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MERCHANDISE
The
last time Gilbert played in Newcastle was in April 2002. It was in the
same theatre as tonight but it was then called the Opera House. Once again it gives his fans an
opportunity to complete their collection of his back catalogue by
visiting the Merchandise Stand at each show. There are CDs,
tee-shirts, posters, programmes and music books available for purchase. The stand is
fronted by Gilbert's sister Marie, and her husband Richard and they both
spend their concert evenings helping fans find their required albums from
the large back catologue. You can see what's available in advance at
the shows by clicking HERE.
For those who can't make it to a live
show, the same merchandise is available from
www.bygumrecords.com
A new tee-shirt has been designed for the
Gilbertville tour and comes in five colours and features the cartoon
sketch of Gilbert from the Gilbertville album sleeve. Bygum Records have
also had Every Song Has It's Play reprinted and is now available.
The very popular tour programme from last year is now back in stock.
The newly re-issued CD of the
Himself album with the 8 bonus tracks is available from Bygum Records.
Click HERE
to email Marie at Bygum Records for all enquiries.
PHOTOGRAPHS
All
concert photographs by Brian King.
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NEW
SONGBOOK
The
is now a new songbook for piano/guitar available. It contains 12
songs including two songs from the new album Gilbertville. The new
tracks are All They Wanted To Say and Missing You
Already. The other songs include Alone Again (Naturally),
Clair, Matrimony, Get Down and Nothing Rhymed. If you can't make it to
one of the shows, the book can be brought from www.bygumrecords. Contact
Marie by clicking HERE.
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LINE-UP
For
the purpose of this report the personnel on stage were:
String
Quartet: Laura Stanford [violin], Eleanor Stanford [violin], Nozomi
Cohen [viola]
and Jessica Cox
[cello]
Band:
Rod Quinn [drums + percussion],
Jimmy Smyth
[guitars, ukulele, piano] and Nick Scott
[bass]
Backing
Vocals:
Nina Ferro & Niamh McNally
Saxophone,
Flute & Clarinet: Pat Kyle
Keyboard
and Accordion: Mick Parker
(1) - THUNDER AND LIGHTNING
-
[From
the album
"HIMSELF"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Band + Mick [Keyboard] +
Pat [Saxophone] + String
Quartet + Nina & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
(2) - CAN I LEAVE
THE REST UP TO YOU
-
[From
the album
"GILBERTVILLE"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Band + Mick [Keyboard]
+
Nina & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
(3) - PRIVATE EYE
- [From
the album "GILBERTVILLE"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] +
Band + Pat [Flute] + Nina + Niamh [Backing Vocals]
Gilbert welcomed the audience and
mentioned his last show in the area which was at the Sage Theatre in
Gateshead and before that he played in the same theatre as tonight albeit
that it was then called the Opera House. He went on to mention that he had
read about the plans to change the name of Newcastle United football
ground from St. James's Park to Sports Direct Arena [groans from the
audience], and if you took the first letter of each word you could make
"Some Dumb Act" which was received with cheers and applause from
the audience.
(4)
- NOTHING RHYMED
- [From
the album
"HIMSELF"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Band
+ String Quartet + Pat [Flute]
(5)
- OUT OF THE
QUESTION - [From
the album "BACK TO FRONT"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Mick [Keyboard] +
Band + Pat [Flute]
+ String Quartet + Nina & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
Gilbert introduced the next song by
saying "People like the well know songs that they hear on the radio, the
singles that are successful and it's nice that they are. But when you
release albums what's also nice is getting letters from people to say as much
as they like the single that introduced them to me, their favourite song is a
partucular album track and it's nice to have that balance. This is a
good example of one of those songs."
(6)
- MISS MY LOVE
TODAY
- [From
the album "SOUTHPAW"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Mick [Keyboard]
Introducing the next song Gilbert asked
"Now the English are by tradition a nation of tea drinkers, would you
agree with that? Having just come back from Japan, they are also a
nation of tea drinkers but the colour is not quite my cup of
tea.......green! That's what they have over there, it's good for you
but doesn't taste very good. And of course in America they like it
iced. so we are traditionalists here, I like my Assam tea, china
cup, tea cosy. I'm Irish by birth and as an Irish person I'm proud
of my roots but I've lived most of my life in Swindon in Whiltshire since
I was 7. Therefore I see myself very much as an English songwriter
in the spirit of Ray Davies and we like to write about what's happening
around us rather than what's happening on Route 66 or halfway across the
world. I think as an English writer you should reflect the
Englishness and so what could be more English than tea."
(7) - WHERE WOULD
WE BE (WITHOUT TEA)
- [From
the album
"GILBERTVILLE"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Band + Mick [Keyboard] + Pat
[Flute] +
Nina & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
Leading into the next song Gilbert said
"As I mentioned I was born in Ireland and the interesting thing about
Irish families is that there is always get-togethers, sing-songs and as a
child of course we had lots of those and the only instrument that was played
was the accordion and I hated it. Guitars? yes! Drums? Anything but the
accordion. That was as a child but I've since learned to appreciate the
instrument and it's also highly fashionable these days with groups like
Mumford and Sons. People like Ry Cooder in America uses the instrument a
lot. So therefore I thought to myself that I have this song that i wrote
about the time the Beatles had a song called Baby's In Black which came from
the Beatles For Sale album. What I liked about that song was that it was
in a waltz tempo which was unusual for a pop song. So that inspired me
to write this little song. So I got together with the band and we decided to
do it for you."
(8) - NOBODY
- [UNRELEASED]
Gilbert
[Vocal]
+ Mick [Accordion] + Pat [Flute] + Band + String Quartet
(9) - WE WILL
- [From
the album "THE BERRY VEST OF"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + String Quartet +
Band + Mick [Keyboard] + Nina & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
(10) - KNOW
WHAT, YOU'RE RIGHT - [From
the album "A SCRUFF AT HEART"]
Gilbert
[Baby Grand] + String Quartet
(11) - I KNOW
WHAT I WOULD DO
- [From
the album "A SCRUFF AT HEART"]
Gilbert
[Baby Grand]
(12) - I'M
IN LOVE WITH LOVE (AGAIN) - [From
the album "A SCRUFF AT HEART"]
Gilbert
[Baby Grand] + String Quartet
(13) - STICK IN THE MUD -
[From
the album "IN THE KEY OF G"]
Gilb ert
[Keyboard] + Band + Mick [Keyboard] + Pat [Saxophone] + Nina &
Niamh [Backing Vocals]
(14) -
WHO WAS IT - [From
the album "BACK
TO FRONT"]
Gilbert
[Vocal] + Jimmy [Piano] + Mick [Keyboard] + Nina & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
Gilbert continued by saying "The very
sad news of the death of Gary Speed [Welsh Football Team Manager] on
Sunday sent shock waves through all the football fraternity but I think
especially up here in Newcastle where Gary was a player, much loved up
here. I have this song which I'll do."
(15) - LOST
A FRIEND -
[From
the
album "FROBISHER DRIVE"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Mick Parker [Keyboard]
(16) - ALL THEY WANTED TO SAY
- [From
the album "GILBERTVILLE"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Band + String Quartet + Nina
& Niamh [Backing Vocals]
(17) -
OOH-WAKKA-DOO-WAKKA-DAY
-
[From
the album "THE BERRY VEST OF"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] +
Band + Mick [Keyboard] + Pat [Flute]
(18) - CLAIR
- [From
the album "BACK TO FRONT"]
Gilbe rt
[Keyboard] + String Quartet + Band + Mick [Keyboard]
INTERVAL
(19) - YOU GOT ME GOING
- [From
the album "SOUTHPAW"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Pat
[Saxophone] + Band + Mick [Keyboard] +
Nina & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
(20) - MAKE MY DAY
- [From the album "PIANO FOREPLAY"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Band+ Mick [Keyboard] +
Pat [Saxophone] + Nina & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
(21) - THE
ALLERGY SONG
- [From
the album "GILBERTVILLE"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] +
Band +
Mick [Keyboard]
(22) - NO MATTER HOW I TRY
-
[From
the album "THE BERRY VEST OF"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Band+ Mick [Keyboard]
As a young songwriter when i was
learning the craft of song writing which for me is the most important
thing because without the song there would be no artist. It's a
bit like being an art student, when you study art, the classics,
contemporary art. If you want to be a good songwriter you listen
to great songs. Some of the best songs written were in the early
part of the 20th century from people like Cole Porter, Rodgers &
Hart, Irving Berlin right up to Bacharach & David in the late 50s
into Lennon & McCartney in the 60s and 70s into the present day. So
when you want to listen to great songs as a student of song I had albums
by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee. Why did I have
them? Not particularly because I liked them but because I liked
the songs they were singing. I think the best male interpreter of a song
was Frank Sinatra and the best female interpreter was Ella Fitzgerald
and Peggy Lee. In 1992 I had a song and for the first time ever I
wanted to do a duet. I didn't really want to use a
contemporary singer. If it had been a male singer i would have
approached Fats Domino, but for a female singer i went for Peggy
Lee. So we called her in New York and she said if she liked it she
would get back to us. She got back to us, she liked it. we flew to
new York and spent a wonderful day with her in the studio. I
filmed it for a video because for me it was such a special thing to
do. Peggy was a living legend and the nice thing was that she had
been in films and musicals and made fantastic records in her career but
she had never been in a pop video. The sad iriony is that Peggy
died in 2002 aged 81 but the nice thing is that I still have this film,
so what we are going to do tonight is show the film and you'll see and
hear Peggy sing and I will sing my part live and my fellow musicians
will help with the accompaniment.
(23) - CAN'T THINK STRAIGHT
-
[From the album "SOUNDS
OF THE LOOP"]
Gilbert
[Vocal] + String Quartet + Mick [Keyboard] + Pat [French Horn] + Nina & Niamh [Backing
Vocals]
(24) - OR SO THEY SAY
- [From the album
"OFF
CENTRE"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Band + Pat [Saxophone] + Mick [Keyboard] + Nina & Niamh [Backing
Vocals]
Gilbert explained before singing the
reggae verison of Why, Oh Why, Oh Why that "Sometimes it's
interesting to take a fairly well known song, not the most well know, I
wouldn't do it to the most well know, and alter it slightly and sort of
give it a new lease of life."
(25) - WHY, OH WHY, OH
WHY
- [From
the album "THE BERRY VEST OF"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Band + Mick [Keyboard]
Gilbert asked if the audience had
seen the recently shown documentary about George Formby by Frank Skinner
adding "It was really interesting and of course I'm a big George
Formby fan, who isn't? he's a tremendous artist. It brought
back to me the time when I was a youngster and I used do schoolboy boxing
in Swindon. I was a member of the British Railway's Boxing Club and
we used to go to tournaments locally and coming back in the van I would be
the one singing the songs including George Formby songs, When I'm Cleaning
Windows. At eight o'clock a girl she wakes, at five past eight a bath she
takes, at ten past eight my ladder breaks. When I'm cleaning
windows. I had a lot of those records. So having seen the
programme it brought back to me that I had recorded a little tribute to
George on an alum in 1994 called By Larry. I did a song called The
Window Cleaner's mate and what I did was to play the piano at normal speed
and then I speeded it up and when you speed a piano up to that particular
speed it sounded like a banjo and it also speeded up my voice which was
meant to be that way." While singing this song Gilbert had to
look at the lyrics on a sheet because as he explained he wrote so many
words.
(2
6) - THE WINDOW
CLEANER'S MATE - [From
the album "BY LARRY"]
Gilbert
[Vocal] + Jimmy [Ukulele] + Pat [Clarinet]
(27) -
CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF
YOU
- [From
the album "OFF CENTRE"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Band + Mick [Keyboard] + Pat [Flute] + Nina &
Niamh [Backing Vocals]
(28) - HOLD ON TO WHAT
YOU GOT -
[From
the album "BY LARRY"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Band + String
Quartet + Mick [Keyboard & Accordion] + Nina & Niamh [Backing
Vocals]
(29)
- HAPPINESS
IS ME AND YOU - [From
the album "THE BERRY VEST OF"]
Gilbert
[Vocal] + Jimmy [Spanish Acoustic Guitar] + Pat [Flute] + Rod
[Percussion]
BAND INTRODUCTIONS
(30) - I WANNA KNOW
- [From
the album "GILBERTVILLE"]
Gilbert
[ Keyboard]
+ Mick [Baby Grand] +
Band + Pat [Saxaphone]
(31) - HERE'S WHY
- [From
the album "GILBERTVILLE"]
Gilbert
[Vocal] + Band +
Nina & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
(32) -
WHAT'S IN A
KISS?
-
[From
the album "OFF CENTRE"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Band + String Quartet + Mick [Keyboard]
(33) -
ALONE AGAIN
(NATURALLY)
-
[From
the album
"THE BERRY VEST OF"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Band + String Quartet + Mick [Keyboard]
ENCORE
(34) -
MATRIMONY
- [From the album "HIMSELF"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Band + String Quartet + Mick [Keyboard] + Pat
[Saxophone]
+ Nina & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
(35) -
GET DOWN
- [From the album "I'M A WRITER NOT A FIGHTER"]
Gilbert
[Keyboard] + Band + String Quartet + Mick [Keyboard]
+ Nina & Niamh [Backing Vocals]
STATS
Gilbert
played and sang 35 songs tonight representing material from 12 different
albums. The breakdown was as follows:
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Gilbertville
|
7
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All
They Wanted To Say/Can I Leave The Rest Up To You/Here's Why/I Wanna
Know/Private Eye/The Allergy Song/Where Would We Be (Without Tea)
|
|
|
The
Berry Vest Of
|
6
|
Alone
Again (Naturally)/Happiness
Is Me And You/No Matter How I Try/Ooh Wakka Doo Wakka Day/We Will/Why,
Oh Why, Oh Why |
|
|
Himself
|
3
|
Matrimony/Nothing
Rhymed/Thunder &
Lightning |
|
|
Back
To Front
|
3
|
Clair/Out
Of The Question/Who Was It |
|
|
A
Scruff At Heart |
3 |
I
Know What I Would Do/I'm In Love With Love (Again)/Know What You're Right |
|
|
Off
Centre
|
3
|
Can't
Get Enough Of You/Or So They Say/What's In A Kiss? |
|
|
Southpaw
|
2
|
Miss
My Love Today/You Got Me Going |
|
|
In
The Key of G
|
2
|
Lost
A Friend/Stick
In The Mud |
|
|
By
Larry
|
2
|
Hold On To What You
Got/The Window Cleaner's Mate |
|
|
I'm
A Writer Not A Fighter
|
1
|
Get
Down |
|
|
Piano
Foreplay
|
1
|
Make
My Day |
|
|
Sounds
of the Loop
|
1
|
Can't
Think Straight |
|
-
|
Unreleased
|
1
|
Nobody |
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