The Amy Winehouse Band Bring ‘Back to Black’ at 20 to Halifax
Twenty years on, Back to Black still sounds like nobody else. Today brings a new 20th-anniversary edition of Amy Winehouse’s defining album; tomorrow night, the musicians who helped carry those songs around the world bring the record to Halifax.
The Amy Winehouse Band play Victoria Theatre on Saturday 24 October, with the full album at the heart of a show that also reaches beyond it into the rest of Winehouse’s catalogue. That makes this more than a passing tribute night: it is a chance to hear the arrangements in the hands of players who toured and recorded with her.
A big anniversary, arriving at exactly the right moment
The expanded anniversary edition is released today, Friday 23 October. It adds four previously unreleased original demos, B-sides and the first complete release of Winehouse’s February 2007 concert at Amsterdam’s Paradiso to the original album.
The timing gives the Halifax date a bit of extra weight. It lands a day after the reissue and three days before the 20th anniversary of the album’s original 27 October 2006 release—right in the middle of a week in which the record is being heard, discussed and reappraised all over again.
The album’s numbers are familiar, but still startling: five Grammy wins in one night in 2008, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Rehab”, and a sound that moved classic soul language into a bruised, funny and unmistakably modern British setting.
Who is on the road?
The touring band is led by Dale Davis, Winehouse’s long-time musical director and bass player. The current line-up includes musicians who toured and recorded with her, working with guest vocalists to put the songs back on stage without pretending that anyone can simply replace Amy Winehouse.
Davis describes performing the material as “an honour, pleasure and privilege”. That feels like the right emphasis. The point is not impersonation; it is the musicianship, the arrangements and the live pulse of songs that were built to breathe in a room.
The 2026 tour runs through more than 50 dates across the UK and into Europe. Halifax sits between tonight’s Gateshead show and Sunday’s Carlisle date, giving West Yorkshire its own stop in a much wider anniversary run.
The practical bits
The Amy Winehouse Band: Back to Black 20th Anniversary Tour is at Victoria Theatre, Fountain Street, Halifax HX1 1BP, on Saturday 24 October 2026. The show starts at 7.30pm, the venue lists a running time of two hours 20 minutes, and tickets are advertised from £32 including its Theatre Support Fee.
Check availability and book through the official Victoria Theatre event page. The band’s official tour page carries the wider run.
Monkey Supporter spotlight: VagaBond in Meltham
If Sunday calls for something closer to Huddersfield, paying Monkey Supporter venue Meltham Liberal Club has VagaBond live on 25 October from 5pm. The band bills the set around ’80s stadium-rock favourites, including Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Toto, Journey and Foreigner.
The public event is hosted by VagaBond; check the current event listing before travelling. You can also find the club on Monkey’s Meltham Liberal Club page.
For more properly checked local and West Yorkshire live-music stories, visit the Monkey GigsList blog.
Photo: Matt Crossick, via The Amy Winehouse Band’s official gallery.
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