Razorlight share previously unheard ‘America’ demo from 20th anniversary edition of self-titled album
"I loved it at this point but felt it was a little too safe for Razorlight," said Johnny Borrell
by Tom Skinner · NMERazorlight have shared a previously unheard demo of ‘America’, and announced a 20th anniversary edition of their self-titled second album. Listen and find all the details below.
The London band released the follow-up to their 2004 debut, ‘Up All Night’, in July 2006. It went to Number One in the UK, where it has also gone five-times platinum and sold 1.6million copies.
‘Razorlight’ contains the UK Number One single ‘America’, as well as the top three hit ‘In The Morning’, and the favourites ‘Before I Fall To Pieces’ and ‘I Can’t Stop This Feeling I’ve Got’.
Johnny Borrell and co. will embark on a special UK and European tour this autumn to mark the record’s two-decade milestone. The trek will see Razorlight’s four classic members perform the album in full.
Now, the group have shared details of a deluxe edition of ‘Razorlight’ arriving later this year. Today (Friday July 17), they have previewed the forthcoming collection with ‘Lost In America’ – an early recording of what would become their big 2006 hit, ‘America’.
“This was the first version that we put down,” Borrell explained. “We tried to ‘sell’ it to any interested artists through our publishers but they were getting no interest. I loved it at this point but felt it was a little too safe for Razorlight.”
‘Lost In America’ is a looser, more upbeat take, compared to the final studio version of ‘America’. Tune in here:
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The 20th anniversary edition of the album will also contain the B-side ‘Wilfred Owen’, visible on digital streaming platforms ahead of the full collection. A release date is not yet known.
Kicking off in Stockholm on October 23, the European leg of the forthcoming tour also includes gigs in Helsinki, Oslo, Copenhagen, Cologne, Brussels, Prague, Munich, Paris, Amsterdam and other cities throughout the month and into November.
From there, the group will head to the UK for stops in Glasgow, Newcastle, Wolverhampton, Leeds, Nottingham, Manchester and Bristol.
They’ll take to the stage for a huge show at the OVO Arena Wembley in London on Friday December 4, ahead of two Irish dates in Belfast and Dublin later that month. There’s an additional pair of performances in the Netherlands in December as well.
Support comes from London punk-inspired brother-and-sister duo The Molotovs, with The K’s joining the line-up in London. The latter are also set to open for Razorlight in Europe. Find any remaining tickets here (UK) and here (Europe).
Razorlight’s European and UK headline dates for 2026 are:
OCTOBER
23 – Kägelbanen, Stockholm, Sweden
25 – Tavastia, Helsinki, Finland
27 – John Dee, Oslo, Norway
28 – Pumpehuset, Copenhagen, Denmark
30 – Kantine, Cologne, Germany
31 – Mühle Hunziken, Rubigen, Switzerland
NOVEMBER
01 – La Madeleine, Brussels, Belgium
03 – Roxy, Prague, Czech Republic
04 – Technikum, Munich, Germany
05 – Simm City, Vienna, Austria
07 – Kammgarn, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
08 – Trianon, Paris, France
10 – Den Atelier, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
11 – Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands
13 – Rolling Stone Beach Festival, Germany
14 – Heimathafen Neukölln, Berlin, Germany
15 – Circolo Magnolia, Milan, Italy
17 – Moon, Valencia, Spain
18 – Wolf, Barcelona, Spain
20 – Grand Mix, Tourcoing, France
26 – O2 Academy, Glasgow, UK
27 – O2 City Hall, Newcastle, UK
28 – The Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, UK
30 – O2 Academy, Leeds, UK
DECEMBER
01 – Rock City, Nottingham, UK
03 – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, UK
04 – OVO Arena Wembley, London, UK
05 – The Prospect Building, Bristol, UK
08 – Hedon, Zwolle, Netherlands
09 – Nieuwe Nor, Heerlen, Netherlands
13 – Telegraph, Belfast, Northern Ireland
14 – 3Olympia, Dublin, Ireland
Speaking to NME last month, Borrell looked back on the mid-’00s ‘Razorlight’ era, saying: “My main memory is of the tour bus. Based on what was coming out in the press, people thought I was just hanging out in London and partying with famous women and that was my whole existence. But to be honest, we were just on tour all the time, playing all around the world.”
He continued: “I wrote a lot of ‘Razorlight’ with Andy [Burrows, drummer] on the tour bus, which I think is a good advert for not having the internet and smart phones. Now everyone gets into their own little digital world, but then you couldn’t even get online with your laptop so we were forced – condemned! – to communicate with each other.”
Looking ahead to the tour, he told us: “I’m sure everyone says this, but the band are in a really good place at the moment and playing really well. We’re all thrilled and terrified – not of the shows, but when you start thinking of the planes and hotels and the bus… We can be cranky! We’re humans! But hey, bring it on. Bring it on, I think?”
The frontman also revealed whether he’d be digging out his signature white skinny jeans for the anniversary concerts, saying they “were pretty integral to that time”. He admitted being “unhealthily” competitive in trying to improve on their debut album, too.
NME gave ‘Razorlight’ an 8/10 review upon its release, describing it as “Borrell’s bid for Bono-stature”. It added: “It’s a soulful, romantic album about what happens when the lights come up at the end of the night and life smacks you in the face.
“It’s a record that understands, and is there for you through all the highs and the lows. It’s also a record that sees Razorlight comfortably leap the ‘difficult second album’ trap. Now that calls for a party.”
Despite this glowing review, the record was nominated for Worst Album at the NME Awards 2007. However, the statue ended up going to Robbie Williams’ ‘Rudebox’. That same year, Razorlight headlined Reading & Leeds off the back of their second record.
The group released their fifth and most recent studio album, ‘Planet Nowhere’, in 2024. It marked the first full-length project from the classic line-up – Borrell, Burrows, guitarist Björn Ågren and bassist Carl Dalemo – since 2008’s ‘Slipway Fires’. They had announced their return in 2021.
When talking to NME in 2024 about reuniting for their latest LP, Borrell admitted he had been ready to end Razorlight if they hadn’t been able to make more new music together.
“I said to everyone: ‘If new music doesn’t work, let’s move on.’ I was ready to ceremonially say goodbye to Razorlight,” he told us.