Gomez make a welcome return to NZ, performing at Auckland's Powerstation on Tuesday 23rd October and Wellington Opera House on Wednesday 24th. This will be their third visit to our shores.

Since their emergence on the English scene in the mid 90s, where their early demos caused a bidding war between record labels, followed swiftly by the Mercury Prize win for their debut album Bring It On (against such established heavyweights as Massive Attack, The Verve and Pulp), they have always been the ones to watch.

Fifteen years later the band are stronger than ever - they have exactly the same personnel and their latest album Whatever's On Your Mind has been hailed as the perfect amalgam of the 'lush pop of How We Operate with the free-form feel of early, beloved Gomez albums like Bring It On.'

To celebrate this milestone of fifteen years together, the band are embarking on a celebratory 'Quincenera' Tour. Meaning literally 'one who is fifteen' in Spanish, this tour gives fans the opportunity to help write the band's set list via online voting on gomeztheband.com.

The Gomez sound has consistently defied easy categorization - blues, rock, folk, psychedelia and experimental being the more obvious ones - and their seventh studio album Whatever's On Your Mind is no exception. With the band's members all living in different countries, the album began life as a series of 'musical chain letters', where each member would submit their demos to an online hub, allowing the others to tinker about with them. Over fifty songs were eventually whittled down to a core of ten and a brief stint at a recording studio in Charlottesville, VA produced Whatever's On Your Mind.

Gomez are (as ever!): Ian Ball (vocals, guitar), Paul "Blackie" Blackburn (bass), Tom Gray (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Ben Ottewell (vocals, guitar)& Olly Peacock (drums, synth).

Julia Deans will join Gomez on tour. From honey-sweet falsetto to menacing growl, the voice of Julia Deans has offered light and shade to a variety of musical endeavours over the years. From fronting Fur Patrol's muscular pop-rock to her electro-pop stylings with Tiki Taane; from co-conspirator with renowned supergroup The Adults to sultry chanteuse with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra; Deans has never shied from adding new strings to her bow.

Tuesday 23rd Oct - Powerstation, Auckland

Wednesday 24th Oct - Opera House, Wellington

Presale tickets on sale Tue 17th July

Sign up for presale tickets at www.muchmoremusic.co.nz & www.powerstation.net.nz

General tickets on sale Thurs 19th July from

Ticketmaster & Real Groovy (AKL) & Ticketek (WGTN)