There's no new album to promote, but Ian can still pack 'em in. The opening night of the new tour saw Ian playing to a full house and I'm pleased to report he delivered the goods. By all accounts, an album's worth of material is ready but there was no new material tonight - Ian said we can blame the bootleggers for that. But what a set! Packed with oldies but goodies as follows:
First encore:
Second encore:
The band was the same as last time (Darrell Bath guitar, Ian Gibbons keyboards, Paul "Cuddles" Cuddeford guitar, Paul "Trevor" Francis bass), except Steve Holly was on drums instead of Alan Young (who seems to have disappeared). This being the first gig of the tour, Ian apologised for the band being "a bit rusty". Well, you could have fooled me, mate. If this was a rusty performance then later shows in the tour are gonna be very special.
(Adrian Perkins)