Hoodoo Gurus Announce New Album 'Silk Purse - Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra'

Aussie greats Hoodoo Gurus return with new live album Silk Purse – Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, out Friday 4 December.

The album was recorded at the band's historic debut with the MSO at Sidney Myer Music Bowl earlier this year on Thursday 29 January, conducted by Nicholas Buc and featuring arrangements by Alex Turley. 

The double album features all Gurus biggest hits, including 'Bittersweet', '1000 Miles Away', 'Miss Freelove '69', 'What’s My Scene?', 'Come Anytime', 'Death Defying', 'My Girl' and more, along with deep cuts and hidden gems from their extensive discography, such as 'The Wedding Song', 'The Stars Look Down', 'My Caravan' and 'Spaghetti Western'.

The band have shared the album's lead single, a spectacular version of 'My Caravan' that gives fans a glimpse of what to expect from the record.

"We originally did this with a smaller ensemble, the Canberra Symphony in 2024," Dave Faulkner explains. "Unfortunately, there was a huge technical issue ... This noise destroyed the whole recording across all the channels, so the tapes were unusable."

"We called it Silk Purse for a reason," Faulkner says. "We are the sow's ear that’s been turned into a silk purse by this lovely orchestra. It’s not a rock record. It’s not a classical record. It’s just a record, and that’s kind of how I like it."

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Silk Purse lands midway through Hoodoo Gurus upcoming Rewind Tour All Killer, No Filler Australian tour with special guests Ratcat & The Stems.

The tour kicks off in Adelaide with two concerts at Hindley Street Music Hall on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 November (sold out). Hoodoo Gurus then play Perth on Tuesday 1 December at Ice Cream Factory, followed by Sydney's Tumbalong Park on Saturday 5 December and Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens as part of Live in the Gardens on Sunday 6 December. The band then heads to Brisbane for two shows at Fortitude Music Hall on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 (sold out) December, wrapping the tour at Hobart's Odeon Theatre on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 (sold out) December.

Tickets for the remaining shows are on sale now at frontiertouring.com.

"We've often been described as a 'singles band', so for this Rewind Tour we're gonna embrace that notion by only playing songs that were released as singles," says the Faulkner.

"No b-sides, no album tracks, we'll just be concentrating on the hits - and quite a few misses as well! It's funny, but some of our biggest flops went on to become some of our most beloved songs. 'Axegrinder' horrified radio programmers back in the day - 'We can’t play that!' seemed to be their collective response - but within 12 months, 'Axegrinder' had become a fan favourite, which it remains to this day. There are a whole lot of other near-misses that fall into that category. Along with all our bona fide hits, we’re hoping to play every one of our 42 singles at least once somewhere during this tour."

Silk Purse – Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra by Hoodoo Gurus is out Friday 4 December. Pre-order/save here. Catch Hoodoo Gurus performing at Hindley Street Music Hall on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 November. Tickets on sale at frontiertouring.com.

Hoodoo Gurus – Silk Purse - Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

1. 1The Overture
2. 2The Stars Look Down
3. 3Zanzibar
4. 4Chariot of the Gods
5. 5The Wedding Song
6. 6Death Defying
7. 7I Was the One
8. 8Come Anytime
9. 9Mind the Spider
10. 10Like Wow - Wipeout!
11. 11Spaghetti Western
12. 12My Girl
13. 13My Caravan
14. 14When You Get to California
15. 15Castles in the Air
16. 16Death Ship
17. 17Bittersweet
18. 18Miss Freelove '69
19. 191000 Miles Away
20. 20What's My Scene?