Sabres Of Paradise board the tour bus and head out on their UK tour tomorrow, a gig in Bristol first, followed by The White Hotel in Salford on Wednesday, Leeds on Thursday, the Forge warehouse in Sheffield on Friday, Bugged Out at Tramsheds in London on Saturday and then bringing the curtain down in Brighton on Monday. Back in May and June they played Fabric in London and Sydney Opera House and a pair of festival appearances- Primavera in Spain and Dekmantel in The Netherlands. I saw them at Fabric and am going to The White Hotel. I'm sure I can't be the only person who did not start 2025 expecting to see Sabres Of Paradise play live, twice. There are a handful of tickets still available for some of the venues I believe- try here.
Back in the 1994 Sabres Of Paradise played twenty two live shows, on their own and supporting Primal Scream. They finished the year with some dates in Japan. The live band- the Sabres studio pair of Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns along with Rich Thair (percussion and drums, on loan from Red Snapper and The Aloof), Nick Abnett (low slung bass) and Phil Mossman (guitar, later of LCD Soundsystem)- would kick up a storm, a heady stew of programmed drums, samples and live instruments bringing those classic Sabres tracks to life on stage- Smokebelch, Wilmot, Theme, Tow Truck... Andrew Weatherall started out on stage with them, playing some keys, but said he felt like a fraud and preferred to DJ before and after, and skulk around in the crowd watching them play, smoking and enjoying seeing his band play the gig.
The Sabres re- union comes in part from a night The Flightpath Estate put on at The Golden Lion two years ago, a Q&A with Jagz and Gary (with me in the David Frost hotseat) and then Jagz DJing. Rob Fketcher, of Herbal tea party fame, has a live recording of Sabres playing at the club in 1994 and we played it after the Q&A. Jagz stood by the speakers listening and nodding his head. 'We really pretty good back then', he said. Two years down the line, the Sabres albums re- issued in the summer, rave reviews from the shows they played in the summer and a UK tour imminent, the horses saddled and ready to go, I thought it might be good to get a Bagging Area exclusive, songs from the Sabres Of Paradise tour bus in 1994 and 2025. I asked Jagz and he and the rest of the Sabres were happy to oblige...
Jagz Kooner
1994 tour bus song: Nas feat Az and Olu Dara, Life's A Bitch (from Illmatic in 1994).
'Remember listening to this on the tour bus and when that chorus landed it was a proper 'damn that's a hook and half!', so much so that Bob G improvised it over a Primal Scream song when we toured with them too'.
'This whole album is a sonic masterpiece and I love the fact he has an entire full live band with him when he tours too. Respect to Dan!'
Gary Burns
1994 tour bus song: Cypress Hill, Hits From The Bong.
'I remember listening to this (very stoned) on the bus quite a lot. Loved the fact it sampled Son Of A Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield which was always a favourite of mine too'
2025 tour bus song: Bloomy Mulberries by K2W0.
'Downtempo and dirty. Reminds me of old school acid house times'.
Rich Thair
1994 tour bus song: Depth Charge- Bounty Killers.
'For me in the 90s J Saul Kane was a huge influence, an amazing, creative producer and sculptor of beats. Jon produced fantastic remixes for The Sabres & Red Snapper. RIP J Saul Kane x'
2025 tour bus song: Snorkel- Sirene
'Frank Byng’s Snorkel deserve more recognition for their inventive rhythm chaos. Check the new album'.
Nick Abnett
1994 tour bus song: The Beach Boys - God Only Knows.
'Weirdly enough the only music I ever remember being played on a Sabres bus was the Pet Sounds album! Andrew bought it in a service station and we listened to it on the journey to wherever we were heading'.
2025 tour bus song: Nia Archives / Clipz- Maia Maia.
'There’s an exciting new school of jungle producers around at the moment. Nia is a great example of an open minded generation of new artists. Good vibes and killer tunes!'
Adam says- a bang up to date blend of Brazilian sounds and new generation jungle, new to me and very good indeed.
Phil Mossman
1994 tour bus song: The Sandals- Feet (Slam remix).
'The thought of the Sandals always brings a smile to my face and takes me straight back to those days. The Slam remix is a seminal piece of 90s techno'.
2025 tour bus song: Sunn O))) with Scott Walker, Herod.
The whole Sunn O))) and Scott Walker album is at Bandcamp. It is, it almost goes without saying, pretty intense. Those miles shuttling round the country this week with Scott Walker and Sunn O))) on the bus sound system are going to be quite a trip.
I've sequenced those ten tracks into one mix, a Sabres 94/25 tour bus tape- it comes in at just over forty six minutes so with a bit of trimming you could get it on one side of a 1995 friendly c90 cassette. It starts with God Only Knows and ends with Herod so it could be described as Biblical.
- The Beach Boys: God Only Knows
- Cypress Hill: Hits From The Bong
- Nas ft Az and Olu Dara: Life's A Bitch
- Depth Charge: Bounty Killers
- Nia Archives & Clipz: Maia Maia
- Snorkel: Sirene
- K2W0: Bloomy Mulberries
- Daniel Avery ft. Cecile Believe: Rapture In Blue (Midnight Version)
- The Sandals: Feet (Night Slam IV)
- Sunn O))) and Scott Walker: Herod 2014
If you prefer to stream the mix is at The Flightpath Estate's Mixcloud here.
Massive thanks to all five Sabres Of Paradise for doing this- see you at The White Hotel on Wednesday Night. Love and Sabres to you all.