Woolly Wolstenholme and Maestoso

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Woolly Wolstenholme and Maestoso - Archive News

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18th September, 2006

Eclectic Discs will be releasing a new CD of Woolly's 1980 album, Maestoso, on November 6th. The CD will come with the original LP artwork, an eight-page booklet and four bonus tracks recorded live in Vienna in 1982 - "Too Much, Too Loud, Too Late", "Even The Night", "Tonight Could Be The Night" and "Has To Be A Reason". The existing CD of Maestoso on the Brimstone label (without the bonus tracks) will still be available for a while at a reduced price.

Woolly and ourselves will be online in the BJH web site chat room tomorrow night, Thursday, September 8th, from 20.00 UK time. Log on to www.bjharvest.co.uk/chat.htm to talk direct to Woolly about the forthcoming album, "Grim", his work with John Lees or anything else you care to discuss ...

15th June, 2006

Apologies for the lack of updates recently, but Woolly has not been idle. Since the release of Grim in October last year, Woolly has been busy writing new material, and by now there is enough for another Mæstoso studio album.

However, Woolly will also be working with John Lees' version of Barclay James Harvest, including the first full UK tour by any members of BJH since 1992.

Dates confirmed thus far are:

OCT 30    MILTON KEYNES The Stables Theatre
OCT 31    MILTON KEYNES The Stables Theatre
NOV 01    NEWCASTLE Journal Tyne Theatre
NOV 02    EDINBURGH Queens Hall
NOV 03    MANCHESTER Academy
NOV 04    LEEDS City Varieties Theatre
NOV 05    LONDON Shepherds Bush Empire
NOV 07    FALMOUTH Princess Pavilion
NOV 08    BRISTOL Academy
NOV 09    NORWICH UEA
NOV 10    WORTHING Assembly Hall
NOV 11    COLCHESTER Arts Centre
NOV 12    WOLVERHAMPTON Wulfrun Hall ]

Expect songs from throughout BJH's 30-year history. Support comes from Caravan's singer/songwriter Jim Leverton and multi-instrumentalist Geoffrey Richardson.

Woolly Wolstenholme's Mæstoso have almost completed their new studio album, Grim, which is expected to be released on Eclectic Discs in September. The line-up of all-new songs is likely to include:-

• Love Is ..
• A Lark
• Hebden Bridge
• Musical? The Musical
  - Marsch Parodie
  - A Scene From A London Flat
• Location, Location, Location
• Storm
• That's The Price You Pay
• A Funny Kind Of Blue
• Birds
• Harp And Carp
• Loot
• Abendrot

The latest updates from Woolly and the band can be found in the Studio Log (SLOG) on this site.

Three of the ten prizes up for grabs with Fiddling Meanly have now been claimed, and the lucky winners are:-

• Mark Davies, Wales
• Philippe Plazenet, France
• Tim Kracht, Germany

That leaves seven more either unclaimed or not yet sent out, as the prize-winning stickers are distributed at random amongst our stocks - even we don't know which ones they're in! Check your copy carefully, or order now to be in with a chance of one of these exclusive, unavailable elsewhere, never to be repeated [you're repeating yourself - Ed] ...

LOOK FOR THE THREE BRASS MONKEYS!

Look for the three brass monkeys and win a lucky bag! Some of you lot are in for a treat because, casually salted through the club run of 500 Fiddling Meanlies will be ten numbered tokens that can be exchanged for a pile of interesting stuff. Containing all manner of things, much of which has never, isn't, and probably won't be commercially available blah blah blah ... This is in addition to the lovingly and personally hand-signed autographed (with a pen) CDs ordered before the official release date of February 21st. Free balloon with every (it's beginning to sound like a children's party).

We now have the tracklisting for the Fiddling Meanly live CD, due out on February 21st:-

• Abendrot
• The Bells, THE BELLS!
• Deceivers All
• Has To Be A Reason
• In Search Of England
• The Iron Maiden
• Sunday Bells
• Poor Wages
• The Poet/After The Day
• The Will To Fly
• A Prospect Of Whitby
• Harbour
• Early Morning
• Big Organ End

"Abendrot" and "Big Organ End" (!) are variations on an instrumental piece which have been recorded especially for this album. For more information see the Fiddling Meanly page.

Work began on the new Mæstoso studio album on October 22nd at Steve Broomhead's home studio. You can follow the band's progress with our exclusive web studio log (SLOG) page.

The WWWebsite is proud to announce an exclusive live CD of highlights from the concert by Woolly Wolstenholme's Mæstoso at London's Mean Fiddler on May 12th, 2004. This album will not be available in shops or any other mail-order outlets, but will be a strictly limited edition available solely through this site. The tracklisting will be finalised soon, but will definitely include stunning versions of Barclay James Harvest classics such as "Early Morning", "Poor Wages" and "The Poet"/"After The Day", plus Mæstoso favourites such as "The Will To Fly" and "Sunday Bells". Fiddling Meanly will be released as stricly limited edition in February 2005.

Woolly and the Maestoso band will perform their second live concert on 27th November at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London. Although they will be supporting Caravan, they will still play at least a one hour set. Tickets are available now from the Bloomsbury Theatre web site at www.thebloomsbury.com or by telephone from the box office on 020 7388 8822.

ONE DROP IN A DRY WORLD

One Drop In A Dry World is Woolly Wolstenholme's first all-new album since 1980! The CD, released by Eclectic Records on May 17th, features Woolly and the Mæstoso band (Steve Broomhead, Craig Fletcher and Kevin Whitehead) on top form, with a powerful set of dramatic music in Woolly's inimitable style.

For a limited period, the CD came with a bonus disc of more new songs and alternative versions, but this version is now completely sold out.

Tracks:

1. The Bells, THE BELLS!
2. Blood And Bones
3. A Waiting Game
4. It's You (Sixties Mix)
5. Souk
6. One Drop In A Dry World
7. ANSS
8. The End Of The Road
9. Explorers
10. 2 a.m.
11. The Starving People Of The World All Thank You For Your Time
12. Carpet

Woolly himself has designed these new T-shirts, based on the Black Box artwork, which are only available from us. Fly the flag!

BLACK BOX RECOVERED

Before Woolly's new studio album hits the streets at the end of April, the rare 1982 recordings from the "Black Box" sessions are available once again. With the Songs From The Black Box CD long deleted, it seemed a good time to revisit that material, with some changes and additions to the original line-up.

The new CD, entitled Black Box Recovered, was released by Eclectic Records on February 16th, and includes all of the songs from the 1982 sessions which appeared on the Songs From CD (although "Deceivers All" is a different version, which originally appeared on a compilation called Rime Of The Ancient Sampler - The Mellotron Album). In addition there are nine bonus tracks, including original demos for songs from the 1980 Maestoso album, a previously unreleased song from the 1982 sessions and some live material from an audience recording of a 1982 Mæstoso concert in Vienna. Last, but not least, there's a demo of a brand new song, "Bootham Park Elegy". Full track listing is as follows:

1. Deceivers All (different mix)
2. Has To Be A Reason
3. Down The Line
4. All Get Burned
5. Too Much, Too Loud, Too Late
6. Even The Night
7. The Will To Fly
8. Sunday Bells
9. Open

   Previously unreleased bonus tracks:

10. Why Remain
11. Sail Away - Demo
12. A Prospect Of Whitby - Demo
13. Patriots - Demo
14. Quiet Islands - Demo
15. American Excess - Live
16. Lives On The Line - Live
17. Deceivers All - Live
18. Bootham Park Elegy

Many congratulations to Steve and Sharon, who have just had a baby daughter called Ruby, a sister for Kip. Steve will now be able to get a good night's sleep only by going out on the road again with Woolly!

Here's a two and three quarter minute excerpt of a rough monitor mix of a track from Woolly's new studio album:

Enjoy!

Woolly recently 'guested' on the show music for the Italian Fashion House Fendi. Fendi is a long established House, most famous for luxurious furs and leather, but now also full collections. The show music - for their Autumn/Winter 2004 collection fashion show - was being put together by Paul Fryer, who is a Leeds-born London based musician and published poet. He wanted the Mellotron sound and a bit of madness and thought of Woolly! The music was recorded in a studio in Hoxton, London, and a lot of fun was had by all.

The October 2004 issue of Classic Rock magazine features a cover-mounted CD called Out There, which includes Mæstoso's "Blood And Bones", one of the standout tracks from the new album, One Drop In A Dry World. The magazine will be in UK newsagents in mid-September, and the CD also includes tracks from Caravan, Nektar, Asia, IQ, Spock's Beard and others.

Pictured right is lucky winner Dennis Wilkinson, being presented with the very bell used on "Explorers", together with a genuine original reproduction certificate of authenticity.

Unfortunately Sooty had a prior engagement, so Dennis was presented with his raffle prize by some dodgy-looking bloke in trainers.

The award ceremony took place at the prestigious Woodall Motorway Services Open-Air Conference Centre near Sheffield.

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