Ian Anderson
Ian Anderson will hit the road in April 2012 for a 19 date UK tour commemorating the 40th Anniversary of Jethro Tull’s 1972 Billboard No. 1 ‘Thick As A Brick’.
The band’s chart-topping record will be played in its entirety - as initially recorded - for the first time since its original tour in 1972.
‘Thick as a Brick’ was a concept album based on a poem written by a fictitious 10 year old boy Gerald Bostock - in reality Anderson himself, who wrote both music and lyrics.
It only featured one seamless 45 minutes long track, although it was split to accommodate the album on vinyl and cassette. It reached number 5 in the UK charts.
‘Thick As A Brick - Whatever happened to Gerald Bostock’ promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime musical experience, rediscovering a timeless milestone of progressive rock.
The performances will also incorporate video projection and other theatrical elements. Ian Anderson performs some of his finest work with the added maturity and skill acquired across a 40 years strong career.
Anderson says: "I never thought I would do this music again in its entirety but, over the last couple of years, I have grown to rather like the idea and the prospect of a Prog moment of profound excess. Question is: will I now become filled with some dark and nefarious need to take this murky, anal business further? You never know..... "
Widely recognised as the man who introduced the flute to rock music, Ian also plays ethnic flutes and whistles together with acoustic guitar and the mandolin family of instruments, providing the acoustic textures which have been an integral part of most of the Tull repertoire and his solo material.
In recent years, he has toured more and more under his own name in solo concerts with orchestras, string quartets, featured soloists and in his other eclectic acoustic shows.
During the ‘Thick As a Brick’ tour Anderson will be joined by John O’Hara on keyboards, David Goodier on bass, Florian Opahle on guitar and Scott Hammond on drums as well as guest performers.
Full details are: -
April
14th Perth Concert Hall
15th Glasgow Theatre Royal
17th Newcastle City Hall
April
18th Liverpool Philharmonic
19th Sheffield City Hall
20th Blackburn St George's Hall
21th Harrogate Royal Hall
22nd Manchester Opera House
24th Derby Assembly Rooms
25th Ipswich Regent Theatre
27th London Hammersmith Apollo
28th Bristol Colston Hall
29th High Wycombe The Swan Theatre
30th Birmingham Symphony Hall
May
2nd Oxford Apollo
3rd Reading Hexagon
4th Guildford G Live
5th Cardiff St David's Hall
6th Southampton Guildhall