Richard Carpenter, one half of the bestselling 1970s duo The Carpenters, will be coming to Blackburn as part of a UK tour in September 2024, where he will both perform and tell stories about their famous hits.

Richard Carpenter and his sister Karen Carpenter had several hit singles in the early 1970s, including Yesterday Once More, Please Mr. Postman, and Rainy Days and Mondays. 

For the first time, Richard will share stories and reflect on how the duo took the world by storm, becoming one of the most successful duos in music history, while also performing timeless songs.

He brings the show to King George’s Hall in Blackburn on Saturday, November 14, as part of a nine-date tour of the country.

The Carpenters won three Grammy Awards and were nominated for 15 more during their 14-year career, with 10 million-selling singles, and total sales of more than 150 million copies.

In 1966, they debuted as a duo before forming the jazz-oriented Richard Carpenter trio.

As The Carpenters they then signed with A&M Records in 1969 and went on to have great success the following year with hit singles like We Have Only Just Begun.

In December 1969, they met Burt Bacharach, who was impressed with their talent and invited them to open for him at a charity concert performing a medley of Bacharach and Hal David songs.

A&M Records boss Herb Alpert asked Richard to re-work the Bacharach/David track (They Long To Be) Close To You, and Richard re-wrote it from scratch without hearing any previous recordings that could have influenced his interpretation of the song.

With drummer Hal Baine stepping in the song was recorded and in 1970 was released, and hit Number 1 in the charts a month later, holding top spot for four weeks.

Through the early 1970s, The Carpenters had a string of hit singles and albums. Richard heard "For All We Know" and saw the Carpenters' potential in it, so he recorded it in the autumn of 1970, and it went on to become the duo's third gold single.

The duo received two Grammy Awards in 1971, for Best New Artist and Best Contemporary Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus, and won Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group in 1972.

On the UK tour, Richard says:

“After too long an absence, I'm very much looking forward to performing for UK audiences once again.”

Tickets go on sale on Friday, November 17, at 10am, from venue box offices and tdpromo.com

Full tour dates for An Evening with Richard Carpenter’s UK Tour 2024

  • Friday, November 13 – The Grand Theatre, Leeds
  • Saturday, November 14 – King George’s Hall, Blackburn
  • Sunday, November 15 – The Stables, Milton Keynes
  • Monday, November 16 – Ronnie Scott’s, London
  • Tuesday, November 17 – Westlands Entertainment Venue, Yeovil
  • Wednesday, November 18 – Queen’s Theatre, Barnstable
  • Friday, November 20 – The Anvil, Basingstoke
  • Saturday, November 21 – Assembly Hall, Worthing
  • Sunday, November 22 – Guildhall, Portsmouth