A lot of work is going in to the Machine Music Tour now which starts on May 22 in Leicester. You may have noticed already a lot of features and interviews in various newspapers and magazines and also on radio. The media support has been extremely strong and positive and it’s kept me very busy. There have been lot’s of meetings with various people looking at the stage show and lighting, the projections that we will be using, sound systems and so on. Choosing the winners of our film competition was actually very difficult. If I’m honest I hadn’t really expected to get many things that were good enough and suitable but I was amazed at the quality of so many of the entries and they will be a very powerful and welcome addition to the projection element of the new show. We also have some stunning new lights that we will be trying out as the tour progresses.

The biggest task though has been deciding which songs to play. The set list includes many songs that haven’t been played for a long time. In fact the set is mainly made up of songs that we don’t usually play and that’s meant that the band are already at work learning things they are completely unfamiliar with. Going though the hundreds of tapes and files that I have in storage looking for those rare parts and sounds has taken a lot of time but we are determined to recreate those old songs the way they were made, the way you know them. It will be a radically different set to what we have been playing and I’m unlikely to play a set like it again for many years so it should be quite an interesting and exciting experience.

Going back to places we haven’t played for a while is always enjoyable. For example Leicester, at the very start of the tour, should be a great night,. Other places like Newcastle and Cardiff that we don’t visit as often as I’d like are also on the tour and it will be good to play there again. One of the most exciting things about this tour though is having ‘Officers’ as support. Officers are without doubt one of the best new bands around and are going to be massive. I’ve already recorded a track with them and I’m glad to be involved at this early stage of what will, I”m sure, be a fantastic journey for them.

We also have new merchandise designed specifically for the tour based around the DVD artwork and we will also have the Machine Music DVD itself available to view on screen and to buy.

I am told that the Bournemouth show will be my 600th concert which is quite a milestone. Also, we will be playing a tribute to Ced Sharpley each night and you can expect special guests to join us for that on some of the shows.

I think this tour is going to be quite special so I hope to see as many of you as possible in May and June, I’m really looking forward to it. GN