King Stingray have announced the departure of lead vocalist Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu – find out more below.
The announcement, which was made by the Yolŋu surf rock band on social media on Wednesday (March 19), came just a day before they kicked off their national tour of Australia.
Additionally, King Stingray have also assured fans that “as always our main man Dima Burarrwanga will be bringing the energy as he always does. This ‘For The Dreams’ tour is gonna be something really special – same King Stingray spirit, same unstoppable Yolŋu rock and a whole lotta love.”
Their tour of Australia kicked off yesterday (March 20) in Sydney, and will see them perform four more shows across the continent between now and April 4, where they’ll wrap up in Fremantle.
Just days before announcing Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu’s exit from the band, King Stingray announced their first-ever tour of Europe and the UK, set to kick off in May. The first leg of the tour sees them supporting King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard in Lithuania, Greece and Bulgaria before embarking on their own headlining run in Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands and London.
Check out the full list of tour dates below and get tickets here.
MAY
29 – Lukiskes Prison 2.0 – Vilnius, Lithuania*
30 – Lukiskes Prison 2.0 – Vilnius, Lithuania*
31 – Lukiskes Prison 2.0 – Vilnius, Lithuania*
JUNE
04 – Lycabettus Theatre – Athens, Greece*
05 – Lycabettus Theatre – Athens, Greece*
06 – Lycabettus Theatre – Athens, Greece*
08 – Ancient Theatre – Plovdiv, Bulgaria*
09 – Ancient Theatre – Plovdiv, Bulgaria*
10 – Ancient Theatre – Plovdiv, Bulgaria*
12 – Trix – Antwerp, Belgium
14 – Bahnhof St Pauli – Hamburg, Germany
15 – Plan B – Malmo, Sweden
17 – Frannz Club – Berlin, Germany
18 – Hellios 37 – Cologne, Germany
19 – Melkweg – Amsterdam, Netherlands
21 – Village Underground – London, UK
* supporting King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
In a glowing five-star review of King Stingray’s 2022 self-titled debut album, Ellie Robinson wrote for NME: “‘King Stingray’ doesn’t sacrifice liveliness for poignancy, or vice versa. Cut live to tape, it’s driven by the band’s DIY spirit and youthful energy, with tight performances and sharp songwriting. It destroys the idea that a fun album can’t also feel powerful, and we can’t wait to see how King Stingray continue to build on what they establish with it in the years to come.”
Their most recent release was November 2024’s sophomore album ‘For The Dreams’.
The Darkness have shared that their holiday anthem Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End) came together on the spot after a night of heavy drinking.
Guitarist Dan Hawkins looked back on the moment the band’s label encouraged them to deliver a festive release following their breakthrough in the UK.
He told NME, “I was in the Met Bar getting absolutely wasted with Max Lousada, our A+R guy back then.
He said, ‘We have to start thinking about a Christmas single, right? What are you thinking: Love Is Only A Feeling?’ I told him, ‘Well, that is not a Christmas single, is it?’ He asked if we already had one and I said ‘Yeah’… even though we did not.”
The following day, while on the way to open for Metallica at Dublin’s RDS Arena, the group jumped straight into creating it. Hawkins picked up fairy lights and Christmas sweaters for the tour bus, and the 2003 track came together quickly.
He continued, “Justin had that chorus lying around as something he messed with years ago.
We figured out how to shape it into a real song and it was wrapped up within a couple of hours in the back of the bus. We honestly just blagged the whole thing.”
Even with its quick creation, Hawkins explained that the band wanted to craft an authentic Christmas single rather than simply dropping sleigh bells onto an already finished idea.
He added, “At that moment, I really wanted to compete. I wanted to be involved in the race for Christmas. You can tell instantly when someone just tosses in bells and the word ‘Christmas’ to an ordinary song. We wanted to make something that felt real.”
The track eventually grew into one of the band’s most iconic releases, placing The Darkness securely among modern Christmas rock staples.
The song narrowly missed the top spot after losing out to Gary Jules and Michael Andrews’ cover of the Tears For Fears track Mad World.
