Saturday 9 February 2019

New Year New Project - Brel, Bob Dylan and originals launch in May!

The New Year is upon us, 2019, The Year of the Pig in Chinese astrology. So its become time for one of my my long time collaborators, the superb musician Jenny Carr and the extraordinary young jazz pianist Jamie Safir and and I to beetle away on a new collection which launches at the newly refurbed South Bank Centre's Purcell Room on May 9th. Co-incidentally my birthday. Yes, 21 again. Ha! Here's the poster for the South Bank's brutally good music gigs campaign.


And you can book that, now, here


There are two more performances of the piece in May, one at my beloved Komedia in Brighton as part pf Brighton festival, booking now


and at the wonderful Saddleworth Live at Millgate in Delph nestling inside the heart of the fabulous north western Pennines.


There's treats in store when we record Bob, Brel and Me in April for release in early September with a posse of truly great musicians contributing to the songs. More about that nearer the time. And the songs. Well, the marvellous Robb Johnson has translated four Jacques Brel lyrics for me; Tender Hearts, To See A Friend Break Down and Cry and Cathedral. We will also do a new translation of If We Only Have Love with a surprise element on record and at Purcell Room. You'll have to come to see what it is!

Photo and design by Steve Ullathorne
Then there are some new Bob Dylan's I've not recorded before including If You See Her Say Hello, Buckets of Rain, Mr Tambourine Man and Simple Twist of Fate. I know. A lot of love songs. In the words of the long gone and badly missed Marvin Gaye. Whats going on?

And from my own repertoire two new songs written with Level 42's co-songwriter, keyboard player and vocalist Mike Lindup, new songs written with Jamie Safir, one of my favourite songs from Jonathan Cooper and my Mabel Stark Tiger Tamer and one of my songs written in Corby with George Reilly and Mark Brennan. 

Currently The Singing Mermaid, which we worked on for The Little Angel Theatre and Northampton Royal and Derngate for Christmas 2017, is touring with a wonderful cast. Getting great reviews, again. All the creative team remain so very proud of our adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monk's wonderful book. Here are reviews from Edinburgh today, hot off the press.


and


Later this coming year there will be a new collaboration with Little Angel Theatre artistic director Samantha Lane.  The Pixie and The Pudding is an original piece which we are co-writing and Sam will direct, I'll write the songs and music and it will be the Little Angel Christmas show. 

So, its a new year! I hope we'll see you at Bob, Brel and Me. There's more info on the newly designed website, here


Do join up to the newsletter mailing list there for a monthly gig and news alert, or you can do that, here - 


I'll leave you with something beautiful, to cheer us through the policies and weirdness of the modern world, I'm sticking with joy.