News

14.05.13: Ian Thomson will accompany Rod at the Wigan gig on 28th June, also at Halifax on 30th November.

30.04.13: We are very pleased to confirm Rod’s inclusion as Special Guest in The Lindisfarne Story performance at Newcastle City Hall on Saturday, June 8th. The Lindisfarne Story is Ray Laidlaw and Billy Mitchell’s multimedia celebration of the band’s career and achievements and Rod is delighted to be joining them on their old stamping ground. Booking details for this one-off very special occasion are available from www.lindisfarne.co.uk or www.newcastlecityhall.org. Here’s a summary of the recent Press Release for the event:

‘Rod Clements, one of Lindisfarne’s founder members and composer of the group’s biggest hit Meet Me on the Corner, has been confirmed as Special Guest in The Lindisfarne Story on Saturday, 8th June, at Newcastle City Hall.

Rod said “Ray and Billy have come up with a highly original way to keep Lindisfarne’s legacy alive, and I’m looking forward to joining them again on stage at the City Hall after all these years.”

Lindisfarne was Tyneside’s best-loved band for over thirty years and The Lindisfarne Story is a celebration of the group’s music and achievements devised by ex-members Ray Laidlaw and Billy Mitchell. Ray and Billy, accompanied by the Billy Mitchell Band, perform Lindisfarne’s classic songs, including a complete performance of their 1972 chart topping album Fog On The Tyne. In part one of the show they tell the inside story of Lindisfarne’s rise to fame, from Whitley Bay to San Francisco Bay, from Rothbury to Glastonbury and, on this occasion, the group’s unique relationship with Newcastle City Hall, venue for over 120 Lindisfarne performances.

In 2013 the appeal of Lindisfarne remains as strong as ever. EMI recently released a 40th anniversary limited edition vinyl version of the certified platinum Fog On The Tyne album and Newcastle City Council has unveiled a blue plaque on Newcastle City Hall honouring the life and work of the late Alan Hull, the band’s much-missed songwriter and singer.’

11.03.13: The ever-popular Dinner with Rod event is to be reprised in an expanded format when ’Rod (and Friends!)’ appear at the Centre of Britain Hotel, Haltwhistle, on 1st November.

25.02.13: Another news bulletin from Rod:

‘Excellent recording session in Robin Hood’s Bay with David Rotheray last week, his usual team (Damon Butcher – piano, Gary Hammond – percussion, new guy Brad on double bass, Dave on guitar) plus me on mandolin and featuring Eliza Carthy singing Dave’s quirky, literate lyrics. Arriving midday (after spectacular drive across snow-covered North York Moors, then popping in to say hello to Eliza’s dad Martin round the corner), we got set up while Dave & Eliza finished the song, then thrashed out an arrangement and nailed it in a couple of takes. That’s the way to do it. Dave has his own way of working but he gets the job done and I’m intrigued as to how this will turn out. As with the previous DR collection The Life of Birds, this one has a unifying theme, but I’d better not reveal what it is just yet.’

Just like old times - an Overwater bass and Ray behind the kit. Recording some music for a film project at Cluny Studios, Newcastle, 2nd Feb 2013

24.02.13: Rod was reunited with former Lindisfarne rhythm section sidekick Ray Laidlaw for a one-off recording session at Cluny Studios in Newcastle a couple of weeks ago. The day-long project, which involved just Rod on guitars and bass, Ray on drums and Cluny mainman Tony Davis on keyboards, was to create trailer music for a soon-to-be-released feature film entitled Harrigan set in Newcastle’s 1970s underworld.

21.02.13: Rod has provided some more details about the album he’s working on:

‘Lots of people have been asking me about the current album project. The idea is to bring out a double CD of (nearly) all the 20-plus songs I wrote for Lindisfarne / Jack The Lad, from the very beginning through to Promenade. No new material. This is partly in response to people at gigs asking for a CD of what they’ve just heard me play and partly because I want to revisit these songs in my own style and do them in an almost-live way, arranged for acoustic guitar, vocal and bass, with bits of mandolin, slide etc. here and there. Finished article to be released this side of summer, I hope.’

30.01.13: We are pleased to confirm Rod’s first gig to feature Ian Thomson on double bass, at Porter’s Coffee House, Tynemouth. This is the same combination showcased on Rod’s forthcoming album and we are assured that there is every propect of further live appearances, on an occasional basis.

Older news items, together with various other retrospective bits and pieces, can be found in the Archive section.

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