Scottish indie icons Arab Strap announce Leeds show to celebrate 30th anniversary - date and tickets

Influential Scottish indie-rock duo Arab Strap have announced a highly anticipated return to Leeds as part of a sprawling autumn tour celebrating three decades of music-making.

The live dates follow the announcement of their upcoming ninth studio album, Half-Told Tales, which is set to arrive on September 4 via Rock Action Records - almost exactly 30 years to the day since their first single was released.

Reflecting on the milestone, the duo said: “We’re thirty years old this year. So we decided to celebrate by doing what we enjoy most: by making new music.”

Accompanying the tour announcement is their fierce new single, “Fighting For You,” a track that pairs Malcolm Middleton’s potent, driving guitar work with a scathing takedown of modern political division.

Loosely inspired by the political satire Universality by Natasha Brown, the single takes direct aim at hollow nationalism, spineless leadership, and far-right grifters.

Frontman Aidan Moffat explained the fury behind the lyrics: “It’s about certain political figures and very wealthy demagogues that I don't trust to look after anyone's interests but their own. I grew up in the eighties, and sometimes I feel like I'm living my youth again: the same myths of a once glorious nation prevail, and the threat of global war seems constant; economic inequality and class divisions just seem to get worse and worse.

“But I try to keep positive by telling myself I've seen this kind of thing before and it will pass. And, of course, venting my frustrations in a big, noisy banger.”

The single highlights the signature push-pull dynamic that has defined Arab Strap’s career, where fluid, grooving beats sit right alongside wall-of-sound guitars. According to the duo, that sonic tension is a direct result of their unique, collaborative compromise in the studio.

Guitarist Malcolm Middleton said: “The excitement comes because me and Aidan like and hate different things. There are things in the record that individually we might not choose but that’s why I like this album so much, because it's not the one I wanted to make. I don't think it's what Aidan wanted to make either; it's this bit in the middle.

“It might not be 100% what we want, but it's good for the band, and it works.”

Arab Strap will be performing at the Howard Assembly Rooms in Leeds on October 15, with tickets available now directly through the band's official website. Owing to the milestone moment of the band’s performance in the city, book now to avoid disappointment.