Thomas Dolby

Thomas Dolby brings his singular spin on British new wave to The Palais in Nottingham on 19 May 2026. London-born and shaped by early stints with Camera Club and Lene Lovich, he forged a pop language where synths meet funk, ambient textures and a taste for cinematic arrangement. His solo arc runs from The Golden Age of Wireless and The Flat Earth, where electronic craft rubs shoulders with soul and jazz, through the elastic grooves of Aliens Ate My Buick and the roots-tinged Astronauts & Heretics, then back with A Map of the Floating City. On stage, he folds sharp electronics, warm keys and wry storytelling into tracks like She Blinded Me with Science and Hyperactive!, mixed with deeper cuts and fresh detours from a producer-composer who prefers bending genres to sticking inside the lines.

Special guest Martin McAloon sets the tone with a focused, melodic set, all clean songwriting and intricate bass and guitar work, a stripped backdrop that readies the room before Dolby steps in.