The Teskey Brothers Unveil ‘Live at the Hammersmith Apollo’ with “Try a Little Tenderness”

Photo Credit: Ben Houdijk

Last September, The Teskey Brothers assumed the spotlight in London for a sold-out three-show run at the iconic Hammersmith Apollo. Now, the Melbourne-based duo of brothers Josh and Sam Teskey have unveiled their plans to share that landmark staging with fans around the world through Live at the Hammersmith Apollo, a 10-track live record set to release on July 11 via Glassnote.

To preview the collection, the Brothers have shared a powerful treatment of Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness,” coupled with a pro-shot video from the performance. The duo’s explosive rendition of Redding’s classic, driven by dynamic and stirring vocals from Sam and strengthened by a hard-hitting horn section, exemplifies the gravity they’ve accrued in nearly two decades of performance and winks at the frequent comparison of their nostalgic brand of roots and soul to Stax’s hall of fame. “The way Otis Redding played Try A Little Tenderness was a very special thing,” Sam shared. “We’re very honoured to just try and do our little way of playing it too.”

Beyond the cover, Live at the Hammersmith Apollo features choice cuts from the Brothers’ 2023 album The Winding Way like “I’m Leaving,” “Oceans of Emotions” and “London Bridge,” plus the first-ever vinyl and CD pressing of their 2018 breakthrough single “Forever You and Me.” In keeping with their classic style, the band tracked the album directly to tape with oversight from producer and engineer Declan Gaffney, who worked from a makeshift studio set in the wings as the duo performed with tried and true accompanists Olaf Scott, Fabian Hunter, Audrey Powne, Nick Lawrence and Lily Shaw.

“To go from playing to 30 people at The Slaughtered Lamb, to three nights at the Apollo, it’s quite a special thing,” Sam expressed. “This live record, for us, really collects that experience and bottles it up in one little neat package. There’s something about historical venues like Apollo where so much good energy somehow gets captured in the walls. And it’s a bit hard to describe, the great mystery of these things, but that’s why we went back there for three nights, hit record and tried to capture that feeling.”

Live at the Hammersmith Apollo is available to pre-order and pre-save now. Listen to “Try a Little Tenderness” below and read on for the album’s full tracklist.

Live at the Hammersmith Apollo – The Teskey Brothers:
Man Of The Universe
Oceans Of Emotions
Take My Heart
London Bridge
Carry Me Home
Paint My Heart
What Will Be
Try A Little Tenderness
Forever You And Me
I’m Leaving