{"id":2020405,"date":"2026-06-30T12:56:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T09:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2020405"},"modified":"2026-06-30T12:56:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T09:56:21","slug":"johnny-foreigner-return-with-new-album-forwards-and-thrashing-single-the-new-navigation-ahead-of-uk-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2020405","title":{"rendered":"Johnny Foreigner return with new album \u2018Forwards!\u2019 and thrashing single \u2018The New Navigation\u2019 ahead of UK tour"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/JohnnyForeignerannouncenewalbumForwards-news-story.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"template-id-2749694\" class=\"post-2749694 tdb_templates type-tdb_templates status-publish post\">\n<div id=\"tdi_65\" class=\"tdc-zone\">\n<div class=\"tdc_zone tdi_66  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div id=\"tdi_67\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_1400 td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_68  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_70  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_breadcrumbs tdi_71 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-breadcrumbs \" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_71\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span>News<\/span><i class=\"tdb-bread-sep td-icon-right\"><\/i><span>Music News<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_title tdi_72 tdb-single-title td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_72\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Johnny Foreigner return with new album \u2018Forwards!\u2019 and thrashing single \u2018The New Navigation\u2019 ahead of UK tour<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_73 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_73\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a record of where we came from and why we are like this,&#8221; the Birmingham band explained. &#8220;A record of how parliament and press stoked division and invoked \u2018patriotism\u2019 to burn the foreigners out of town&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_75 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_75\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> Tom Skinner<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_76 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_76\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2026-06-30T13:56:21+01:00\">30th June 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- .\/block --><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_77\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_1400 td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_78  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_80  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span8\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_81 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_81\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<figure>\n                                    <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"696\" height=\"442\" class=\"entry-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/JohnnyForeignerannouncenewalbumForwards-news-story-696x442.jpg\" alt=\"Johnny Foreigner press photograph\" title=\"JohnnyForeignerannouncenewalbumForwards-news-story\"><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\">Johnny Foreigner. CREDIT: Press<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_row_inner tdi_83 article-content-row vc_row vc_inner wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column_inner tdi_85  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-inner-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Johnny Foreigner have announced their new album, \u2018Forwards!\u2019, with the single \u2018The New Navigation\u2019 and details of a UK tour. Find all the details below.<\/p>\n<p>The Birmingham indie band will release the record on September 4 via Alcopop! Records, following on from 2024\u2019s \u2018How To Be Hopeful\u2019. Pre-order\/pre-save here.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span>  <\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-article-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>They have described the forthcoming project as a \u201csmall collection of songs\u201d about their home city. It comprises 10 full-length tracks, \u201csix actual songs\u201d, each named from prominent bits of Birmingham media, and \u201cfour cursed field recordings\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>To preview \u2018Forwards!\u2019, the four-piece have shared the noisy, thrashing cut \u2018The New Navigation\u2019, which takes its name from an 18th-century folk song, <em>Birmingham Lads (The New Navigation)<\/em>, about the city\u2019s new waterways making Birmingham a desirable place to live.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur version is about the 1945 Distribution of Industry Act that deliberately choked Birmingham\u2019s expansion, and the current \u2018managed bankruptcy\u2019 that\u2019s cutting services, selling assets, and pushing folks out of the city,\u201d explained frontman Alexei Berrow.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>On the whole, \u2018Forwards!\u2019 will take the listener on a roughly chronological journey through key moments in Brummie history. These include the Lunar Society\/Priestley Riots, post-war brutalist redevelopment, and \u201cthe current era of apathy, strikes, mystery fires, and grifters stoking dangerously misguided \u2018patriotism&#8217;\u201d.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad1 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\"><\/span><\/p>\n<h5 class=\"taboola-mid-article-title\">Recommended<\/h5>\n<div id=\"taboola-mid-article\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The album came from the group\u2019s\u00a0view of Birmingham as both a microcosm of the wider country, and a testing ground for 200 years of unaccountable Westminster experimentation. Its title is lifted from the city\u2019s oft-derided civic motto.<\/p>\n<p>Brummie trio Luxury Nan Smell contribute backing vocals throughout the record as The City Elders, who interrupt, question or comment on the songs like a running director\u2019s commentary.<\/p>\n<p>Bryn Bowen, meanwhile, appears as The Lords Of Change \u2013 a recurring voice embodying the landlords, lawmakers and civic powerbrokers who shape the city from above.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DaNEZWODFVo\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad2 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span>  <\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-article-2\" class=\"lazy-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a record of where we came from and why we are like this,\u201d Johnny Foreigner said in a statement. \u201cA record of how parliament and press stoked division and invoked \u2018patriotism\u2019 to burn the foreigners out of town. A record of how our nominally progressive Labour council was useless, controlled and corrupted, and bankrupted our city, and of how we were once quietly proud of our ingenuity, tolerance, and hope for the future\u2026 and now we are not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[\u2026] As ever, this seems like both a dumb move in terms of Furthering Our Career\/Increasing Our Demographic, and absolutely the right thing for Our Band Johnny Foreigner to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They concluded: \u201cAnd as ever, we are super proud of what we\u2019ve made, but being from Birmingham, we pathologically cannot admit that out loud.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnny Foreigner are taking \u2018Forwards!\u2019 on a UK headline tour this September. Buy tickets here, and see the full schedule below.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SEPTEMBER<\/strong><br data-start=\"60\" data-end=\"63\"><strong>03 \u2013 JT Soar, Nottingham<\/strong><br data-start=\"86\" data-end=\"89\"><strong>04 \u2013 The Social, London<\/strong><br data-start=\"111\" data-end=\"114\"><strong>06 \u2013 The Joiners, Southampton<\/strong><br data-start=\"142\" data-end=\"145\"><strong>07 \u2013 The Exchange, Bristol<\/strong><br data-start=\"170\" data-end=\"173\"><strong>08 \u2013 Dead Wax, Norwich<\/strong><br data-start=\"194\" data-end=\"197\"><strong>09 \u2013 Yellow Arch Studios, Sheffield<\/strong><br data-start=\"231\" data-end=\"234\"><strong>10 \u2013 Hare and Hounds, Birmingham<\/strong><br data-start=\"266\" data-end=\"269\"><strong>13 \u2013 YES, Manchester<\/strong><br data-start=\"289\" data-end=\"292\"><strong>17 \u2013 The Fighting Cocks, Kingston<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_tags tdi_87 td-pb-border-top 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data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/new_order_2023-400x254.jpg\" data-img-retina-url=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/new_order_2023-800x508.jpg\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert aren\u2019t playing live with New Order \u201cfor the foreseeable future\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>                    <span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span>                <\/article>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Johnny Foreigner have announced their new album, \u2018Forwards!\u2019, with the single \u2018The New Navigation\u2019 and details of a UK tour. Find all the details below.<\/p>\n<p>The Birmingham indie band will release the record on September 4 via Alcopop! Records, following on from 2024\u2019s \u2018How To Be Hopeful\u2019. Pre-order\/pre-save here.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span>  <\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-article-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>They have described the forthcoming project as a \u201csmall collection of songs\u201d about their home city. It comprises 10 full-length tracks, \u201csix actual songs\u201d, each named from prominent bits of Birmingham media, and \u201cfour cursed field recordings\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>To preview \u2018Forwards!\u2019, the four-piece have shared the noisy, thrashing cut \u2018The New Navigation\u2019, which takes its name from an 18th-century folk song, <em>Birmingham Lads (The New Navigation)<\/em>, about the city\u2019s new waterways making Birmingham a desirable place to live.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur version is about the 1945 Distribution of Industry Act that deliberately choked Birmingham\u2019s expansion, and the current \u2018managed bankruptcy\u2019 that\u2019s cutting services, selling assets, and pushing folks out of the city,\u201d explained frontman Alexei Berrow.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>On the whole, \u2018Forwards!\u2019 will take the listener on a roughly chronological journey through key moments in Brummie history. These include the Lunar Society\/Priestley Riots, post-war brutalist redevelopment, and \u201cthe current era of apathy, strikes, mystery fires, and grifters stoking dangerously misguided \u2018patriotism&#8217;\u201d.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad1 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\"><\/span><\/p>\n<h5 class=\"taboola-mid-article-title\">Recommended<\/h5>\n<div id=\"taboola-mid-article\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The album came from the group\u2019s\u00a0view of Birmingham as both a microcosm of the wider country, and a testing ground for 200 years of unaccountable Westminster experimentation. Its title is lifted from the city\u2019s oft-derided civic motto.<\/p>\n<p>Brummie trio Luxury Nan Smell contribute backing vocals throughout the record as The City Elders, who interrupt, question or comment on the songs like a running director\u2019s commentary.<\/p>\n<p>Bryn Bowen, meanwhile, appears as The Lords Of Change \u2013 a recurring voice embodying the landlords, lawmakers and civic powerbrokers who shape the city from above.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DaNEZWODFVo\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad2 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span>  <\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-article-2\" class=\"lazy-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a record of where we came from and why we are like this,\u201d Johnny Foreigner said in a statement. \u201cA record of how parliament and press stoked division and invoked \u2018patriotism\u2019 to burn the foreigners out of town. A record of how our nominally progressive Labour council was useless, controlled and corrupted, and bankrupted our city, and of how we were once quietly proud of our ingenuity, tolerance, and hope for the future\u2026 and now we are not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[\u2026] As ever, this seems like both a dumb move in terms of Furthering Our Career\/Increasing Our Demographic, and absolutely the right thing for Our Band Johnny Foreigner to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They concluded: \u201cAnd as ever, we are super proud of what we\u2019ve made, but being from Birmingham, we pathologically cannot admit that out loud.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnny Foreigner are taking \u2018Forwards!\u2019 on a UK headline tour this September. Buy tickets here, and see the full schedule below.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SEPTEMBER<\/strong><br data-start=\"60\" data-end=\"63\"><strong>03 \u2013 JT Soar, Nottingham<\/strong><br data-start=\"86\" data-end=\"89\"><strong>04 \u2013 The Social, London<\/strong><br data-start=\"111\" data-end=\"114\"><strong>06 \u2013 The Joiners, Southampton<\/strong><br data-start=\"142\" data-end=\"145\"><strong>07 \u2013 The Exchange, Bristol<\/strong><br data-start=\"170\" data-end=\"173\"><strong>08 \u2013 Dead Wax, Norwich<\/strong><br data-start=\"194\" data-end=\"197\"><strong>09 \u2013 Yellow Arch Studios, Sheffield<\/strong><br data-start=\"231\" data-end=\"234\"><strong>10 \u2013 Hare and Hounds, Birmingham<\/strong><br data-start=\"266\" data-end=\"269\"><strong>13 \u2013 YES, Manchester<\/strong><br data-start=\"289\" data-end=\"292\"><strong>17 \u2013 The Fighting Cocks, Kingston<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/johnny-foreigner-return-with-new-album-forwards-and-thrashing-single-the-new-navigation-ahead-of-uk-tour-buy-tickets-3954185&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/JohnnyForeignerannouncenewalbumForwards-news-story.jpg&#8221;] NewsMusic News Johnny Foreigner return with new album \u2018Forwards!\u2019 and thrashing single \u2018The New Navigation\u2019 ahead of UK tour &#8220;It&#8217;s a record of where we came from and why we are like this,&#8221; the Birmingham band explained. &#8220;A record of how parliament and press stoked division and invoked \u2018patriotism\u2019 to burn the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,78],"class_list":["post-2020405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nme-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2020405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020405\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2020405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2020405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2020405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}