Out now: The Chameleons - a lauded '80s post-punk band from Manchester, UK - release first new music in decades

“It’s exciting to finally be putting out fresh Chameleons material for the first time in over twenty years, although initially I found it quite daunting,” admits vocalist/bassist Mark Burgess (pictured) of post-punk band THE CHAMELEONS about their single, “Where Are You?” which is part of a three-song EP, available now via Metropolis Records/Strange Times Entertainment.

“The question about new music is one I had been asked the most from people coming to the shows, a great many of whom weren’t even born when those records were originally made but nevertheless were excited and inspired by the music enough to catch multiple shows on multiple tours.”

This is the first new music under The Chameleons name since their last studio album in 2001.

“By the time we’d gotten through COVID, Reg [Smithies, guitarist] and I had a very solid band in place, people whose talent we trusted in to bring out the best in whatever ideas we were able to get off the ground,” he affirms. Re-capturing the magical sound that combined post-punk, shoegaze and indie wasn’t much of a struggle, though the thought of it caused a bit of trepidation.

“For the first time since the death of John and the departure of Dave, I felt we were a proper band capable of creating some interesting and exciting music,” he explains, reflecting on the passing of original drummer John Lever in 2017 and the departure of Dave Fielding after the band’s reunion in 2000 (Burgess and Smithies explored different solo avenues before returning to The Chameleons fold in 2000).

The EP preceeds an upcoming album titled Arctic Moon planned for later 2024.

“At this moment, we’re halfway through, but already everyone in the band is excited by what they’re hearing,” he says. “We’ve managed to transcend the confines of our own legacy and finally forge something fresh. It’s undoubtedly The Chameleons to everyone that has heard the direction the band is now heading in.”

A North American tour starts on May 30 in San Diego and runs into August. The band will be celebrating their 1986 breakthrough album Strange Times, which spawned the singles “Tears” and the alt-rock club staple “Swamp Thing.”

“I initially wasn’t a huge fan of album performance tours,” Burgess admits. “I believed instead that they ought to have been confined to one-off, special events.” Marking the difference between the highly personal experience of enjoying an album alone with a “good pair of headphones” versus the collective social coming together at a concert, he muses that, in general, the track listing of an album doesn’t take into account a live show’s needs for crest and drama. “Performing Strange Times changed my mind,” he says. “For one thing, the album marked a significant evolution by the band both in its sound and the maturity of the writing. Secondly, it’s a challenging album to perform live and thus, it’s much more fun to play. When all is said and done, we look forward to recreating this particular album for our North American fans!”

The Chameleons made four studio albums. Following their debut single “In Shreds” in 1982, the band released three albums: Script of the Bridge (1983), What Does Anything Mean? Basically!’ (1984), Strange Times (1986), and Why Call It Anything? (2001).

In 2024, The Chameleons are Reg Smithies (guitar), Mark Burgess (bass, vocals, lyrics), Stephen Rice (guitar), Danny Ashberry (keyboards), and Todd Demma (drums). 

Where Are You? was produced by Christophe Bride and The Chameleons and mastered by Guy Massey. It is available through Bandcamp.

TOUR DATES:

May 30 San Diego CA Music Box
May 31 Los Angeles CA The Belasco
Jun 4 Vancouver BC The Pearl
Jun 5 Seattle WA El Corazon
Jun 6 Portland OR Hawthorne Theater
Jun 7 Sacramento CA Harlow’s
Jun 8 San Francisco CA Great American Music Hall
Jun 9 San Francisco CA Great American Music Hall
Jun 11 Salt Lake City UT Urban Lounge
Jun 12 Denver CO Oriental Theater
Jun 13 Kansas City MO recordBar
Jun 14 Dallas TX Sundown at The Granada
Jun 15 Houston TX Dark Ceremony Festival
Jun 17 El Paso TX Lowbrow Palace
Jun 18 Albuquerque NM Launchpad
Jun 19 Tucson AZ 191 Toole
Jun 20 Phoenix AZ Last Exit Live
Aug 8 Philadelphia PA Underground Arts
Aug 9 New Haven CT Space Ballroom
Aug 10 Boston MA The Sinclair
Aug 12 Montreal QC Theatre Fairmount
Aug 13 Toronto ON Opera House
Aug 14 Buffalo NY Town Ballroom
Aug 15 Pittsburgh PA Spirit Hall
Aug 16 New York NY Webster Hall
Aug 17 Washington DC Black Cat

Photo by Mick Peek, courtesy Reybee PR