades, a lot of water has passed under a lot of bridges and when the estranged members of Fairground Attraction finally re-opened communication last year, they realised there was a lot more that united them than divided them. Soon afterwards, in an impromptu moment, Eddi joined Mark on stage at one of his solo shows to sing the Fairground Attraction favourite ‘Allelujia’ and suddenly – finally – the door was open for more.

The band announced their return in March, with the first single, ‘What’s Wrong With The World?’ The new album, ‘Beautiful Happening’ was released on 20th September. Fans will also have the chance to see the band live this autumn, with their first UK tour since they split in 1990, including a show at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow on 17th October.

Lead singer Eddi Reader has childhood memories from around Anderston and from growing up in Ruchill before her family moved to Irvine in the 1970s. Fairground Attraction was formed in London but she feels like she brought a bit of Glasgow personality. She returned home 23 years ago and lives in the West End. "My introduction to music was from that time in Glasgow when I was young, grown ups bringing the party alive with a song, my brother Frank singing Birth of the Blues, my dad doing Elvis. They had full orchestration going on in their heads, even though it was a two bedroom flat. I could hear those orchestras as a child. I didn't realise at the time what it taught me."

"These days I'm in love with the people and sense of community in the West End, we all grew up in tenements with that sense of connection. I go out cycling along University Avenue and I love the buildings and the bandstand at Kelvingrove in the summer and I'm so glad that I was born out of this. I love this glorious town when I walk around it and I feel like I'm part of the sandstone.

"I go to the Botanic Gardens and it is just so beautiful there. There's a big archway underneath Queen Margaret Drive, and if you sing in there it is brilliant because your voice sounds like Mario Alanza! So I like just going in there when you have it to yourself. If you listen out to the world around you when you are on the streets in Glasgow there's just so much life to it, the way people speak to each other, the honesty and the humour, everyone has a story to tell."

Fairground attraction will perform at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on 17 October.

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