The Living End Launch Comeback Single ‘Alfie’ With Last-Minute Intimate Shows

The Living End are on the comeback trail, following a run supporting ZZ Top on the Red Hot Summer Tour and playing a last-minute free show at The Punters Club in their native Melbourne last week. The veteran rock trio are on the cusp of releasing ‘Alfie’, their first new music since 2018’s Wunderbar, and will launch it with two relatively-intimate shows at venues where they cut their teeth: Melbourne’s Corner Hotel on Thursday, May 15th and Sydney‘s Metro Theatre on Friday, May 16th. Tickets for both shows are on sale now and can be bought via The Living End’s Linktree.

‘Alfie’ was premiered live last month at one of the band’s aforementioned Red Hot Summer slots, at the Jockey Club in Bendigo, Victoria. In a press statement regarding the upcoming new single, frontman Chris Cheney described it as “a shot in the arm”. “Who is Alfie? Alfie is rock & roll,” he wrote. “Alfie is the music Industry. Alfie is the roadies forced to get regular jobs after COVID crippled the local scene. Alfie is radio. Venues are closing their doors, radio doesn’t play enough local artists, touring is getting harder and harder. It all feels like it’s in a coma. Alfie is a wake-up call.”

The Living End – ‘Alfie’ (Live At The Punters Club)

Joining the band at their Melbourne show will be electro-garage rock duo Licklash, who also supported Jack White at his Corner show last December. On support in Sydney, meanwhile, is the new Wollongong outfit Bimbo – which features former members of The Pinheads and Step-Panther. ‘Alfie’ will presumably feature on the band’s ninth studio album, which the band have been teasing since 2023. They played an entire set of new material that year at Melbourne’s Cherry Bar at a secret show, under the name The Longnecks.

Further Reading

Love Letter to a Record: Reliqa on The Living End’s ‘Modern Artillery’

Watch Paul Dempsey & The Living End’s Chris Cheney Team Up To Cover Elton John

You Am I Announce 21-Date ‘Hi-Fi Way’ Anniversary Tour