Interpol reveal new live drummer for upcoming tour dates

Interpol have revealed that drummer Urian Hackney is set to join them on their upcoming tour with Sam Fogarino still unable to resume live duties. 

• Read More: Interpol on 20 years of ‘Antics’ and touring with The Cure: “It was another era”

Fogarino, who joined the New York City band in 2000, underwent spinal surgery in 2023 and stepped back from touring, with Chris Broome stepping in. The following year, Fogarino told fans that, despite the surgery and recovery being successful, he was still “dealing with continued health issues,” leading to Broome joining up with the band again. 

After a year away from touring, they’re beginning a North and South American tour with a show in Miami on Saturday (March 7). They announced in an Instagram post today (March 5) that they have new music “coming soon”, and that Fogarino played on and co-wrote it, but that “he is still not available to join us on tour for the time being.”

They continued: “In the meantime, we are honoured to inform you that we will be sharing the stage with Urian Hackney on drums. Look him up. He’s amazing.”

In the comments, Hackney wrote, “Will do my best to honour brother [Fogarino] on the kit!” adding a heart emoji.

The drummer formed the punk band Rough Francis with his brothers, Bobby Jr. and Julian, in 2008, while he’s also part of The Armed and has played with Iggy Pop as well as bands including Trash Talk and Converge.

As for Interpol, their first album since 2022’s ‘The Other Side of Make-Believe’ seems to be getting closer. Representatives confirmed as far back as August 2024 that they were working on it and that Fogarino was involved amid his continued recovery. 

When NME asked frontman Paul Banks how work on new material was going the following month, he said: “Pretty great, to be honest with you. I’m pretty pumped about the stuff that we have worked on so far. That’s all I can really say: it’s an enthusiastic ‘yes’. It’s pretty cool.

“With this [next] record, we’re getting back to writing together in a room and my favourite tracks so far are quite high energy.”

Last July, meanwhile, guitarist Daniel Kessler told NME that the band were “very far along” with the new album. “It feels great. We’ve still got a little bit of work to do, but it’s really getting there. We’re all really excited about the results and the feel of it. It will be coming out next year.”

He added: “There are some upbeat tracks, but also some different atmospherics that I don’t think we’ve had before. There are different moods. It’s not all rock; some of it is more upbeat in a different kind of way to what people might think of Interpol. It’s been a really fun process.

“It’s the first album we recorded in New York in 10 years, and it has a very winter-time New York feel to it. The studio had an open floor, we could see the skyline, and it had this Gotham kind of setting for us. It’s got a sense of that, for sure.”

After Interpol wrap up their North and South American dates in April with a set during Coachella’s second weekend – find tickets to those shows here – they’ll head to Australia and New Zealand in May to support Deftones. Then, they’ve got a run of European shows across July and August – including a support slot with My Chemical Romance in Italy. 

On August 23, they’ll join up with Deftones again to support them at London’s All Points East x Outbreak as part of a stacked line-up also featuring the likes of IDLES, Amyl & The Sniffers, AFI, Esdeekid, JPEGMAFIA, Deafheaven, ¥øu$Uk€ ¥uk1mat$U and Mannequin Pussy.

From November to December, they’re rounding off the year with a co-headline tour alongside Bloc Party in the UK and Europe, including two huge shows at London’s upcoming British Airways ARC venue. Find tickets to those shows here.

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