British singer-songwriter David Gray is due to play Musgrave Park in Cork on June 20th next as part of his twentieth anniversary celebrations for his album, White Ladder, which is the best selling release in Irish history.
Gray has announced a new tour to mark the anniversary of the award-winning album, including dates at Dublin's 3Arena and Belfast's SSE Arena.
Speaking at a press launch in the Metropole Hotel in Cork Gray said he was delighted at how he has been embraced over the years as an adopted son of Ireland.
He said one of his daughters accompanied him to the Live at the Marquee in Cork gig last year and she was “blown away” with the reaction.
It is moving when everyone was singing along. What happened (in my career) was beyond what was rational. This feels like the right time to celebrate.
Gray is looking forward to playing Cork because of its “wild raw and uncompromising character.”
David was close to quitting when he was propelled to success following the release of White Ladder.
Gray said he was on the margins for a decade, a lonely figure with an acoustic guitar swimming against the tide of Britpop, grunge hip hop and electro. He says he came close to quitting having had three underperforming albums to his name.
"(White Ladder) is an album that came from nowhere to steal the hearts of millions all over the world completely transforming my life in the process. (Prior to that) futility was so thick on the ground it was soul destroying.
"Twenty years on and it feels like White Ladder is just as alive for people as it was back then.
"So to celebrate this milestone I will be releasing a special anniversary version of the album and assembling all the original band members with all the original equipment, in order to take White Ladder out on the road and recreate the record in its entirety."
White Ladder was written and recorded on a minimal budget by Gray in the bedroom of a tiny terraced house in Stoke Newington.
Self-released first on his own Kitchen Sink label, White Ladder first found an audience in Ireland. White Ladder eventually spent six consecutive weeks at number one.
Gray said what happened with White Ladder involved more than music.
"It was a sort of heart and soul moment for me and the audience. That was it. It doesn't get any better than that.
Additional gigs are to be announced in the coming weeks for Musgrave Park with acts for next year confirmed to date including The Script, Picture This and Dermot Kennedy.
Last year Hozier, George Ezra and Liam Gallagher played the inaugural gigs at the stadium on the southside of Cork city.
MCD plan to host eight concerts in Musgrave Park next summer.
215,000 concert-goers are to attend gigs in Musgrave Park and Pairc Ui Chaoimh next year with Westlife playing two gigs in the newly revamped GAA stadium.
Artist pre-sale tickets for David Gray are available from 9am this Wednesday November 13th. Go to www.davidgray.com for more information. General tickets go on sale this Friday November 15th via Ticketmaster.ie and www.davidgray.com
