Spear of Destiny to appear at The Fleece after adding new dates to their 2026 tour
Posted on: 21 Apr 2026Kirk Brandon’s legendary post-punk outfit - SPEAR OF DESTINY - will extend their ‘JANUS’ tour into 2026 with a run of UK dates this May. The Band spent the tail end of 2024 revisiting classic 80s works on tour with The Skids; 2025 & 2026 are the years of 'JANUS’ for Spear of Destiny.
They will be appearing at The Fleece in Bristol on Wednesday the 20th May.
TICKETS ON SALE HERE
‘JANUS’, the follow-up to 2022’s Ghost Population, was a two-year project that revisits and reworks selected tracks from the band’s two best-selling albums, Outland (1987) and The Price You Pay (1988). Featuring 24 songs that have been re-recorded and reimagined, the collection brings these paired works together for the first time. It was released last year in a range of formats, including double vinyl, an extended double CD, and digital download, all presented in a carefully designed package.
ORDER HERE
‘JANUS’ owes its name to the Ancient Roman god of beginnings and endings, of transitions and time, passages and dualities. And aptly for this project, Janus is usually depicted as having two faces.
“Janus, as I’m sure you all know, is the Roman god who looked in two directions…” Kirk Brandon explains. “At the time of making, ‘The Price You Pay’ often in its lyrics, had a backwards looking take on my previous life experiences, several being very personal. Whereas ‘Outland' with its dystopian lyrics, looked forward. Being done on what was at the time state-of-the-art programming, Fairlight 3. Lyrically it faced the ever increasing out of phase reality we are now firmly in.”
Although both Outland and The Price You Pay reached the UK Top 40 on release in the 1980s, peaking at No.16 and No.37 respectively, Kirk was never completely happy with the final results.
Kirk went on to explain:
“Some may say why re-record, and in a definite sense that is a good question, the reason is that I wanted them to sound as close to what I originally thought they should have sounded like. Which is way different from what both albums did in fact end up sounding like. In particular ‘Outland’ which was principally recorded on a Fairlight 3 program. In fact some of the ‘Outland’ songs like “Land of Shame” were originally scheduled to have been in contention for the earlier ‘World Service’ album but never made it to the selection. Criminal in reality. Record companies shy away from controversial lyrics…”
After years of working closely with a close-knit group of musicians—Steve Allen Jones, Phil Martini, Craig Adams, Adrian Portas, and Clive Osborne—who have become like family through relentless touring, Kirk now feels more confident than ever about addressing and refining past shortcomings. As he explains:
“I have to gratefully thank, as ever, my band for bringing these songs back to life from a major record company cemetery… With the musicians I have largely been playing with for the last 20+ years, we went back, as we have done with ‘Grapes of Wrath’ ‘One Eyed Jacks’ and ‘World Service’, and done an interesting, I hope, re-interpretation of my original ideas. ”
Following a series of highly successful live shows last year that showcased the project, Kirk and the band will now embark on Janus The Tour. Each night will feature a setlist drawn from these newly reimagined recordings, performed at the following venues:
SPEAR OF DESTINY - ‘JANUS’ UK TOUR DATES
Monday, 18 May 2026 LONDON 100 club
Tuesday, 19 May 2026 WINCHESTER Railway Live
Wednesday, 20 May 2026 BRISTOL Fleece
Friday, 22 May 2026 STOCKTON-ON-TEES Georgian Theatre
Saturday, 23 May 2026 HITCHIN Club 85
Sunday, 24 May 2026 MILTON KEYNES Craufurd Arms
Monday, 25 May 2026 CAMBRIDGE Portland Arms
Wednesday, 27 May 2026 NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms
Thursday, 28 May 2026 ABERDEEN Drummonds
Friday, 29 May 2026 DUNFERMLINE PJ Molloys
Saturday, 30 May 2026 GALASHIELS Mac Arts
Sunday, 31 May 2026 LEEDS Brudenell
It’s hard to believe, but Kirk Brandon has now been at the helm of SPEAR OF DESTINY for over 40 years.
Formed in 1983 following the split of Brandon’s influential post-punk outfit THEATRE OF HATE (and, prior to that, his role in early punk favourites THE PACK), SPEAR OF DESTINY has remained a constant force ever since.
The current lineup is the longest-serving to date, featuring Adrian Portas (New Model Army / Sex Gang Children), Craig Adams (Sisters of Mercy / The Cult / The Mission), and drummer Phil Martini (Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind). The recording sessions also featured saxophonist Clive Osborne, while long-time collaborator Steve Allen-Jones completes the band on keyboards.
Since the pandemic, SOD have returned to the stage with a run of acclaimed club shows and festival appearances, including sold-out nights at London’s iconic 100 Club, the Manchester Ritz, and Glasgow’s Oran Mor. Festival sets at Sign of the Times, Rebellion, and Kubix have drawn glowing reviews, with The Northern Echo calling one performance a “festival-stealing dream set.”
In winter 2024, Spear of Destiny toured extensively with longtime friend Richard Jobson, fronting a revitalised lineup of post-punk legends THE SKIDS. The run spanned close to 30 UK dates, many of them sold out.
Still as vital and enduring as ever, SPEAR OF DESTINY return to the UK stage this May—don’t miss them on tour.