Love Police are overjoyed to announce old mates, Ian Ball and Ben Ottewell from the band Gomez, will be returning to Australia later this month for a set of stunning, intimate live performances, marking their Australian debut as a duo. Featuring an array of work spanning across their 20+ year career, fans can expect to hear anything and everything; from Gomez classics to selections from their accomplished individual solo careers, and more.
Melbourne fans can now also look forward to an extra show, with a second Brunswick Ballroom show added on Monday May 30, and fans around the country will be pleased to note that that Buddy, the singer-songwriter who fronts the L.A. indie-rock band also known as Buddy, will be Ben & Ian’s special guest on the tour. A long time friend, Buddy recently opened for Ben & Ian across the UK. Buddy’s songs have been featured in numerous television shows and films including Grey’s Anatomy, Cougar Town, Keeping Up With the Kardashian’s and many more.
Since their 1998, Mercury Prize winning debut Bring It On, England’s Gomez have have amassed a much-more-loyal-than-most fanbase and the acclaim of critics worldwide. They have toured Australia numerous times; their fans here are amongst their most dedicated. The presence of multiple, uniquely talented vocalists within Gomez has always been one of the group’s primary strengths, and this stripped-back duo tour will allow audiences to hear the powerful, soulful voice of Ben Ottewell and the softly sung Ian Ball working their magic in intimate settings.
Ben and Ian’s respective solo careers reflect their harmonious differences. Ben Ottewell’s three solo albums Shapes & Shadows, Rattlebag and A Man Apart display his effortless ability to marry the singer-songwriter tradition with beautifully crafter bluesy rock, while Ian Ball‘s lone solo album Who Goes There explores a sound more comfortably akin to indie pop and folk rock. The pair began working as a duo prior to Covid – they originally had hoped to tour here in 2020 – and have recently completed successful tours of the UK and the US that have had their fans in raptures.
Fans of Gomez, and those who’ve yet to explore the delicate delights of this iconic band, will find much to enjoy when Ian Ball and Ben Ottewell undertake their first Australian tour as a duo in May and June.
