Primus bring Willy Wonka show to UK

By Scott Munro
published

Classic-era lineup of Les Claypool, Larry LaLonde and Tim Alexander return after 18 years

Primus have announced they’ll bring their Willy Wonka-themed show to the UK in June.

It will mark the first time the classic-era lineup of mainman Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Tim ‘Herb’ Alexander have played in Britain for 18 years.

The shows are based on last year’s Primus & The Chocolate Factory With The Fungi Ensemble – a reimagining of the soundtrack to the 1971 Wonka movie starring Gene Wilder. They’ll play two sets each night.

Last year Claypool told Metal Hammer: “We plan on pounding out old tunes – stripped-down, bare bones 1990-era Primus. Then the curtain opens and all of a sudden you’re in the Chocolate Factory and we do the whole project from start to finish.

“There may be an Oompa-Loompa or two appearing every now and again.”

Last July, Alexander suffered a heart attack – but returned to live duties in October. UK tickets are on sale now via the band’s website.

UK tour dates

Jun 23: London O2 Brixton Academy

Jun 24: Manchester O2 Apollo

Jun 25: Birmingham O2 Academy

Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers and magazines as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. After initially joining our news desk in the summer of 2014, he moved to the e-commerce team full-time in 2020. He maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott grew up listening to rock and prog, cutting his teeth on bands such as Marillion and Magnum before his focus shifted to alternative and post-punk in the late 80s. His favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Drab Majesty, but he also still has a deep love of Rush.