’90s Britpop band Sleeper announce Irish shows
Fans of 90 UK bands will be aware of Louise Wener-fronted indie band Sleeper, who were around when Britpop was in its prime.
I was a fan at the time, and had ‘Sale Of The Century’ on cassette single. Other hits from the band included ‘Nice Guy Eddie’, ‘Inbetweener’ , ‘Statuesque’ and ‘What Do I Do Now’.
The band actually reformed in 2017, and released some new music since then.
Well, the band are back and have announced three shows in Ireland this year, as part of the Inbetweener Greatest Hits tour., celebrating 30 years since the song of the same name was released as a single. Somewhat tenuous but we will allow it.
The dates are:
Sleeper Irish tour dates
Nov 28th 2025 Cyprus Ave, Cork
Nov 29th 2025 The Academy, Dublin
Nov 30th 2025 Limelight, Belfast
MCD Pre-sale Tuesday 25th March 2025 @ 10am (Dublin)
General on sale Wednesday 26th March 2025 @ 10am
Dublin Tickets from €38.65 plus fees.
About Sleeper.
Sleeper enjoyed huge critical and commercial success in the mid 90s with their debut album ‘Smart’ reaching number 5 in the UK album charts. The band went on to achieve 8 Top 40 singles across 3 Top 10 albums with well over 1,000,000 sales. They garnered front covers across the music press and appeared numerous times on key music shows of the time; including Top Of The Pops; an episode of which Louise Wener presented.
Sleeper enjoyed huge critical and commercial success in the mid 90s with their debut album ‘Smart’ reaching number 5 in the UK album charts. The band went on to achieve 8 Top 40 singles across 3 Top 10 albums with well over 1,000,000 sales. They garnered front covers across the music press and appeared numerous times on key music shows of the time; including Top Of The Pops; an episode of which Louise Wener presented.
Together, the band have toured to sell-out crowds in the UK, US and Japan and played the main stages of Reading and Glastonbury. They toured with Blur, supported REM at Milton Keynes Bowl and toured the US with Elvis Costello, who later recorded a version of their top ten hit, What Do I Do Now?
Their music is characterized by astute, observational lyrics and big, hook driven melodies. Wener was an iconic front-person, heading up a movement that brought women centre stage in guitar music.
Sleeper split In 1998 and walked purposely away from the limelight. Wener carved out a career as a successful novelist, publishing her auto-biography, Different for Girls in 2010. Sleeper re-formed in 2017 – releasing top 20 album The Modern Age in 2018 – produced by long-time collaborator, Stephen Street. They’ve played numerous sell-out tours since their comeback, including dates at Shepherd’s Bush Empire and the Roundhouse and summer festivals including Latitude and Tramlines.
Speaking about the upcoming tour, Sleeper front woman, Louise Wener says “Inbetweener is where it all started for us – our first hit single – and we can’t wait to head back on tour to mark the 30th anniversary. Sleeper gigs are a joyful experience, and this tour will be especially celebratory; mixing songs from our entire back catalogue as we head into something completely new.”
