George Clinton has announced his final UK tour set to take place in spring 2022.
The Parliament-Funkadelic superstar announced his retirement from the road almost two years ago, but due to the coronavirus pandemic his UK farewell tour was put on hold.
“This has been coming a long time,” Clinton said in a statement. “Anyone who has been to the shows over the past couple of years has noticed that I’ve been out front less and less.
“Truth be told, it’s never really been about me. It’s always been about the music and the band. That’s the real P-Funk legacy. They’ll still be funkin’ long after I stop.”
Clinton has moved away from retirement claims a few times, but while his status on the road is uncertain, he has recently hinted at new music from the group. There are reportedly two projects in the works, a trap-influenced studio album called Reaching For Litness, plus a live release.
Clinton is also refusing to let being colorblind get in his way, having recently mentioned that he’s taken up a new career as a painter. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing,” he says. “And everyone seems to like it. It reminded me of when we actually started going into funk music as opposed to doo-wop, we was ad-libbing and jamming and grooving, and it became our thing. Funk became our calling.”
Back in June, it was confirmed that Wiz Khalifa would be playing Clinton in a new film called Spinning Gold. The project is about Casablanca Records chief Neil Bogart. Casablanca released the majority of Parliament’s albums in the 1970s. The movie’s soundtrack will reportedly feature new covers of classic songs from artists portrayed in the film, so it’s safe to assume that we’ll see Wiz Khalifa perform Parliament hits like “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker).”
Listen to the best of Parliament-Funkadelic on Apple Music and Spotify.
George Clinton May 2022 Tour Dates:
22 – Nottingham, Rock City
23 – London, O2 Forum Kentish Town
24 – Glasgow, O2 Academy Glasgow
26 – Bristol, O2 Academy Bristol
27 – Manchester, Albert Hall
28 – Margate, Dreamland
29 – Scarborough, Open Air Theatre