Katie Melua releases 'Those Sweet Days'

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Katie Melua unveils new track ‘Those Sweet Days’, the second offering from her forthcoming ninth studio album Love & Money, out 24th March via BMG. Katie, who has amassed 56 platinum certifications and 8 consecutive UK top 10 albums over her glittering 20 year career, announced the album last month with single ‘Golden Record’ (currently playlisted at BBC Radio 2), and heads off on her UK & EU tour in April & May, which includes a landmark show at The Royal Albert Hall in London on the 16th May.

‘Those Sweet Days’ explores the joy of sitting back and allowing yourself to do nothing. Building through the gentle piano and delicate guitar, it sways into a sunshine-filled chorus with soaring gospel harmonies as Katie comes to terms with the internal struggle of balancing work and learning when you need to take some time out.

Speaking on the track, Katie says: “It’s a celebration of going easy on yourself. I can see how much the time and place I grew up in have put me in a state of always needing to be productive, but I’ve never agreed with those who have said if you take a break people will move on. On the contrary, I prefer the idea that people need to be missed a little. All living things need to recharge, and I’d love to carry on with record making for as long as I can, it’s now about figuring out how to do it truly sustainably.”

Love & Money was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in the summer of 2022 while Katie was pregnant with her newborn son. An exquisite collection of songs sculpted by the gratitude of their creator and the positivity found in a new relationship, it also deals with self-acceptance in the face of change and her attempts to let go of “that background belief that happiness carries less weight than its opposite.”

Originally from Tbilisi, Georgia, Katie Melua has travelled far in every sense. After bursting into the national consciousness with her chart topping debut Call Off The Search and immortalised by modern standards such as ‘The Closest Thing To Crazy’ and ‘Nine Million Bicycles’, her most recent album, 2020’s Album No.8, was her most critically-acclaimed to date, seeing her come of age of as a lyricist, gently pushing back against the romantic idealism that forms the language of love in pop songs, and searching instead for something that felt closer to her own experience. From whichever point you last picked up the story, there’s perhaps no better time to behold the evolution of Katie Melua as a singer-songwriter than in the songs that make up Love & Money. The album will be available digitally, on vinyl and standard & deluxe CD formats. The deluxe CD includes 4 bonus tracks including a stunning duet with German recording artist Philipp Poisel.

Love & Money 2023 UK Tour Dates

May 2 Bexhill De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill

May 3 Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth

May 5 Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow

May 6 Sage, Gateshead

May 8 Barbican, York

May 9 St David’s Hall, Cardiff

May 11 Forum, Bath

May 12 Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham

May 14 Philharmonic, Liverpool

May 15 Symphony Hall, Birmingham

May 16 Royal Albert Hall, London