Ann Peebles

After ten years Memphis soul legend Ann Peebles is back with a new sound, a new band, a brand new tour dubbed The Acoustic Soul Tour, and a brand new retrospective collection from Track Records. This will mark Ann's first and most extensive US and European Tour in nearly a decade, and promises to be an absolutely unforgettable experience.

Ann will be previewing tracks from the upcoming Acoustic Soul Tour at South Parade Pier, Southsea, on Monday 25th April. She will be joined by her very special guest Deborah Bonham and her band.

"I'm looking so forward to this tour and what the near future will bring" says Peebles. "I really need to re-connect with the fans and the music and my voice you know and I want this Acoustic Soul Tour to bring the vibes of some of my Hi records' sessions to the stage. The pre-production sessions you know... I really need to let you in on the experience. Just me and a small band of brilliant musicians called The Dream Team - creating you know, discovering each other through the music, through the songs."

The Dream Team consists of a band of seven extraordinary musicians, two of which, keyboardist Paul Brown and guitarist Harold Smith, will join Ann at the Southsea performance. "These guys are so different and when you hear them play together you can feel these mates are spiritually connected to their instruments in a way that is just too rarely seen these days" claims Ann. "Every note they play seems to wrap around everything I sing like a warm blanket you know. It challenges me you know, to reach down vocally deeper inside myself, more so than I have in my entire live career".

Ann Peebles brings The Acoustic Soul Tour to the UK in April for just three special promotional performances prior to the main tour,.

The first will be at The Barbican in London on April 22nd, and reunites Ann with three of her mates from the Hi Records years; guitarist Mabon `Teenie' Hodges, bassist Leroy `Flick' Hodges and pianist Archie `Hubby' Turner. These are of course the legendary musicians who helped make up Willie Mitchell's backing band The Hi Rhythm Section, who were responsible for most of the Peebles' classic tracks during her career on Hi Records. This will be followed by an intimate acoustic performance with keyboardist Paul Brown and guitarist Harold Smith, giving us a glimpse into what's in store for the Acoustic Soul Tour experience.

Following The Barbican show, next stop is The Bullfrg Blues Club on South Parade Pier, Southsea, where on Monday 25th April, Ann will be joined for the first time by her new musical soul sister and special guest Deborah Bonham, together with Bonham's band, which includes Humble Pie founder member and drummer Jerry Shirley, along with some surprise guests sitting in with Ann.

"Paul, Harold and I will let you in on a taste of The Acoustic Soul Tour experience before we bring the rest of the Dream Team over. I'm looking really forward to heating the place up with my new soul sister Deborah and her band mates too, you know".

The last gig is at the legendary Borderline Club in London, also with Deborah Bonham as special guest.

The music is a sound bed of brand new arrangements laid to many of her classics including "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" and "I Can't Stand The Rain", all of which are custom tailored around Peebles' brilliant vocal phrasing and the sound is acoustically intimate, remarkably stunning and soulfully as real as it gets.

Many of the cuts chosen for The Acoustic Soul Tour will also mark their first live performances since Ann Peebles recorded them during her Hi Records Career from 1969 - 1979. A few select brilliant covers will also be performed.

The main tour officially launches in the US at the beginning of June, with further dates in the U.K following. However, Ann there will be a World Web Premier of The Acoustic Soul Tour Live via XM Radio's studio (USA). The performance will broadcast across North America but web-cast globally between late April and early May on XM Radio's official site; www.xmradio.com

Deborah Bonham is the younger sister of the late John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, the world's greatest ever rock drummer. She assembled a band of hand-picked musicians and achieved a major breakthrough in the USA on her debut tour with Jason Bonham, John's son.

Deborah is no stranger to Southsea's Bullfrog Blues Club - she's played there on a number of occasions to great acclaim, and when she played the Titchfield "Blues At The Abbey" festival (organised by Bullfrog Blues Club), she stole the show and the hearts of the 2,000 strong audience.

Deborah and her band have recently appeared as special guest on the Jools Holland Rhythm and Blues Orchestra Stadium and Arena tour in 2004, where they were very warmly received, and Deborah has just released a stunning new album 'The Old Hyde', on the legendary Track Records label.

In 2001 Deborah performed at The Steve Marriott Memorial Concert at The Astoria, London, with a host of guests including Humble Pie (the original line up), Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher and Ian Maclagen and Kenny Jones from the original Small Faces. At the concert, Deborah performed a stunning version of Ann Peebles classic hit "I Can't Stand The Rain". Ann Peebles saw the DVD of the show and was reportedly knocked out by Deborah's version of her song.

As the ultimate accolade, while Ann is in the UK, she and Bonham plan on recording a brand new version of "I Can't Stand The Rain" together, with some very special guest musicians joining the session.

The Southsea show promises to be a night to remember.

Tickets (£8) are available from noon Friday 8th April from The Wedgewood Rooms Box Office, Albert Rd., Southsea, (online bookings to http://www.wedgewood-rooms.co.uk) Reflex Records, Albert Rd., Southsea, (023) 9229 3571 (credit card bookings accepted) ; Reflex Records High St., Gosport, (023) 9251 1845 (credit card bookings accepted), South Parade Pier, General Office (023) 9273 2283 (credit card bookings accepted), any Thursday evening from The Bullfrog Blues Club, South Parade Pier, Southsea or by post direct from Barking Spider, 105, Landguard Rd., Southsea , PO4 9DR. (Cheques payable to to Barking Spider Music and please enclose an s.a.e.) Enquiries to spiderpromos@aol.com or ring 07970 959793 or leave a message on the hotline (023) 9243 6267