“This is the longest it ever happened to me. Being happy.” That’s Charles Bradley, speaking in a new behind-the-scenes video about the soul powerhouse’s new album Victim of Love, which came out this spring on Daptone Records imprint Dunham Records. Bradley spoke with SPIN about his unforgettable hard-luck story, but there’s no substitute for hearing and seeing the Screaming Eagle of Soul tell it himself. The one-time James Brown impersonator reminisces, among many other things, on what Brown’s music meant to him.
The first track to surface from the follow-up to 2011’s fiercely impassioned No Time for Dreaming was the psych-soul romantic getaway “Strictly Reserved for You,” which also got a video with footage shot in Melbourne, Australia. Now, the label has also made available a stream of fellow Victim of Love track “You Put the Flame on It,” which has the carefree bounce and call-and-response vocals of classic Motown. Listen below.
Also today, Bradley unveiled a touring schedule that takes him from Richmond, Virginia, on June 7 to Brooklyn on September 20, with music festivals across Europe and North America in between. The Victim of Love is now the King of the Road.
Charles Bradley tour dates:
June 7 – Richmond, VA @ Friday Cheers at Brown’s Island
June 12 – Paris, France @ La Maroquinerie
June 14 – London, England @ Islington Assembly Hall
June 15 – Bergen, Norway @ BergenFest
June 16 – Oslo, Norway @ Norwegian Wood
June 17 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega
June 19 – Hamburg, Germany @ Grünspan
June 20 – Dresden, Germany @ Beatpol
June 22 – Ballinlough Castle, Ireland @ Body&Soul
June 23 – Duisberg, Germany @ Traumzeit Festival
June 25 – Aarhus, Denmark @ Posten
June 26 – Berlin, Germany @ Huxleys
June 28-30 – Glastonbury, England @ Glastonbury Festival
July 2 – Vienna, Austria @ Jazz Fest Wien
July 3 – Karlsruhe, Germany @ Zeltival @ Tollhaus Karlsruhe
July 7 – Arras, France @ Main Square Festival
July 8 – Argelès-sur-Mer, France @ Les Déferlantes Festival
July 11 – Bilbao, Spain @ Bilbao BBK
July 13 – Juan-les-Pins, France @ Jazz à Juan
July 14 – Rotterdam, The Netherlands – North Sea Jazz Festival
August 3 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
August 4 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Music and Arts Festival
August 10 – Burnaby, BC @ Burnaby Blues + Roots Festival
August 11 – Regina, SK @ Regina Folk Festival
August 17 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
August 18 – Lyons, CO @ Folks Festival
August 20 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
August 23 – San Diego, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
August 24 – Los Angeles, CA @ FYF Fest
August 28 – Salt Lake City, UT @ State Room
August 29 – Boise, ID @ Visual Arts Collective
August 31 – Seattle, WA @ Bumbershoot
September 1 – Bellingham, WA @ Wild Buffalo
September 4 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
September 5 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
September 6 – Arcata, CA @ Van Duzer Theatre
September 7 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom (Music Fest NW)
September 14 – Burlington, VT @ Grand Point North Festival
September 20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Williamsburg Park (Daptone Soul Revue, free show)
