After three intense days rehearsal at Soundstage studios in Acton, we leave for Australia on 18th September for the Dire Straits Experience ‘down-under’ tour. Eight gigs all over the country including one in New Zealand and all within the space of two weeks. Undoubtedly a bit of a punishing schedule lies ahead but think of the air miles !
Back To The 80s at Audley End
The odds were against us - Friday the 13th and Trump was in town. But that didn’t deter the 80s fans who came to witness yet another Here and Now 80s pop extravaganza with an all-star listing of pop royalty. Jason Donovan topped the bill with Midge Ure and 5-Star preceding amongst others. Thanks to my house band of hand picked musicians, we ‘Rocked’ !
It’s Official !
June was my first touring experience with Yamaha in a 35 year celebration of their Clavinova digital piano. We covered Scotland, Ireland and England. This marks quite a seismic shift of brand loyalty for me having worked for Roland for many years. But change is good and I can't think of a better brand to switch to. This hopefully marks the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship with the ‘Big Y’. Watch this space !
‘Dire’ Travels
After a UK run of Dire Straits Experience gigs in June and July, attention in now focused on Europe with many weekends spent flying back and forth. We started with Croatia beginning of June and then moved onto Copenhagen and Norway. Im currently writing this entry from a hotel room in Bad Dürrhiem where we’ll be gigging tomorrow at the Rathausplatz. With fully packed houses and standing ovations it’s clear that there’s a lot of Dire Straits fans out there who just want to hear the music performed, live and authentically ….with Chris White (DS sax player of 10 years) at the helm, they can be assured of that…
A Life On The Ocean Wave
This Saturday I’ll be off for a week’s cruising with Vocalist/Sax player Jimmy Cannon and his trio with special guest singer, Gina Foster
It’s called the Bravo cruise and features a host of performing artists from varied musical genres, including Kathryn Jenkins and Alfie Boe, By the sounds of it, the ship will be completly rammed with musicians so guests will be spoilt for choice Im sure.
With just a week at Sea, we’ll be going from Southampton down as far as Vigo in Spain and back again whilst braving the infamous Bay Of Biscay and its temperamental waters. Better have those sea-sickness tablets to hand !
Cheltenham Jazz Festival
On Monday the 7th of May I will be appearing at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival in the Yamaha Discovery Space. After my announcement last September, about joining forces with Yamaha, this event represents the first actual appearance under the Yamaha banner. I’m really looking forward to playing as a Soloist again and putting their famous Clavinova digital piano through its paces.
To Switzerland and Beyond with the DSE
This weekend in Zurich represents the first of many gigs scheduled until November with the Dire Straits Experience. Most of the weekends this Summer will involve weekend trips abroad to Europe. There’s even a two week tour in Australia in September to look forward to. Thanks to Sax player and original DS member, Chris White, this band just keeps going from strength to strength.
Time for the SAS !
I'm pleased to be back working with Spike Edney’s (Queen’s keyboard player) All Star band next week in London for a one-off gig. After three intense rehearsal days we’ll be supporting Alexandra Burke of X-Factor fame, Andrew Strong, lead singer from the Commitments movie and Brian McFadden of Westlife. All new artists for me to work with. And a wicked band to boot !
Disco Fever Time !
After a ten year wait, It’s finally back. The ‘Forty Years Of Disco’ Arena tour will be appearing in Leeds, London, Birmingham and Liverpool this coming week. Im both proud and excited to be the Musical Director for this extravaganza. The artist line-up reads like a whosiswho of 70s pop music. A treat for any musician to work with the original artists of this magical era of pop music. Sadly ‘The Real Thing’ have had to cancel after the shocking news of Eddie Amoo’s death only a few weeks ago. In their place, Eban Brown of the Stylistics will be serenading the audience with his distinctive falsetto tones.
The six piece house band of hand-picked musicians will certainly have it’s work cut out with nearly 35 songs to play in what looks to be a very entertaining evening.
All Night Long (2018) with Brendan Cole
This week I’ll be starting the Brendan Cole tour. This is the eighth year I’ve worked with Brendan. ’All Night Long’ had its first showing last year and 2018 sees it appearing in yet more theatres throughout the UK and Ireland. Featuring 8 dancers and 13 onstage musicians, we will be visiting nearly 50 venues over the next ten weeks. Lovers of the BBC Strictly Come Dancing will of course be very familiar with Brendan and his live shows. Energy levels will be off the scale as usual as audiences witness some spectacular dancing. For more information check the link below.