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Moody, Floydian Celtic-tinged Rock

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Mostly Autumn are a seven piece band from York and have been formed for over nine years playing music that has been described as organic emotionally charged rock with Celtic undertones. They are hailed as the band rock fans have been waiting twenty years for. The amazing seven-piece have all the hallmarks of the great bands from the seventies – there are echoes of Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Genesis and all of the greats, but the sound is unmistakably their own.

Like the Autumn season itself, their music has a romantic, organic quality and are a rare naturalness, but it also combines elements of sheer power and intensity. The songs seem to grow into life rather than emerge as the work of a laboured writing process.

They have recently won "best band", "best track", best classic rock gig", "best guitarist", and "best vocalist" in the international "Classic Rock Society" awards, voted for by the public.

After signing a major record deal worth over 1.2 million with "Classic Rock Productions" two years ago they have repeatedly played sold out concerts in Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Spain, Norway, New Jersey, Mexico and all over the U.K.

After an amazing 3 years with Classic Rock Productions, both parties decided that Mostly Autumn should be set free and on 4th June 2005 The New Astoria, London saw the launch of Mostly Autumn Records, and a live recording of this gig 'Storms over London Town' was released early this year.  They are currently writing and recording their latest (6th) studio album 'Heart full of Sky' which will be on general release next February 2007.  A limited edition double album is available to pre-order now and will be pressed late November or early December this year.

 " I've been listening to this amazing new band called Mostly Autumn" Rick Wright from Pink Floyd on BBC Radio 2.

"You play like I used to when I was young" BB King

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(Rory Gallagher Tribute)

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Guitarist and singer Barry Barnes is one of Europe's most active enthusiasts working to keep alive the music and memory of Rory Gallagher.

Since 1996 Barry has organized the annual Rory Gallagher tribute gig at Dukinfield Town Hall, near Ashton-Under-Lyne, Lancashire, making this the first, and the longest running Rory Tribute in the world. Currently established as one of the main events on the Rory calendar, and forced to re-locate to Sheffield, it continues to grow and now 'The Rory Gig' attracts audiences in excess of four hundred people from throughout the UK and abroad.

The same impetus to celebrate Rory's genius led Barry to form a tribute band with two like-minded musicians - bassist Dave Burns and drummer Steve Richardson. Both Dave and Steve are lifelong Rory fans, not just some rhythm section that Barry has cobbled together, and it shows! Together as Sinnerboy and driven by belief, enthusiasm and passion, it's the bands stated aim to be amongst the best Rory Gallagher tribute acts in the world. Sinnerboy are ever-presents at all the major Rory festivals throughout the world and were Donal Gallagher's choice of band for the first London festival at Hammersmith (Donal calls them his favourite 'boy' band!)

The Grooviest Man in Town Tonight!

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Liverpudlean 80's Popsters "Wishfull Thinking", "Black Man Ray"

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China Crisis are an English pop/rock group formed in 1979 in Kirkby, near Liverpool, Merseyside, UK with a core band of vocalist/keyboardist Gary Daly and guitarist Eddie Lundon. Their output was pop music similar in style to that of the new romantics, but with strong similarities to the post-punk movement of the early-1980s, namely inclusion of a broader range of musical influences and occasional flirtation with political commentary.

Sharing an affection for Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, and Brian Eno, Daly and Lundon had become burned out from playing with various Knowsley post-punk groups. Daly quit school and then spent much of his time indoors tinkering with synthesizers and a drum machine. Along with Lundon, Daly began writing songs using his high-tech toys. Feeling creatively stifled by the drum machine, the pair eventually asked percussionist Dave Reilly to join them, and in 1982 they released the single African & White as China Crisis on the independent label Inevitable. Later re-released by Virgin Records, African & White was also China Crisis' first hit in the U.K.

Throughout their career, China Crisis has seen moderate success in the United Kingdom, western Europe, Australia and the Americas. Adding Gary "Gazza" Johnson and Kevin Wilkinson to the line-up, they recorded their debut album Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms in 1982. Another single, Christian, made UK #12, followed by two singles from second album in 1983, Working With Fire & Steel : Possible Pop Songs - Volume 2, regarded as a more consistent effort, standout tracks being 'Wishful Thinking', 'When The Piper Calls', 'Animals In Jungles' plus the title track.

China Crisis spent 1984-1985 making their biggest chart run, beginning with their first (and last) Top 10 hit single, Wishful Thinking. Their third album Flaunt The Imperfection was produced by the sympathetic Walter Becker (of Steely Dan fame) which resulted in the Top 20 hit singles Black Man Ray and King In A Catholic Style (Wake Up). The album was followed-up in 1986 with the lower-key What Price Paradise, the key tracks being 'Arizona Sky', 'June Bride', 'The Understudy' and 'A Day's Work For the Dayo's Done'. The band worked with Becker once more on 1989's Diary Of A Hollow Horse, which earned critical acclaim though little commercial success and spawned the singles 'St Saviour Square' and 'Red Letter Day'.

Sometimes misunderstood by critics (and with Daly's vocals not to everyone's taste), China Crisis distinguished themselves from their Liverpudlian contempories such as Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, The Teardrop Explodes, and Echo & The Bunnymen by digesting a cornucopia of musical genres, everything from jazz to progressive rock. Despite the stylistic deviations, China Crisis maintained their distinctive sound through a number of albums in the 1980s and '1990s.

Tragically, Wilkinson hanged himself on 17th July 1999. In 2000 Daly contributed a track to a tribute compilation to Wilkinson, Green Indians. The band accumulated a body of work consisting of six studio albums (including one covers album) and two live albums between 1982 and 1995. Since 1992 there have been three compilations albums of their work.

Soul and R&B diva, Ruby Turner is truly the genuine article. Blessed with a voice to die for

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Ruby Turner, one of the UK's finest Soul Singers, has just launched her long awaited new album "So Amazing".  One of the tracks was recently featured in the BBC Drama "Silent Witness".

Ruby was born in Jamaica and grew up in Montego Bay.  She was told that Grandfather Turner was a lead singer in a gospel group.  Music in the blood was confirmed.  She was relocated to Birmingham, England when she was 9. Ruby can breathe life and meaning into a song whether it is a passionate soaring ballad or a soulful up-tempo groove. Her career to date has been sensational with major Tours, Film, TV and theatre appearances.

Her major break came when taken under the wings of Britons own Blues Legend Alexis Korner – sadly now gone from us.  In the mid 1980's she joined 'CultureClub' at the height of their stardom. Since then, Ruby has releasd 13 solo albums.

Ruby's first Album, "Women Hold Up Half The Sky" was released by Jive to critical acclaim in 1986. This period spawned the hits 'If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) and 'I'd Rather Go Blind' and, in the American R'n'B chart, the number 1 hit single 'It's Gonna Be Alright' - one of less than ten British records to achieve this! It was at this time that she also released her hit album 'The Motown Songbook' on which she performed with some of the great stars of that era - The Four Tops, The Temptations, Jimmy Ruffin etc.

"Ruby Turner Live In Bristol" was her last album. Recorded live at the Bristol Theatre Royal, she performed some of her biggest hits,  including 'I'd Rather Go Blind', "If you're ready come go with me", "Stay with me Baby" and 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered'.  

White has had songs recorded by dozens of major artists including Elvis, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Etta James, Hank, Jr., Tim McGraw, John Mayall and Waylon Jennings

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In 1969, Tony Joe White came howling out of the swamplands of Louisiana into the national spotlight with his classic, "Polk Salad Annie,"--a Top 10 Hit, followed in 1970, by Brook Benton's soulful rendition of White's timeless classic, "Rainy Night In Georgia." Thirty years later he's still doing just what he's always done, creating soul-flavored, blues-drenched, truth-injected songs about swamp characters and reflective soul-tinged ballads about life and love. Throughout the '70s and '80s Tony Joe White toured with some of the biggest artists of the decade including Credence Clearwater Revival and James Taylor. The 1990s began with an explosion of activity for White as superstar Tina Turner recorded four of his songs for her multi-platinum selling Foreign Affairs album including the world-wide hit, "Steamy Windows". With the advent of that project, White formed an alliance with Turner's manager, Roger Davies and his career began to soar. While there was a certain "mystique" surrounding White in the United States, it was in Europe where he gained legendary status. In 1991 he signed with Remark and debuted Closer To The Truth and spent the next two years touring Europe with Eric Clapton and Joe Cocker, among others. He cut two more albums for Remark, 1993s Path Of A Decent Groove and '95s Lake Placid Blues, the latter garnering the first of two nominations for "Best R & B Album" from the Nashville Music Awards, (the second being, The Best Of Tony Joe White, a 1996 retrospective of his work on Warner Bros.). French audiences eagerly embraced White as the 'Swamp Fox' and in 1998, he became the subject of a French produced documentary: Tony Joe White-The Man From Down South. In 1999, White went back to his roots and recorded One Hot July, in the swamps of Louisiana. He then toured Australia and Europe once again in support of the critically acclaimed album. In 2001, Audium and Koch Entertainment released The Beginning - a stripped down in your face acoustic masterpiece that received worldwide recognition and five star ratings in virtually every country.

(Fantastic David Bowie Tribute)

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Jean Genie were formed in 1993 in Birmingham by John Mainwaring the lead vocalist of the band. They play all over the world and pay tribute to Bowie's music of the 70s 80s and 90s. John has had many recording contracts with major companies under different guises and has toured with David Bowie's original band of the early 70s - The Spiders From Mars - being their vocalist. John has been produced by Bowie's producer Tony Visconti in the early 80s and worked with Jarvis Cocker of Pulp and Joe Elliott of Def Leppard. He has also had a number one hit in The Lebanon in 1990. Jean Genie play all of Bowies hits in an amazing show of complete detail. John Mainwearing is without doubt the only other David Bowie on the planet, his voice is exactly the same but you don't need to close your eyes because he looks just like him too.

The South's Finest SKA

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(2-4-1 When you buy music tickets!)
Ian Cognito & Will Hodgson Tour

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Will Hodgson ::

WINNER-PERRIER AWARD-BEST NEWCOMER-2004 Wil Hodgson is quickly becoming established as the most original new comedian on the circuit. Drawing on a wealth of life experiences not available to the current homogenized middle class pool of comics, this former skinhead, punk, professional wrestler and member of the communist party, regales us with tales of anti fascism, small town prejudice, his passion for 'the big women' and care bears.Wil is already a firm favorite with comedians, promoters and audiences and is set to become a big name in the world of stand-up. Reviews "Wil Hodgson's frantically hilarious routine is about being an outsider, but then what would you expect from a mohicaned ex skinhead with tattoos and makeup that has a My Little Pony fixation." THE LIST '...an undeniable talent...a genuine find' TELEGRAPH" He is a true individual storyteller for all the jilted generation, one with all the potential to be a true cult hero."  CHORTLE  'Hodgson's strength is his ability to weave a story that engages you completely … he's a skilful comic storyteller' - BBC Radio 7

First Full Band Tour In Years! (Doors @ 7:30pm)

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Writer and singer of "Stop" returns with an intimate show

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(Fleetwood Mac Tribute)

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FLEETWOOD BAC are the world's first and best Fleetwood Mac Tribute Band, endorsed by Mick Fleetwood himself, and raved about by Peter Green's biographer, the only Mac tribute band to authentically replicate the classic Stevie/Lindsey/Christine/John/Mick 'Rumours' line-up.

The band returned in 2001 with their best line-up yet, and in the last 2 years the response has been amazing. Rave reviews in 'The Stage', The Fireflies and Go Your Own Way (the U.K.s leading Fleetwood Mac fansites); an endorsement from The Nicks Fix (the official Stevie Nicks website); and ecstatic audiences wherever the band played, including wowing an audience of 10,000 at the H.O.G. festival in St. Tropez, and very successful recent shows in the Cayman Islands. The band has also recently been rated by The Times as one of the U.K.'s leading tributes, alongside The Bootleg Beatles, Bjorn Again and the Counterfeit Stones.

The sound, the look, the mystical atmosphere and on-stage chemistry are all portrayed with the passion and energy that got the seal of approval from 'Big Daddy' Mick, and built up an excellent reputation amongst Mac fans through numerous tours, festival appearances, corporate events and TV and radio slots all over the U.K. and Europe.

Fans include original Mac bassist and biographer Bob Brunning, who has joined the band several times on stage for great versions of 'Need Your Love So Bad', and Peter Green's official biographer Martin Celmins.

The Fleetwood Bac show focuses on the Stevie Nicks/ Lindsey Buckingham/ Christine McVie 'Rumours' era of the band (still the 5th biggest-selling album of all time). It also features several songs from the Peter Green days, plus some of Stevie's biggest solo hits, in a theatrical two-hour show, including costume-changes and an acoustic section.

Songs featured include: Dreams, Don't Stop, Go Your Own Way, You Make Loving Fun, Tusk, Gypsy, Everywhere, Oh Well, Rhiannon, Little Lies, Black Magic Woman, Seven Wonders, Say You Love Me, Big Love, Oh Diane, Stop Draggin' My Heart Around, Albatross, Sara, Man Of The World, Hold Me, Green Manalishi and Need Your Love So Bad.

Fleetwood Mac fans are also raving about seeing and hearing favourites like: Gold Dust Woman, The Chain, 2nd Hand News, Silver Springs, I'm So Afraid, Songbird, Sisters Of The Moon, Isn't It Midnight, Leather And Lace, Oh Daddy, Monday Morning, Landslide, I Don't Want To Know, Beautiful Child, Over My Head, Never Going Back Again, World Turning, Blue Letter, Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You, Eyes Of The World etc.

Robin Trowers career has spanned more than four decades. He is one of the finest guitarists in Rock n? Roll history

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Robin Trower's career has spanned more than four decades. He is one of the finest guitarists in Rock n' Roll history. Robin Trower spent the early 60's playing guitar in various London based outfits, the most successful one being The Paramount's. They specialized in mostly covers, but managed to issue several singles between 1963 and 1965 and were a favourite band of the Rolling Stones. It wasn't until 1967 that Trower received his big break when he joined Procol Harum. Trower was a member of Procol Harum until 1972.

After leaving Procol Harum, Trower embarked on his solo career and found the success that has made him a legend today. Armed with his fluid and powerful guitar style, redefined during his stint with Procol Harum. All of his early albums share a tough, explosive style mixed with his trademark "soft psychedelia" that made Robin Trower a power trio that will forever remain in Rock n' Roll history. Throughout his long and winding solo career, guitarist Robin Trower has been called the "White" Hendrix due to his uncanny ability to channel Hendrix' bluesy/psychedelic, Fender Strat-fueled playing style. Trower released his solo debut, Twice Removed From Yesterday, in 1973. The album barely left a dent in the US charts, but that would change soon enough with his next release 1974's "Bridge of Sighs". The album skyrocketed into the US top ten, peaking at number seven selling a million and a half copies and it still sells 15,000 copies a year to date worldwide. Although "Bridge of Sighs" was to be his most popular solo release, Trower's stock continued to rise throughout the mid 70's, as he became an arena headliner on the strength of such hit albums as 1975's For Earth Below, 1976's Robin Trower Live and Long Misty Days, plus 1977's In City Dreams. Further releases followed in the 80's, and a brief union with ex-Cream bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce spawned a pair of releases, 1981's B.L.T. and 1982's Truce, before Trower returned back to his solo career.

The 80's saw Trower expand his audience with several releases that updated his blues-rock style (such as 1987's slick produced Passion). During the early 90's,Trower returned back to Procol Harum for a brief reunion (1991's Prodigal Stranger), before backing ex-Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry on a few releases (1993's Taxi and 1994's Mamouna, the latter of which Trower earned a co-producer credit for).

The 90's saw Robin consistently touring the USA with his power trio. In 2002, Trower returned to the production role, linking up with Bryan Ferry again, to work and play on Bryan's "Frantic" album. In the following years Trower concentrated on writing and producing film music for releases such as "Good Humour Man". In 2005, Fender are scheduled to release a Robin Trower signature guitar to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stratocaster, along with this there will be a "Bridge of Sighs" custom shop Stratocaster, of which only 100 will be made and will mark the legendary album's 30th anniversary. To celebrate this event, Trower has decided to return to live work in Europe. 2006 will see Robin Trower touring the UK, Germany, France and The Netherlands. His band will feature Dave Bronze (Bass), Pete Thompson (Drums) and Davey Pattison (Vocals).

Pink Floyd Tribute

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Perfect Alibi play perfect Pink Floyd! With a psychedelic light show. Perfect Alibi aim to give the audience not only authentic reproductions of the music they love, but also a show with sophisticated lighting and pyrotechnics, filling theatres and clubs wherever. With an ongoing desire to better each and every show they have become the definitive tribute to the music of Pink Floyd. There is no dark side...

 

3 fantastic artists presented by the legendary BBC DJ. This show will be filmed for future TV release

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"Music has the capacity to draw people together or to push people apart. It can be a call to arms or a shout for peace." - Thea Gilmore Thea Gilmore has music in her blood. Born in 1979 Anglo-Irish Gilmore was raised with a strict musical diet of some of the true greats. Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and The Beatles resounded through her house in Oxfordshire and seeped into the brain of a young kid already tapping away at a keyboard writing poetry. Music began to colour her life, and soon the tapping turned into strumming on an old guitar picking out classic Paul Simon and even some Jake Thackeray numbers to sing.

"I never paid much attention to what was in the charts, I was happy listening to records that my Dad played even when I hit 'that difficult teenage phase' where you want to rebel against your folks. It was pretty hard in the late eighties/ early nineties to find anything to rebel with. It would have had to have been Bros. over Bob... I think I chose right!"

Brian Houston

Belfast's Brian Houston may well go on to make a more obviously commercial album but he will struggle to make one that has quite the impact of Jesus and Justice. Jesus and Justice cannot have been recorded for financial gain or for career advancement, although both may follow as a result, this is surely the result of some kind of emotional house cleaning. As the title suggests, the album deals with faith, right and wrong but that simple appraisal masks a treasure trove. Instead of a preaching treatise on the world's ills or some TV evangelist's latest attempt to boost his bank balance, you get the twinkle in the eye music of a born performer. As is usual with highly intelligent musicians, the path of the album never runs smooth. Houston has little time for the rose-tinted view of the world, We Don't Need religion sums it up. This is about personal belief not shoring up the establishment view. There has always been a spiritual element running through Brian Houston's music and, as Buddy Miller has with House Of Universal Prayer, he has now brought that spirituality into the spotlight. It retains all the trademark energy and passion of a Brian Houston album, he is a man who blossoms when he is making music, whether on stage or in the studio and you're guaranteed to leave with a smile on your face. taken from a review written by Michael Mee for NetRhythms

Johnatha Brooke

"In a perfect world, the prefab poseurs would be waiting tables and the gifted singer-songwriters would be big stars.  Jonatha Brooke tosses around gorgeous chords and whip-smart words like Britney tosses her hair. She paints in true grays while Beyonce paints on her next costume. Such elegant pop songs deserve to be heard." - The Boston Globe "This overlooked talent deserves to be heard.  If the music world was fair, Jonatha Brooke would be a huge star.  Her songwriting is more memorable and more poignant than Sarah McLachlan's or Sheryl Crow's.  Her voice is more stunningly beautiful than Dido's or Jewel's.  And she's way cooler than Liz Phair." - Newsday "Ms. Brooke slips considerable craftsmanship into her songs.  Skill and ambition remain, even as her songs have turned to pop forms, showing a fondness for the Beatles and Joni Mitchell. Now and then they also hint at Suzanne Vega, Alanis Morissette, Ani DiFranco and Neil Young.  As the music climbed to graceful resolutions, the implicit promise was that romance can, too." - New York Times

Awesome blues/rock

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Legendary Twin Guitar Rock

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Having already started the year with an extensive tour of Germany, Belgium & Switzerland, Wishbone Ash stop off in the UK for a twenty-five date tour, taking in many of the country's major towns and cities, and proving they're still one of the hardest-working and in-demand bands.

Their colossal work rate is testament to an enduring popularity that shows no sign of abating nearly 40 years after they first formed. In that time, they have inspired bands such as Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden with their pioneering, trademark twin-lead guitars; their unique blend of blues, jazz and English folk continuing to delight audiences throughout the world.

Wishbone Ash has released nearly 40 albums & 6 DVDs and performed on five continents to worldwide acclaim. The band regularly performs more than 150 shows a year, delivering the goods to an ever-growing number of appreciative fans of all ages.

Throughout the years, many notable musicians have contributed their talents to the band, including Asia's John Wetton, Trevor Bolder from Uriah Heep and Laurie Wisefield, who would later play guitar for Joe Cocker and Tina Turner.

The current and established lineup comprises founding guitarist Andy Powell, long-serving bassist Bob Skeat, guitarist Muddy Manninen and drummer Joe Crabtree.

Still selling out venues, they will be performing such classic tracks as The King Will Come, Throw Down the Sword & Blowin' Free as well as songs from their latest album, The Power Of Eternity. With such a vast back-catalogue of material to draw from (including the multi-million selling Argus - considered one of the classic rock albums of all time) the fans will be guaranteed an unforgettable evening of the best in rock.

And as if the band weren't busy enough, they depart these shores the day following their last UK show to start their USA tour by performing in Pennsylvania that very same night!

See what all the fuss is about. Explore the band's website for up-to-date tour information, sound and video samples, complete discography and much more.

 

Influencial '60s Band, former members including Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck...

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By now, everyone knows the Yardbirds legend, if not their music; the band graduated three of the great Ph.D.s of rock guitar: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. They created hard rock out of standard twelve-bar blues, doubling the tempos and whacking the amps up to ten. On the British club scene, the Yardbirds, the Animals, and the Rolling Stones ruled the stages. The Yardbirds expanded the range of the electric guitar, experimenting with feedback, sustain, and fuzztone. They also coined and popularized the rave-up, a kind of free-for-all where you jam long and hard, not as soloists, but in a tandem, until you reach an epiphany about 10 or 20 or 30 minutes later, a shuddering climax of decibels and pure energy, and then—back into the song for one more boom-boom chorus. The Yardbirds were the bridge between the tributary white R&B of early-sixties London and the pastures of fuzz-toned psychedelia and power-chorded heavy metal plowed much later in the decade and throughout the seventies. Yes, the Yardbirds laid the groundwork for Rock Guitar As We Know It. — from Parke Puterbaugh liner notes to Rhino's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1, 1964-1966 We really didn't know what we were doing in those days. We were just trying everything and thumbing our noses, not knowing that it would become a blueprint for a lot of stuff. — Yardbirds co-founder Chris Dreja

(Marillion, SAS Band)

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Fish's music defies trends and fashion, it's a brave statement in these days of banal musical small talk. His career, spanning over 20 years of the entertainment industry, is notable for his charismatic stage performances and uncompromising lyrics.

Graeme Smith, S1play: "...being at one of his gigs is like being entertained by a boisterous host at a particularly loud private party."

Edinburgh Evening News: "It's all great fun, and the crowd loved it. But in full flow Fish prowls the stage, a sinister and brooding figure. Dynamic and powerful, he roars out the lyrics with undiluted passion, at all times in total control of the crowd. A national tabloid recently suggested that Fish was no longer relevant to the music industry. If that is true then the music industry has lost touch with great music, entertainment, passion and lyrics that make you stop and think."