Saw Doctors announce UK dates – with gigs closer to home not ruled out

And that remains a distinct possibility – with a guarantee of a warm-up show or two in the west before those UK dates next November and December…and a chance of even bigger things, if everything fits into place.

That’s according to Leo Moran, who did caution that the lads were firmly focused on the gigs in Glasgow, Leeds, London and Manchester – but acknowledged that other dates could not be ruled out.

“We’re putting a toe back in the water, because we’ve been coming up with new stuff and enjoying it – and while we won’t be planning a whole load of gigs, it’s entirely possible that there will be a few more now that we’ve announced we’re doing the UK dates,” he said.

All of this also comes after the band marked the 30th anniversary of the release of their debut album, If This Is Rock And Roll, I Want My Old Job Back, which shot up to number three in the Irish charts.

And while there are just four nights confirmed, they are at major venues across the UK; Barrowlands in Glasgow with a 2,000 capacity; the 2,500-capacity O2 Academy in Leeds; the 5,000-capacity Brixton Academy in London, and the Manchester Apollo which caters for 3,500 fans.

Last time out, back in 2017, the Saw Doctors played sell-out shows at London Shepherd's Bush, Manchester Apollo and Glasgow Academy as part of a fifteen date UK tour. This time the London venue is twice the capacity of Shepherd’s Bush, and they’ve added Leeds to the line-up.

Ahead of that, the band plan a couple of low-key warm-up gigs in the west – and there is a distinct possibility of a new release; the fruit of regular writing sessions that Leo and Davy Carton have enjoyed over the winter.

“They’re only tunes at this stage, but we’ve enjoyed making them up. And that’s the main thing – doing stuff together and enjoying it,” said Leo.

Read the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops as usual this Thursday – or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie