Oxford quintet Foals‘ much anticipated second album Total Life Forever will be released on May 10th, preceded on May 3rd by debut single ‘This Orient’, and to celebrate they’re gonna be hitting the road for a sizeable tour in late April and early May.

Tickets for all dates go on sale on Friday (12th March 2010) at 9am.

Thursday 29th April 2010 – Liverpool Kazimier
Friday 30th April 2010 – Newcastle University
Sunday 2nd May 2010 – Glasgow ABC
Monday 3rd May 2010 – Leeds Met University
Tuesday 4th May 2010 – Manchester Ritz
Thursday 6th May 2010 – Cambridge Junction
Friday 7th May 2010 – Nottingham Trent University
Saturday 8th May 2010 – Bristol Anson Rooms
Monday 10th May 2010 – London Electric Ballroom
Wednesday 12th May 2010 – Oxford O2 Academy
Friday 14th May 2010 – Dublin Abassador

North Wales band the Joy Formidable will be logging many miles travelled as they trek across the UK in March and April on tour. Note that four dates in Scotland originally slated for the start of the tour have been rescheduled for early April. Catch the band on the dates below.

Their new single ‘Popinjay’ is now available as a digital download, with a limited run of 500 7″ vinyl singles planned for 5 April.

Sunday 14th March 2010 – Manchester, Ruby Lounge
Monday 15th March 2010 – Liverpool, Korova
Tuesday 16th March 2010 – Nottingham, Bodega
Wednesday 17th March 2010 – Leeds, Cockpit
Friday 19th March 2010 – Cambridge, Portland
Saturday 20th March 2010 – Birmingham, O2 Academy 2
Sunday 21st March 2010 – Oxford, O2 Academy 2
Monday 22nd March 2010 – Brighton, Audio
Wednesday 24th March 2010 – London, Electric Ballroom
Thursday 25th March 2010 – Southampton, Joiners
Friday 26th March 2010 – Bristol, Start the Bus
Saturday 27th March 2010 – Cardiff, Barfly
Monday 29th March 2010 – Northampton, Roadmenders
Tuesday 30th March 2010 – Sheffield, O2 Academy 2
Wednesday 31st March 2010 – Newcastle, O2 Academy 2
Thursday 1st April 2010 – Wrexham, Central Station
Saturday 3rd April 2010 – Glasgow, King Tuts
Sunday 4th April 2010 – Inverness, Madhatters
Monday 5th April 2010 – Aberdeen, Snafu
Tuesday 6th April 2010 - Dundee, Fat Sams

MP3: The Joy Formidable – The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade
MP3: The Joy Formidable – Cradle
MP3: The Joy Formidable – Austere
MP3: The Joy Formidable – While the Flies

So, fresh from their appearance on the Twilight soundtrack last year, Band of Skulls have announced another UK tour, this time for May this year.

Catch them at:

Friday 7th May 2010 – Leeds Cockpit
Saturday 8th May 2010 – Glasgow Classic Grand
Sunday 9th May 2010 – Manchester Factory
Monday 10th May 2010 – Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Tuesday 11th May 2010 – Wolverhampton Slade Rooms
Thursday 13th May 2010 – Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Friday 14th May 2010 – London Electric Ballroom

A-Ha have announced their Farewell Tour 2010 ‘Ending On A High Note’.

Tickets go on sale on Friday at 9am over on gigsandtours.com

Monday 15th November 2010 – Brighton Centre
Tuesday 16th November 2010 – Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
Wednesday 17th November 2010 – Glasgow Clyde Auditorium
Friday 19th November 2010 – Birmingham LG Arena
Saturday 20th November 2010 – Manchester MEN Arena
Sunday 21st November 2010 – Nottingham Trent FM Arena
Tuesday 23rd November 2010 – Sheffield Arena
Thursday 25th November 2010 – Cardiff International Arena
Friday 26th November 2010 – Bournemouth International Centre
Saturday 27th November 2010 – London Wembley Arena

Lightspeed Champion (aka Dev Hynes) will tour the UK in May in support of his new album ‘Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You’ (released in the UK on 15 February). Tickets will go on sale on Tuesday 23 February at 9am from Gigs and Tours and all other reputable ticket sellers.

Catch Lightspeed Champion at:

Saturday 1st May 2010 – Leeds Live at Leeds at Stylus
Monday 3rd May 2010 – Nottingham Bodega
Wednesday 5th May 2010 – Glasgow King Tuts
Thursday 6th May 2010 – Manchester Deaf Institute
Friday 7th May 2010 – Newcastle Cluny
Sunday 9th May 2010 – Birmingham O2 Academy 3
Monday 10th May 2010 – London Heaven
Tuesday 11th May 2010 – Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Thursday 13th May 2010 – Norwich Arts Centre
Friday 14th May 2010 – Bristol Academy 2
Saturday 15th May 2010 – Cambridge Haymakers

Like your music a bit louder and rockier than some of the stuff we post here at TGTF? Well, maybe Young Guns will be your sort of thing. Embarking on a 10 day tour in late April and early May.

Tickets are on sale now, priced around £7 each.

Tuesday 27th April 2010 – Colchester Arts Centre
Wednesday 28th April 2010 – Manchester Roadhouse
Thursday 29th April 2010 – Glasgow King Tuts
Friday 30th April 2010 – Nottingham Rock City Basement
Saturday 1st May 2010 – Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach (Matinee Performance)
Sunday 2nd May 2010 – Yeovil Orange Box
Tuesday 4th May 2010 – Bristol Academy 2
Wednesday 5th May 2010 – Birmingham The Flapper
Thursday 6th May 2010 – London Barfly
Friday 7th May 2010 – Swindon Furnace
Saturday 8th May 2010 – Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms

Acoustic folk/pop duo Turin Brakes are set to do a March tour of the UK. Tickets are available now through alt-tickets.co.uk.

Turin Brakes’s album ‘Outbursts’ (their first album since 2007’s ‘Dark on Fire’) will be released on 01 March on Cooking Vinyl.

Tuesday 9th March 2010 – Birmingham Glee Club (18+)
Wednesday 10th March 2010 – Bristol St. Georges (14+)
Thursday 11th March 2010 – Oxford Academy 2 (all ages)
Saturday 13th March 2010 – Manchester Academy (all ages)
Sunday 14th March 2010 – York – Duchess (14+)
Tuesday 16th March 2010 – Gateshead Sage (all ages)
Wednesday 17th March 2010 – Sheffield City Hall (14+)
Friday 19th March 2010 - Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire (18+)
Saturday 20th March 2010 – Glasgow Classic Grand (18+)
Sunday 21st March 2010 – Nottingham Rescue Rooms (18+)
Tuesday 23rd March 2010 – Southampton Brooks University TBC
Wednesday 24th March 2010 - Milton Keynes Stables (all ages)
Friday 26th March 2010 – London Shepherds Bush Empire (all ages)
Saturday 27th March 2010 – Brighton Concorde 2 (14+)

Zebrahead and MC Lars have announced a pretty gruelling UK tour for mid to end of March this year.

Tickets are on sale now.

Tuesday 16th March 2010 – Southampton Talking Heads
Wednesday 17th March 2010 – London Islington Academy
Thursday 18th March 2010 – Yeovil Orange Box
Friday 19th March 2010 – Peterborough Club Revolution
Saturday 20th March 2010 – Poole Shudder Festival @ Chords
Sunday 21st March 2010 – Swindon Furnace
Monday 22nd March 2010 – Pontypridd Muni Arts Centre
Tuesday 23rd March 2010 – Birmingham Academy 2
Wednesday 24th March 2010 – Norwich Waterfront
Thursday 25th March 2010 – Northampton Road Mender
Friday 26th March 2010 – Manchester Academy 3
Saturday 27th March 2010 – Newcastle Academy 2
Sunday 28th March 2010 – Nottingham Rock City
Monday 29th March 2010 – Glasgow Cathouse
Tuesday 30th March 2010 – Leeds Cockpit

“Girl with guitar” Tiffany Page, who you may have caught in Jess’s Bands to Watch post last week, is hitting the road over the next few months on an extensive UK tour. She will be doing a run of gigs in smaller venues before a stint supporting the Noisettes throughout February and March. Don’t miss your chance to see the songstress with “the sassy swagger of Chrissie Hynde, Shirley Manson’s vampish purr and the hellion roar of Courtney Love” before she makes it big!

Tuesday 19th January 2010 – London, The Garage
Thursday 21st January 2010 - Guildford, Boileroom
Saturday 23rd January 2010 – Bath, Moles
Monday 25th January 2010 - Coventry, Kasbah
Tuesday 26th January 2010 - London, The Garage
Thursday 28th January 2010 - Cambridge, Portland Arms
Friday 29th January 2010 - Hampshire, West End Centre
Sunday 31st January 2010 - Birmingham, Sound Bar
Wednesday 3rd February 2010 - London, Hard Rock Cafe (supporting Pixie Lott)
Wednesday 10th February 2010 - London, The Garage (HMV show with The Cheek)
Tuesday 16th February 2010 - London, The Garage
Thursday 18th February 2010 - Aberdeen, Music Hall (supporting the Noisettes)
Friday 19th February 2010 - Edinburgh, Picture House (supporting the Noisettes)
Saturday 20th February 2010 - Sheffield, Academy (supporting the Noisettes)
Monday 22nd February 2010 - Nottingham, Rock City (supporting the Noisettes)
Tuesday 23rd February 2010 - Cambridge, Corn Exchange (supporting the Noisettes)
Wednesday 24th February 2010 - Bournemouth, Opera House (supporting the Noisettes)
Friday 26th February 2010 - Brighton, Dome (supporting the Noisettes)
Saturday 27th February 2010 - London, Roundhouse (supporting the Noisettes)
Sunday 28th February 2010 - London, Roundhouse (supporting the Noisettes)
Tuesday 2nd March 2010 - Manchester, Academy (supporting the Noisettes)
Wednesday 3rd March 2010 - Newcastle, Academy (supporting the Noisettes)
Thursday 4th March 2010 - Liverpool, Academy (supporting the Noisettes)
Friday 5th March 2010 - Bristol, Academy (supporting the Noisettes)

Liverpudlians Hot Club De Paris will be embarking on a tour in February. The string of dates finishes with a hometown gig at Liverpool’s Korova. This tour will be in support of a new six-track EP, ‘With Days Like This As Cheap As Chewing Gum, Why Would Anyone Want To Work?’, to be released digitally by Moshi Moshi Records on 8 February, with a limited edition 10-inch vinyl version set to follow on February 22. Moshi Moshi have confirmed that a second EP, ‘The Rise And Inevitable Fall Of The High School Suicide Cluster Band’, will follow sometime later this year. I was taken by these boys as they supported Dirty Pretty Things at Shepherds Bush in 2006, so I’m bummed I’ll be missing them on this outing.

Monday 8th February 2010 – Birmingham Rainbow
Tuesday 9th February 2010 – London Lexington
Wednesday 10th February 2010 – Brighton Freebutt
Thursday 11th February 2010 – Cambridge Portland Arms
Friday 12th February 2010 - Nottingham Bodega
Saturday 13th February 2010 – Leeds Cockpit
Monday 15th February 2010 – Manchester Deaf Institute
Tuesday 16th February 2010 – York City Street Basement
Wednesday 17th February 2010 – Newcastle Cluny
Thursday 18th February 2010 – Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire
Friday 19th February 2010 – Dundee Doghouse
Saturday 20th February 2010 – Middlesborough Uncle Alberts
Monday 22nd February 2010 – Bristol Louisiana
Tuesday 23rd February 2010 – Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach
Wednesday 24th February 2010 – Oxford Jericho
Thursday 25th February 2010 – Winchester Railway
Friday 26th February 2010 – Liverpool Korova

You can preorder Hot Club De Paris’s ‘With Days Like This As Cheap As Chewing Gum, Why Would Anyone Want To Work?’ EP at Moshi Moshi Records’s Web site.