Here's a shot from one of the gigs I enjoyed immensely last year: Stackridge at the Chapel Arts Centre, Bath, on Saturday 19th May 2012. Stackridge have been going (on and off) since the early seventies, writing, recording and performing music that uniquely blends pop, folk, prog rock, English whimsy and West Country eccentricity. I love pretty much everything they've done. There have been plenty of lineup changes over the years, but in this view we see James Warren on bass and vocals, Eddie John on drums and Clare Lindley on violin and vocals. Not seen here but also in action on the night were Andy Davis on guitar and vocals and Glenn Tommey on keyboards/trombone.

Tags:   Stackridge Chapel Arts Centre Bath music gig bass violin drums James Warren Clare Lindley Eddie John live performance UK England 2012

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The climax of the 2013 UK Marillion Weekend at Wolverhampton Civic Hall.

Tags:   Wolverhampton Civic Hall Marillion weekend 2013 UK England auditorium crowd tinsel music live performance Steve Rothery guitarist

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The title will only have significance for a minority of people who follow a particular kind of progressive rock music. It's the name of the 2001 album by the band Arena, featuring live recordings from their 2000 tour of Europe. The story goes that the members of the band scored the breakfast they had in each of the towns visited, and at the end of the tour Biarritz gained the most points and was declared the winner. This was my first visit to Biarritz and, being a bit sad, I started covertly looking for signs saying "Petit Déjeuner" as soon as we got off the bus. The day wore on and I hadn't spotted any, but then, just as we were about to make our way back to the station and I had given up hope, I saw this. It's right under the famous casino, with the Grande Plage is just off to the right. Sadly, I didn't have any breakfast in Biarritz myself.

Tags:   Biarritz Pays Basque Pyrénées-Atlantiques Aquitaine France Breakfast in Biarritz Arena Petit Déjeuner casino Grande Plage breakfast 2013

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This is the first time I've dared to go up to ISO 2500. The guitar/voice/percussion duo "Mo" have just finished their set and are now selling merchandise and signing autographs. The venue is the amphitheatre at the Yelloh! Sylvamar village, Labenne Océan, France.

Tags:   Labenne-Océan Aquitaine Landes Les Landes France Yelloh! Sylvamar village Mo duo concert night stage amphitheatre 2013 music live performance

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It's not quite the complete works, and I've a couple of box sets that won't fit on the shelf. Completism is such a male thing, isn't it? The official accounts will tell you that Peter Hammill (often abbreviated to PH) is a founding member of "alternative" rock band Van der Graaf Generator (VdGG), and that he has recorded well over thirty critically-acclaimed solo albums in a forty-three year period. These facts alone might have elevated Hammill to the dreaded "national treasure" status, but thankfully that hasn't happened, and I suspect he himself will be as relieved as anyone about that.

Trying to describe what PH is like to someone who knows nothing about him is hard: a singer, a song-writer, a recording artist, a record producer, he plays piano and guitar, a performer; he works alone or with collaborators. These are objective truths … but to try to give a better idea ... I'd say PH is thought-provoking, honest, driven, unpredictable, quintessentially English, an explorer of the sometimes uncomfortable aspects of the human condition, refuses to stand still creatively, a family man, in possession of a unique voice that has the power to terrify and enthral in equal measure, a regular bloke, on a mission, doesn't seek "popularity", and is someone who works tirelessly to achieve his own plans and goals rather than trying to please an audience (but is glad when he does). If I thought harder I could list more.

I sometimes wonder how songs about loss and regret - and many of them are - can be so uplifting. Maybe it's down to a certain temperament on the part of the listener. I became captivated by Peter Hammill's work at the very end of the twentieth century, through a combination of VdGG-immersion and devouring the writings of Andy Tillison (recording artist, creative force behind the bands The Tangent and Parallel or 90 Degrees, and long-time PH aficionado). And so I started building this CD collection; some of them were out of print at the time so I had to resort to second-hand shops or eBay to get them.

Someone recently wrote - and it brought a wry smile to my face - that PH makes "music that most people will hate". He's certainly not everyone's cup of tea, but even so it's a bit harsh, because I think most people could find at least some PH songs that they'd like. Hammill is one of Britain's most accomplished and influential living artists, yet those same "most people" will never have heard of him. At the age of 65, and in today's era of instant gratification and five-minute fame courtesy of "X Factor" and "The Voice", Hammill continues to innovate and surprise, and shows no signs of slowing down. I'll mention just one song from the hundreds he has written: "Sleep Now". I challenge any man who has at least one beloved daughter of any age not to be moved by the words, or by Hammill's delivery of this achingly beautiful lullaby.

It's a bit of an old cliché, but I can say with hand on heart (another cliché) that Peter Hammill's music has enriched my life. And I haven't even mentioned his live performances ...

Tags:   20140316_8098_crop_P1 Peter Hammill PH Van der Graaf Generator VdGG CDs compact discs music completism 2014 Andy Tillison Sleep Now www.sofasound.com

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