PLUSH announce their Final Farewell
“The Postcard Tour” 
PLUSH have announced “The Postcard Tour” as the band’s final and farewell tour.
Announcing the news on Facebook, they posted the following to fans on Thursday, 23 January: “We know we’ve been a bit quiet recently, but that does not make the following announcement any easier for us. We’ll be embarking on ‘The Postcard Tour’ in April 2014. It brings to an end this amazing adventure. 17 years, 4 albums, 2 EP’s, numerous singles, friends from all over the globe, thousands of gigs from intimate lounges to raucous festivals, highs, lows, tragedy and triumph – we’ve had the time of our lives. Consider all of this emotion, pack it into a few weeks, and you get our final farewell. A farewell that pays homage to what we as PLUSH hold most dear. You, our fans and friends and all the times we had together.”
PLUSH have built an incredibly loyal fan base over the past 17 years, having stood the test of time in an industry where bands come and go overnight. They have consistently managed to pack out live venues without needing to be the mainstream flavour of the week, but rather the constantly loved band who have always been an essential part of their fans’ music experience. One only need attend a show and witness the crowd singing along word for word to understand the emotional connection between performer and audience. PLUSH have collected countless stories and created great memories on their musical journey, from on stage proposals to fans’ life changing experiences. However, as with all the good, there are those heartbreaking moments as well, of which the most tragic was the passing of lead guitarist Chas Smit in September 2005.
The response to the Final Tour news has been overwhelming with fans commenting “This is so sad! But the adventures your music has seen me thru and will continue to see me thru will hopefully make up for this sad news. You guys are amazing!” ; “I have tears in my eyes & a lump in my throat. I will without a doubt make an effort to attend your last CPT gig. Some of my best memories are not only with you guys but are with your music in my life. All the best for the future” and “My tattoo will last forever as will all the music and memories!’
This final tour celebrates and remembers this history as PLUSH takes to the road one last time to meet with their fans through great music and Rory’s ever memorable onstage story-telling.
PLUSH will head off on an 10-date tour across SA performing to fans for the last time as they kick-off “The Postcard Tour” on the 4th of April at Cafe Roux in Cape Town.
In support of the “The Postcard Tour”, PLUSH will be releasing a “Best Of” album featuring unreleased material to be released through 2 Feet Music at the end of March. The album will feature favourites such as “My Baby“, “Wishing Well“, “All For The Better“, “Halo“, “Today” and “Dancing In A Storm“.
Join PLUSH for one last time this April on “The Postcard Tour”.
Show Details are:
4 April – Cafe Roux, CPT
6 April – Alma Cafe, CPT
24 April – Tanz Cafe, JHB
26 April – Secret Garden Gig (by Invite Only), JHB
27 April – Park Acoustics, PTA
30 April – Klein Libertas, STELL
2 May – Live The Venue, DBN
3 May – Pietermaritzburg (venue TBC)
9 May – Assembly, CPT
11 May – Studio 7, CPT
Please Note*** For any TBC info, go to PLUSH’s Facebook Page for updated info: https://www.facebook.com/PLUSHBAND
Café Roux
Date: 4 April
Venue: Café Roux
Line-Up: Plush
Entrance Fee: R130
Venue Address: Noordhoek Farm Village, Noordhoek, Cape Town
Bookings: 0217892538 or bookings@caferoux.co.za. Pre-booking essential.
Time: 8pm
Alma Cafe
Date: 6 April
Venue: Alma Cafe
Line-Up: Plush
Entrance Fee: R160
Venue Address: 20 Alma Road, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7700
Bookings: 0216857377. Pre-bookings only. No walk-ins.
Time: 6:30pm
Tanz Cafe
Date: 24 April
Venue: Tanz Cafe
Line-Up: Plush and opening act TBC.
Entrance Fee: R100
Venue Address: Shop 1042, Heathway Square Shopping Centre, Beyers Naude Drive, Blackheath, Johannesburg.
Bookings: 0114764169
Time: 8pm
Secret Garden Gig
Date: 26 April
DETAILS by invite only…
Park Acoustics
Date: 27 April
Venue: Park Acoustics
Line-Up: TBC
Entrance Fee: TBC
Venue Address: Voortrekker Monument Nature Reserve, Pretoria.
Bookings: www.parkacoustics.co.za
Time: TBC
Klein Libertas
Date: 30 April
Venue: Klein Libertas Theatre
Line-Up: Plush and opening act TBC
Entrance Fee: R40
Venue Address: Bergzight Plein, Stellenbosch.
Bookings: 0218838164 or kl@klteater.co.za
Time: 7pm
LIVE
Date: 2 May
Venue: Live, The venue
Line-Up: Plush and TBC
Entrance Fee: R60
Venue Address: 166 Matthews Meyiwa Rd, Durban 4200
Bookings: www.livethevenue.co.za
Time: 8pm
Pietermaritzburg
Date: 3 May
Venue: TBC
Line-Up: Plush and TBC
Entrance Fee: R50
Venue Address: TBC
Bookings: TBC
Time: 8pm
Assembly
Date: 9 May
Venue: Assembly
Line-Up: Plush and TBC
Entrance Fee: R60 presale, R70 door
Venue Address: 61 Harrington Street, District Six, Cape Town 8001
Bookings: www.webtickets.co.za/assembly
Time: 8pm
Studio 7
Date: 10 May
Venue: Studio 7
Line-Up: Plush
Entrance Fee: R100
Venue Address: www.studio7.org.za
Bookings: www.studio7.org.za
Time: 6pm
Official Website: http://plush.us/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PLUSHBAND
Follow PLUSH on Twitter: @Plushlive
For any additional information and Interview enquiries, contact:
Melissa Conradie
Media Manager
Breakout Agency
TEL: (+2711) 438 7000
Direct: (+2711) 438 7047
CELL: (+2783) 601 0487
About PLUSH:
“Plush is so much more than a band,” says frontman Rory Eliot. “We have strived to represent a way of life. Our members aim to be gracious, down-to-earth and generally family-oriented people. Our audience reflects what we stand for and that message is what we have clung to. The vision has been interrupted along the way and we may be calling time on the band but this representation will never die.”
The journey has seen many highs and one tragic low, but for the Cape Town-based four-piece – consisting of Eliot (vocals and rhythm guitar), Emelio Gassibe (bass and vocals), Carl Wegelin (lead guitar and vocals) and Devin Jones (Drums) – the time has come to close the book on a career spanning almost two decades.
It is the whole package – both great songs and live shows – that audiences in South Africa and Europe have responded to, which the band recognises as their strength. As bassist Gassibe points out, Plush thrive on the interaction with the audience. “We sing lyrics that are positive and uplifting,” he says. “And hopefully come across as people who our friends and fans can relate to.”
A career spanning 17 years, 4 albums, 2 EP’s, numerous singles, friends from all over the globe, thousands of gigs from intimate lounges to raucous festivals, highs, lows, tragedy and triumph most recently saw the band collaborate with SAMA winning producer Brian O’Shea and VUKA winning engineer Sean Gunns on the band’s eponymous fourth album. There are also contributions from the likes of Grammy winner and engineer Vance Powell (The Raconteurs, Jack White), Neal Snyman (Crowded House, Collective Soul) and SAMA winner Matt Allison. Vance Powell added his Grammy-Award Winning magic by mixing the first single from the album, “Dancing In A Storm”. It has been the most successful single from the album to date, charting on numerous radio stations with the follow up singles garnering similar praise and support.
The beginning….
After beginning informally in 1997, the band began the quest for success in 2001. Frontman Eliot’s charisma was ably supported by lead guitarist Chas Smit, and the group produced the hits Tainted (which hit No. 1 on TuksFM), Today and My Baby (which received airtime on MTV). The band’s progress was due in large part to the live shows, with a message that was simple, heartfelt and uplifting. And then tragedy struck. Lead guitarist Smit was killed after a show, when attempting to cross a street in Pietermaritzburg in September 2005.
Eliot – who describes the time as his darkest season – took a six-month sabbatical. He then returned as a solo artist – with performances fetching wide acclaim from fans and critics alike. It wasn’t long before Eliot’s fellow Plush band mates pledged their support for a return to the initial vision. The comeback story fuelled support from fans too, as word spread of Plush’s return.
It was in 2007 that the group started gaining national momentum, with the release of When Grace Grew Tall early in the year. The song shot to No 1 on 5fm’s Hi5@5, where it remained for four weeks and was downloaded thousands of times. The band’s song repertoire increased and drew sell-out crowds all over the country which was followed by a highly successful tour of the United Kingdom in August, 2007. Focusing primarily on London, the band played nine shows in 10 days to sold-out venues of crowds, comprising nostalgic South African expatriates as well as a whole new British audience. Reviews were positive and interest in the band was sustained, to the extent that return tours in July 2008 (UK) and 2010 (UK and mainland Europe) yielded similar outcomes.
In addition to selling thousands of albums, having numerous number 1 singles, touring nationally and internationally, playing over 1500 shows, the band has maintained high rotation on radio stations across South Africa. In amongst it all, front-man Rory Eliot completed a Masters Degree in Song-writing at Bath Spa University in England.
And here they stand, after years of hard work, poised to create a final current which fans old and new will be swept up in. Through the highs and the lows, it is comforting for fans to know that the dream hasn’t been lost… it’s “merely been reshaped”.
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