Radio Days & Walter Swan

Looking forward to being on the Radio over the next few days...

Tomorrow (Friday PM) we are on BBC Radio 3's In Tune - the show runs from 4.30 till 6; we are joined by the splendid Malcolm Martineau, as we share some of our new album together - Songs of Love and War... four or five songs and chat - can't wait!

Then on Sunday afternoon we are on the Gaby Roslin show on BBC Radio London  -  where we will publicise our imminent shows at the Crazy Coqs - 29th & 30th April & 1st May...

Can't promise we'll keep the red flag flying on the last night, but there is at least a tube strike for most of the run to help us into that mind-set...

Very sad news at the beginning of the week; another far-too-young death.  My old English teacher, now a writer and someone who has booked us twice to work at Ilkley Playhouse, Walter Swan has died at 59 - quite awful and such a waste; such a decent, caring man - we send lots of love to his wife and sons...
Yorkshire Post Obit.

NEW CD: Songs of Love and War

Our new CD has arrived.
It is now available on our site - I delivered a batch to our Carole this pm...
So order your copies now...
Come to the website shop !

Lots of new splendour on the album, where we are joined for the third CD by the wonderful Malcolm Martineau on piano... Poulenc, Vaughan Williams, Haydn, Elgar, Bridge, Jobim, Chopin, Randy Newman, George Brassens & Yazoo! ...and much more: including a tribute to President Kennedy written only in the days after his untimely death for our old friend Ned Sherrin's BBC show TW3...

So pleased to have a new product to share...

Also, just a quickie to say about the TV we recorded last month:-

Rule Britannia, BBC4.... April Mondays - 7th, 14th & 21st - we're in all three (a bit!) at 9PM

Final Recording Session

Managed a rather magical image with my phone!  Here is Richard, taken through a window, thus the garden-frame is reflection - sadly some of my forehead in shot too!!

Final day of recording for new album at Champs Hill, with the terrific Malcolm Martineau on piano too - splendid...
Songs of Love & War - out in 2013 we expect... more news when we have it.

Great studio to record in... picaresque views, art on the walls... all gorgeous.

New things

Lots of new things on offer...

We have been busy preparing new songs for our show On the Funny Side of the Street - lots of new stuff for us; the show is a selection of funny UK material... from Monty Python (not just Lumberjack...), Hee Bee Gee Bees, Instant Sunshine, Barrys Cryer & Took, Tim Minchin (yes OK, he is Australian, but he has lived here for years), Flanders & Swann, Coward and Stilgoe - we have been finding it hard to not collapse laughing in rehearsal!

We are preparing also, a few new songs for publishing by Edition Peters - we'll say as soon as we know more...

We are three-quarters through a new CD with pianist Malcolm Martineau - working title, Songs of Love and War... if only the venue of recording (Champs Hill), MM, we & the producer were available on the same day (ever), we'd be able to finish it soon... as soon as we know etc...

Also another digital CD release - Hear no Evil... from 1984 - will happen in late April.

More news on all this soon,
Have a Happy Easter...

Champs Hill & Malcolm...

Great day down at Champs Hill, recording with Malcolm Martineau at the piano...
We completed everything we planned; Vaughan Williams, Haydn, Bridge, Poulenc, Quilter & Heneker - splendid - thus (working title) Songs of Love and War is well on its way; one more recording day, we feel and we will have all...
With our schedule in the next few weeks (and Malcolm's more so!), we 're not sure when we will finish all this... but we'll keep you posted!

Off this am to record a quick demo of a song for the new Tim Rice musical... (From Here to Eternity)... no waves in the studio, I think...

Champs Hill Recording #1

Presently at Champs Hill, recording our next album... Songs of Love and War:- doing the a cappella stuff on this sojourn... we will add the tracks with Malcolm Martineau when the great man is free! [Early next year...]

Fantastic room to sing in, atmosphere to record, and of course the surroundings at the Bowerman's... quite lovely... & the board and lodging is very good in this hotel too!
Yum!

The Producer is Alexander Van Ingen, and a fine chap he is... ably assisted by Clare...

One a cappella day down... one to go...

Classical Rolls Royce!

We are very blessed by our accompanists!
These days for our shows, on piano we have the fantastic Chris Hatt, the worldwide MD of Billy Elliot...
...and soon, because Chris is not free, we have the pleasant delight of working for a couple of Belgian nights with our previous chap, Paul Plummer, who is presently working at the opera house in Innsbruck...
...and now we also have the splendour of working once again with that Rolls Royce of classical accompanists, Malcolm Martineau. We are recording a third album with him, this time under the Champs Hill label - in November for release next year. We had a rehearsal yesterday, and it was as we have come to expect when we work with MM... looking forward to the CD very much.

It is loosely based on the concert we performed together in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris in March...
Songs of Love and Death/War... (to be decided)...