Bernard Butler

10th November 2026 – Bernard Butler is back with his first new solo music since 2024, Irish Goodbye, an emphatic return to the purposeful melodic punch of past glories both as a solo artist, with David McAlmont, with whom he combined to write the evergreen Yes, and as founding member of Suede. For all of that, appearances can be deceptive.

In his customarily understated way, Bernard explains: “Last summer I went through a not-good two months. You go through periods where you question everything. Coming from the background I have you get to a point where a voice in your head goes, ‘Just fucking get on with it.’”

In Bernard’s case, the result of that curt note to self were the crystalline percolations of the guitar hook illuminated the pathway to Irish Goodbye. In his work with artists such as Duffy, David McAlmont and, on the Mercury-nominated Jessie Buckley collab For All Our Days That Tear The Heart, Bernard had always advocated that the real magic often happens when you push away from your comfort zone. Heeding his own advice, he dusted down an old synth and drum machine and applied a little slap bass onto what was now, indisputably, a song.

And not just any song, for the process of writing Irish Goodbye was one of circling back to all the foundational passions that inspire you to make music in the first place. “When Friday night comes around, there are certain records I’ll always pull out of the shelves. Whether or not you can hear them on Irish Goodbye is another matter entirely. But these records and the feeling they give you lives inside you. And when you really need it to, it can pull you out of the darkest places.”

Bernard will be performing new songs and music from his career when he tours next Summer.