In the age of Twitter and 24 hour news it can be hard for artists to retain a sense of enigma. Beyond holing up at home and only ever buying groceries on a delivery basis, keeping a comeback truly under wraps is seldom achieved.
Yet, some acts have still managed to achieve genuinely surprising returns recently. Everyone from Beyoncé, who will return to the UK and Ireland this week after the release of her self-titled ‘visual album’, to David Bowie have gone secret squirrel in recent years and unexpectedly unveiled new material.
The internet is the great facilitator of comebacks, as well as the entity that makes them so ruddy difficult. A global announcement can be made with the click of a button, with the press informed at the exact same moment as the general public.
As such, by avoiding the worst aspects of the net and harnessing the greatest acts like Bowie, who grew into their fame in an age where the all-conquering rock god could rampantly stomp the earth while still remaining a sense of mystery, still feel as special and shrouded today.
There have been numerous examples of this type of comeback, encompassing teaser campaigns, curtailed 'retirements' and albums taking more than 20 years to make, and here are five that just can't be forgotten.
Beyoncé Reclaims Her Crown
On December 13, 2013, Beyoncé proved that she can do pretty much as she pleases. Recorded in absolute secrecy, 'Beyoncé', her fifth studio album, landed with an almighty thump on iTunes, breaking sales records left, right and centre and proving to be a huge artistic high point for Mrs Carter, exploring feminism, sex and empowerment against a backdrop of sensual beats and minimalist compositions.
Bowie Bounces Back
Having not released an album since 2003’s ‘Reality’ and with rumours of ill health circulating, many feared that David Bowie would never put out music again. Then, at the stroke of midnight New York time on the morning of January 8 last year, Bowie’s birthday, Where Are We Now?, the first single from new album ‘The Next Day’ appeared online. Sessions for the album had been so secret the boss of the studio it was recorded in had to lie to potential customers about who was there.
Arcade Fire Return as The Reflektors
Never a press-friendly band, Arcade Fire started work on the follow up to their 2010 album ‘The Suburbs’ quicker than most thought – not that they let on. Then, last summer the band started posting mysterious ‘Reflektor’ symbols around the globe then finally emerged to play secret gigs as the Reflektors, heralding their new double album named, you’ve guessed it: ‘Reflektor’.
Bruce Springs A Surprise
Seldom one for quirky internet drip-fed releases, the sudden arrival of Bruce Springsteen’s album ‘High Hopes’, which came out in January 2014, was a surprise. He’d put out his previous album, ‘Wrecking Ball’, in 2012, and although ‘High Hopes’ was a collection of covers and outtakes rather than a brand new studio effort, fans still lapped it up.
My Bloody Valentine Cause A Crash
Fans knew that the British guitar noisemakers had been working on a new album for years, but considering their masterpiece, ‘Loveless’, had one of the most elongated recording processes in musical history, few really believed it would come out in 2013. Yet in February last year ‘m b v’ suddenly popped up as an option to buy on the band’s website. The site crashed due to the rush.
Thu February 20 2014 - GLASGOW The SSE Hydro
Fri February 21 2014 - GLASGOW SSE Hydro
Sun February 23 2014 - BIRMINGHAM LG Arena
Mon February 24 2014 - BIRMINGHAM LG Arena
Tue February 25 2014 - MANCHESTER Phones 4u Arena
Wed February 26 2014 - MANCHESTER Phones 4u Arena
Fri February 28 2014 - LONDON O2 Arena
Sat March 01 2014 - LONDON O2 Arena
Sun March 02 2014 - LONDON O2 Arena
Tue March 04 2014 - LONDON O2 Arena
Wed March 05 2014 - LONDON O2 Arena
Thu March 06 2014 - LONDON O2 Arena
Sat March 08 2014 - DUBLIN The O2
Sun March 09 2014 - DUBLIN The O2
Tue March 11 2014 - DUBLIN The O2
Wed March 12 2014 - DUBLIN The O2
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
