Courteeners on course for first UK Number One with ‘St. Jude’ reissue

16 January, 2023

Courteeners, 2021. Credit: Press/Exclusive to NME

Courteeners are on track to secure their first ever Number One album this week following their ‘St. Jude‘ reissue.

In August last year the band announced a reissue of ‘St. Jude’ along with a massive Heaton Park gig to celebrate the debut album’s 15th anniversary.

Originally released in 2008, ‘St. Jude’ peaked at Number Four on the Official Albums Chart and contained three Top 40 singles.

Now, Courteeners are vying for this week’s top spot after the album’s re-release last Friday (January 13), according to data from Official Charts.

Courteeners Liam Fray
Courteeners’ Liam Fray CREDIT: Mark Holloway/Getty Images

Gaz Coombes, meanwhile, is looking to be this week’s highest new entry, with the former Supergrass guitarist hoping to secure his first solo Top 10 with fourth album ‘Turn The Car Around’.

Courteeners 15th-anniversary reissue of ‘St. Jude’ features the original album plus B-sides, non-album singles and demos.

“They grow up so fast,” said vocalist Liam Fray. “Can’t believe our darling ‘St. Jude’ is 15 next year. Think it’s time for a celebration and we all know that great things come in threes – The Star Wars Trilogy, Sooty, Sweep & Soo and now, here we are, with the third instalment of ‘Courteeners at Heaton Park’.”

Fray continued: “June 2015. June 2019 and now June 2023. This time to celebrate the 15th anniversary of its release we’ll be playing ‘St. Jude’ (in full) plus (of course) THE HITS. I can’t think of any better way to celebrate than to make the pilgrimage to Heaton Park with like-minded souls and lose ourselves like it’s 2008. And, because we’re good like that, we’ve remastered the original album. God bless the band. God bless the fans. Omne Trium Perfectum.”

After performing at Heaton Park in 2015 and 2019, Courteeners will be returning for a headline show on June 9, 2023 where they’ll play ‘St. Jude’ in full, alongside hits from across their back catalogue – you can find any remaining tickets here.

Last month Courteeners debuted a new song titled ‘Lie Back And Think Of England’ during an intimate headline show in London.

And in November, Courteeners released a concert film of their huge Heaton Park homecoming gig from June 2019.

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