Today, Grand Slam unleashes the video for “Come Together (In Harlem)”, the infectious third single from the new studio album, Wheel Of Fortune, out Friday via Silver Lining Music.
Grand Slam engages their talismanic, legendary founding energy with “Come Together (In Harlem)”, a moody, strutter of a song from the Phil Lynott days with (mostly) Lynott’s lyrics.
“‘Come Together (In Harlem)’ is the only song on the album which came from ’84,” offers guitarist and co-founding member Laurence Archer, “Phil (Lynott) had a little bit of a thing about pop music as we call it, and he started going down this pop line at the time. I went away, completely rearranged it, wrote another part, and just brought it into our backyard. The whole song is really about ‘let’s come together’. The original subject matter was derived from Harlem by Phil, and we’ve extended the song into something else.”
Grand Slam’s story has been a true journey of destiny, one where early unions ended up leaving unfinished business on the table, and one which finally sees the band attending to said business with the brand-new album Wheel Of Fortune. From Archer’s faultless, fearless fret-driven song architecture on "Spitfire" to Dyer’s swagger and style on "There Goes My Heart". There are moments such as "Come Together (In Harlem)" where the moody strut of original co-founder Phil Lynott is unmistakable, yet the multi-layered steamy swing of "Pirate Song" makes it very clear Grand Slam is firing forward with all guns blazing. Joined by Benjy Reid on drums and Rocky Newton on bass, the creative vigor and will to propel Grand Slam is stronger still, with the new album Wheel Of Fortune being the true statement to this.
“We have a direction that is in my heart, it’s a tribal thing,” Dyer explains, “and the Wheel Of Fortune album is Grand Slam in big boy pants without any scaffolding. This band is something very special; I’m slightly biased I know, but God, I’m really proud of that.”
Wheel Of Fortune will be released in digital and physical formats on June 7. The album will be available in a variety of formats and pre-orders can be placed here.
Wheel Of Fortune tracklisting:
"There Goes My Heart"
"Starcrossed Lovers"
"Come Together (In Harlem)"
"Trail Of Tears"
"Feeling Is Strong (Jo's Song)"
"Spitfire"
"I Wanna Know!"
"Pirate Song"
"Afterlife"
"Wheel Of Fortune"
"Spitfire" video:
"There Goes My Heart" video:
Grand Slam will also re-release their debut album, Hit The Ground. Originally released in 2019, the record has been given a makeover.
“I stopped playing for a while and started a film career,” recounts Archer of Hit The Ground. “In 2018 I was working on location in Guadalupe, and I arrived at the decision to record the Grand Slam songs properly, because essentially, what has been out there has not really been representative of what we did back then. Phil and I had done some work-in-progress demos in his backyard studio, and unfortunately, someone stole them and released them. So, it’s always been a goal of mine to re-visit those songs and do them properly, and I had been thinking about showcasing them fittingly for over 30 years, instead of hearing these horrible demos that people put out.”
Re-mixed, re-mastered, and featuring new artwork, Hit The Ground – Revised, will be released on June 7 in physical formats. Pre-orders can be placed here.
Hit The Ground - Revised tracklisting:
"Gone Are The Days"
"Nineteen"
"Hit The Ground"
"Military Man"
"Crazy"
"Dedication"
"Long Road"
"Sisters Of Mercy"
"Crime Rate"
"Grand Slam" *
* not available on vinyl
Grand Slam are:
Mike Dyer – vocals
Laurence Archer – guitars
Benjy Reid – drums
Rocky Newton – bass
(Photo - Frank Noon)
