We arrived on site at Wiston House in West Sussex for The Big Church Day Out and collected our tickets and passes before heading straight to the main stage. I say 'we', because this was a family outing. As well as my wife, I was accompanied for the first time ever to a Delirious? concert by my two kids, aged 2 and 4. It was the perfect opportunity to let my children experience a concert. An all-day festival in the open air, with entertainment and activities aimed at every age range. So with much excitement and with the cries of "are we nearly there yet" finally over, we had arrived.

Main stage at Big Church Day Out
The size of the crowd already watching YFriday was incredible. The crowd in front of the stage seemed to stretch out endlessly onto the grassy hill that overlooked the site. In the distance we could see the grand old Wiston House itself, surrounded by tents and marquees, full of people jostling to get a view of whatever activities they hosted. While my wife took the kids off to investigate the 'Tiddlywinks Gym Tent' I made use of my press pass to enter the old House where the artists Press Conference was taking place.


Crowds in front of Wiston House
After being directed through the grand entrance to the house by some exceptionally polite and helpful staff, I found myself in an old fashioned library with walls lined with book shelves, wooden carvings, statues and impressive paintings. Israel Houghton was just coming to the end of his press conference, and I joined the dozen or so other members of the 'press' waiting for the arrival of Delirious? After a while the bands tour manager Ian arrived to apologise for the delay. Apparently he'd lost Martin and Tim. Eventually the band arrived, minus Tim who understandably had plenty of demands on his time as overall organiser of the whole event.


Delirious? press conference
Jon, Paul, Martin and Stu sat down around a table at the front of the room alongside Cross Rhythms presenter Mike Rimmer who was hosting the press conference. The band spent twenty minutes answering questions from the waiting 'press' on the highlights of their career and plans for the future. It was a fairly light hearted affair, but with quite a few uncomfortable silences as the band seemed almost reluctant to analyse themselves in what is clearly still a sensitive time for them all. It was interesting to hear StuG reveal that he now has his own manager to help handle his future career, which will include plenty of collaborations with other artists. They all expressed a keen desire to remain involved in music in some form or another, and insisted that whilst Delirious? were ending, the spirit of what the band has stood for all these years will live on.


Martin in the crowd (Photo by gilgen.marc@gmail.com)
Martin also confirmed that there would be cameras at their final London show in November, to record the concert for a release some time next year. "We couldn't not record it" he said. With the questions over, the band posed for a few photos and Jon came over to chat with me before they headed off to do an interview with God TV in another room. I went back outside to join up with my family again, where we watched Cathy Burton and then Lou Fellingham at the superbly titled Tea Tent stage. I was surprised to see Stew Smith introducing them on stage to the smaller crowd who were lounging around on the grass around this side stage. Turns out he also had a major hand in the graphic design for the event, including producing the programme and event logo. Seems he has had a very busy year since leaving Delirious?


Delirious? on stage (Photo by Dave Johnson)
Over on main stage again we watched Michael W Smith's set, which got the older members of the crowd singing and dancing, while the younger ones at the front took a breather. Finally it was time for the main event: Delirious? Normally I would be crouching in the photographers pit and lurking in the wings of the stage at this point in a concert, but having my family with me I made a conscious effort to stay at the back of the crowd, enjoying the show with them for a change. It did feel a little strange not to be dashing around with a camera, getting shots of Martin as he clambered onto the shoulders of the fans at the front. But it was certainly a lot more relaxed!


Michael W Smith, Martin & Graham Kendrick (Photo by Dave Johnson)
As Delirious? worked their way through the set, a stunning red sunset could be seen in the distance behind the stage, and darkness started to fall. This made the sight of the stage, emblazoned with lights, and the huge sea of people gathered in front of it, a truly impressive view from where we stood at the back. A mid-set appearance from Graham Kendrick and MWS to join Martin and Stu in the CompassionArt song 'So Great' was a nice touch. As the night drew to a close, it made me realise just how little time there is before the band comes to an end. Their farewell tour will be upon us all too soon.

Last night was the 10th, and almost certainly final ever, Delirious? Christmas Show. I've had the incredible privilege of being at all 10 of the shows, and whilst the venue has sometimes moved around London it has mainly been, as it was last night, at the Shepherds Bush Empire. I've actually seen Delirious? perform there 11 times now and it has always been one of my all time favourite venues. Yesterday was no exception, from the minute I arrived I instantly felt the sense of excitement and buzz of expectation from the incredibly long queues of fans which stretch from the front door, right round the block in both directions. I hadn't been able to arrive at the venue as early as I usually do, so it was 7pm by the time I walked in the stage door to be met by Jon. We walked up the stairs to the dressing room where I was thrilled to bump into a familiar old face. Most people will remember that until a few years ago, a man named Tony Potato was the bands manager. He left to move to the USA and pursue another job in the music industry, so it was great to see him back at a Delirious? concert again.


In the dressing room the crew seemed fairly relaxed and Jon took me into a side room, along with Craig Borlase (author of all written things d: related), to watch a first edit of the new DVD that the band recently recorded in Colombia. The band's visuals man, Andy Hutch, is currently holed away in a dark location helping to edit the footage, and had sent over an early version for the bands feedback. From what I saw the DVD looks sure to be immense. There are a superb range of camera angles, plenty of shots from within an invariably camera-wielding crowd, lofty shots over the huge arena, and great on-stage close ups of the band and their instruments. There is some excellent fast paced edits in Rain Down to match the punchy drum beat, a nice Martin solo, and plenty of Spanish to add a sense of authenticity.


Leaving the band to get ready for the show, I headed back down stairs to the stage to watch the end of support band Bluetree's set. They were in the middle of performing their very own version of Joy To The World when I looked to my side and realised I was stood next to Stew Smith. We said a quick hello before he dashed out to find his seat for Delirious' set. As the crew began the change over between acts, acting tour manager Mark asked me do a favour. As we stood on the stage he pointed at the front of house sound desk, mid way through the crowd, where he'd spotted the white cushion from Martin's Kingdom Of Comfort armchair. Somehow it had found its way off the stage and onto the sound desk. He asked if I could retrieve it and bring it back to the stage ready for the band's imminent arrival.


Taking a short cut through the side passages, I made quick progress to the back of the venue, only to be confronted with a solid wall of people between me and the sound desk. Walking against the flow I pushed and squeezed through the crowd until I finally made it to the sound desk. I grabbed the cushion only to be confronted by the camerman who had inadvertently stolen the crucial prop to soften his seat for the duration of the show. Once I explained why I was removing his luxurious seat cover, he apologised rather sheepishly, apparently realising for the first time that what he had presumed was just a discarded cushion was in fact a critical part of the stage show!


I made it back to stage with the cushion, where it was quickly placed on the arm chair in the center of stage, ready for Martin's start position for the show. Minutes later the band appeared in the wings, the lights went down and out they marched to get the show started. I headed back to front of house to take up position in the pit, untroubled by a very relaxed seeming security. The stage is really low at SBE, so taking photos from the pit basically involves crawling around on your hands and knees so as not to have your head sticking up too far and obscuring the view of the crowd. As Martin did his usual trick of climbing into the crowd, Mark came leaping off the stage, over my head, and rushing to Martin's rescue as he attempted to climb back on to stage.


Next I headed upstairs to the first level balcony, which affords a superb view of the stage with its side over hang almost level with the front row. The shots from there came out particularly well, aided by the great job Ed was doing with the evening's light show. The spots really stand out well when you're a bit higher up, cutting through the darkness with a triangular beam of light (see above). I returned to my favoured position on stage, next to Trev at the monitors desk (see below), to watch the show and snap a few photos from just next to Tim's keyboards. As I contemplated where to position myself for the finale, noted on the setlist simply as 'My Soul Sings - snow', I decided against my usual tactic of high up in the balcony looking down on the snow storm, and instead made my way behind the stage round to the far side where Jon and Paul stand.


Midway through My Soul Sings, the snow machine erupted, pelting snow from the stage all over Martin and into the front few rows of the crowd. I took as many photos as I could, looking out on the crowd from behind Jon, aware that most of them would come out as nothing more than a blur, but hoping that at least one would be clear enough to use. (Thankfully a couple of shots were just about ok - see one of them below). With the show over, I bumped into Jon as he was heading back up to the dressing room. With only 30 minutes to get across London to catch a train home I couldn't hang around for the after show party this time, so I said a quick goodbye, and made my escape out of the stage door before the crowds poured out of the front door. It may well turn out to have been my last visit to the incredible Empire. The atmosphere inside is always superb, the place feels historic and the views and access to wonder around are brilliant. But most of all, the memories of all the times I've seen Delirious? perform on that stage will last with me forever.

Last week Delirious? released what will be their final ever single, Love Will Find A Way. On Sunday it entered the official UK singles chart at number 55. Is that good or bad and who even cares? That's the debate that has been going on, in my head at least. So, having spent a few days thinking about it, here's how I see it.

About 6 weeks ago I was sitting in a restaurant in Brighton with Jon, Paul and StuG when Jon told me the news that they were releasing one last single. I have to admit I was pretty surprised. During the previous few months a debate had been raging on the d:Forum about the possibility of the band releasing another single. The fans song of choice was Love Will Find A Way. In an act of fabulously poor foresight I responded saying it was a ridiculous suggestion and would never happen. My main argument was that the whole point of releasing a single was to help promote a band, gain new exposure and draw attention to whatever the band did next. With the knowledge that Delirious? would be coming to an end within the next 12 months, the idea of releasing a single only to be seen and heard no more a short time after seemed, well, quite frankly it seemed pointless.

Added to that argument was the evidence from the previous Delirious? single, Paint The Town Red which charted at number 56 in 2005, that d: fans just don't have the same passion for getting the band into the charts that they did at the height of d:'s chart successes in the late 1990s. Back then it was still a new phenomenon to get an openly Christian band into the charts, and the fans revelled in the underground status of a band who relied on word of mouth and a sense of united belief and ambition. For a period of 4 years every Delirious? single charted inside the Top 40, with 4 of them inside the Top 20. But then things started to change. I think people in general just don't care about the charts as much now. It used to be the only way a band could be recognised as successful and get themselves heard of. But in our modern culture of websites and internet downloads, a band can do quite well without the help of the relatively old fashioned music charts thank you very much.

Anyway, back to Love Will Find A Way. Whilst I couldn't agree more with the choice of song - if any track on Kingdom Of Comfort was going to be released, that was the track the majority of people would pick - I just couldn't get my head around why Delirious? would release a single at this point in time. That was why I had argued that it was unlikely to happen - there seemed to be no logical reason for doing so, and every reason not to. So when, in that restaurant in Brighton, Jon first revealed the plans to me I was stumped. It wasn't so much the fact that my arguments that it would 'never happen' had all just been proven wrong, it was that underlying question of 'why?'. So I asked. Jon told me the decision had come from their record label who felt there was a great enough demand and passion from the fans for one final push at the charts. That I could understand, having seen the debate on the d: forum. But my next question was, what happens if the single is a huge success, would the band really be prepared to quit just as things start to go big? Jon's answer to that was basically to say that the decision had been made, and it was too late to change it now. So, no matter how successful the single might be, the band would still cease a year later.

So, Love Will Find A Way was released. The one thing that did really impress me about the single was the range and availability of the product. It seems the band had done a lot to encourage multiple sales, and make it easy for people to buy the single. Three physical versions of the single on CD, ordering from your phone, buying online, downloading online. Every base was covered. But somehow it wasn't enough. The chart placing was number 55 and although you can put a positive spin on that and say it's still good considering the lack of backing from the media and all the usual sources, the reality is that it's a disappointment. So here is my analysis of what went wrong.

This isn't intended to be a blame game and I'm not writing this as an 'I told you so' or even a 'I knew this would happen', because in the weeks leading up to the single I really started to believe it might chart well. But looking back now, there were some problems. I've heard quite a few fans say that band didn't seem to promote the single enough. At some gigs they didn't even mention the single, or it was mentioned before the show instead of at the time the song was played, and some said that when the band did mention the single they seemed almost embarrassed to be talking about it. I'm not saying those opinions are right or wrong, but if that was the perception of some fans, then it amounts to a problem. Maybe the band just didn't seem to be 'into it' enough, and that failed to excite the fans. Then there's the record label side of it. Maybe it was the wrong decision to release the single at all. Maybe the single itself wasn't good enough. It's easy to say this after the event, and baring in mind it was a section of fans themselves that were calling for this particular song to be a single, but maybe it was the wrong choice. As others have pointed out, what was really new about this single? Every fan already has the song itself having bought the album some 7 months earlier, and whilst there are a few b-sides on the single, they aren't new songs. Perhaps if the material had been entirely new it would have been more of an incentive for people to buy it.

Then there are the fans. It could be argued that if they really believed in what Delirious? were trying to achieve, and if they cared enough about the band and the cause, more of them would have gone out and bought the single. Maybe there was too much complacency, too little loyalty and just a lack of interest. Sometimes I feel that Christian music fans like to talk the talk, but when it comes to turning it into actions they can be found wanting. I'm not saying every fan should have bought the single or they're a bad person. But how many of them joined the clamour for a new single, then when it was granted they didn't bother to go out and buy it? Maybe I'm doing those people an injustice, and I do admit to feeling guilty even writing this post. I think the truth is that the band, the record label and the fans all have to shoulder some of the blame for this single not doing better. But blame doesn't achieve very much, and in the grand scheme of things does it really matter?

Almost certainly not. So, I can either delete this post and keep the analysis and thoughts to myself. Or I can hit the 'publish' button and present this with an apology. I'm sorry that I feel disappointed. I'm sorry that I've been more critical than I normally would be. But thank you, everyone, for the opportunity to have one last chance. Not many bands listen to fans as well as Delirious? do, and not many fans care about the band they love as much as d: fans do. I think when the dust settles and people look back over the many years of Delirious? history, the things that will stand out as important are not disappointing chart positions, but lives changed, people reached and a difference made.

Often when I go to see Delirious? I end up travelling quite a way to get to the venue, so there's something rather nice about only having a 10 minute drive from home to get to a concert. I arrived at Southampton Guildhall shortly before 5:30pm and walked up to the front door only to be intercepted by big-beefy-security-guy. "How can I help you mate?" he asked in that way that really meant "Where do you think you're going? Get out of here before I break your arm". Realising I wasn't going to get very far without a pass I phoned Jon who came and met me at the door and hung a AAA around my neck. Big-beefy nodded and stepped out of the way, I was in. Tree63 had just finished their sound check on stage, so Jon took me on a guided tour of the stage and introduced me to the charming John Ellis, lead singer of Tree. We then had a look around at the impressive production for the tour, including the very cool Kingdom Of Comfort stage props. I grabbed this photo (below) of Jon posing by the bird cage before he insisted on using my camera to take a few shots of me next to the props too (but you don't want to see those photos, right?).


We then wandered back stage to the Delirious? dressing room where Martin, Stu, Tim and Paul were occupying their time on laptops, listening to music or on the phone. We chatted for a few minutes before it was time for Delirious? to do their sound check. I followed them back to the stage and watched and took some photos (the pictures in this blog are all from the sound check). The band spent quite a bit of time rehearsing the transition from God Is Smiling into God's Romance, and then tried God Is Smiling into My Glorious. After a few attempts and a bit of discussion, they decided My Glorious followed on better, so that song was chosen. With Sound Check finished, Stu G decided to play the opening guitar riff of Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall, Paul couldn't resist joining in on drums.


Both bands and what seemed like endless crew members then headed off to the nearby 'Slug and Lettuce' for some dinner. As usual Martin only got about 2 paces from the venue door before getting stopped for an autograph, whilst Jon and Paul walked past untroubled. Over dinner I was amused to witness Tree63 drummer Darryl Swart pull out his camera and start photographing first his plate of food, and then someone else's. "I'm documenting what I eat on tour" he explained! Back at the venue I had a wander around and chatted to Fierce boss JB. We talked about the forthcoming single, and I told him I think this is one of the few times Delirious? have actually released the right song as a single! He was quite pleased to hear that since apparently it was his idea to release Love Will Find A Way. We also talked about the new live DVD (due for release early next year) and some of the plans for Delirious? in 2009. More on that another time.


Back in the dressing room there was some debate about how the band should come onto stage at the start of the show. Sound-man Matt had suggested some intro music, and the guys pondered using it, before deciding instead to start with Martin walking on dressed in a gown and crown to sing Kingdom Of Comfort. Next I chatted with Tim who told me that details of the new single had been sent to some 300 media outlets. Nobody knows how much notice they'll take of it, but the single's video (made up of footage from the Ultimate Event and Frenzy Festival) has been distributed to as many places as possible. A little later Martin's wife Anna arrived with two of their children. The kids seemed quite excitable and clearly had a good relationship with the likes of tour manager Ian Cattle and lighting man Andy Hutch, who they've spent weeks away on tour with in the USA. It was nice to see the family oriented approach the band has to touring.


As show time drew closer, the pre-gig pacing around the dressing room stepped up a notch. I chatted to Paul who confided that the hour or so before a show is the worst time, too close to the gig to concentrate on anything, and nothing to do but wait till it was time to go on stage. He told me his parents would be in the crowd tonight. In fact with Southampton being only an hour from Littlehampton, all of the band had their families in the crowd for this show. Other pre-gig entertainment came in the form of the white coats that had been reserved for the crew to wear for the show. Normally crew members wear black to blend into the darkness, but with the 'white theme' of Kingdom of Comfort someone had decided that crew should also be cloaked in white for this tour. The crew didn't seem completely convinced with this concept, and there was some general amusement backstage as they donned their white coats and readied the stage for Delirious? imminent arrival.


With just a few minutes till they were due on stage, Martin gathered the band together in a huddle whilst Stu said the pre-gig prayer. Then they headed for the stage. I watched from the wings as they walked out in the darkness and the stage lights came on. A deafening thunder of applause and screams came from the crowd. I then quickly headed into the pit to take some photos for a few songs, before returning to the stage wings to watch the show.


I was stood just to Stu's left, behind his guitar amp, when in the middle of Rain Down I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see the grinning face of Stew Smith looking back at me! We hugged and tried to chat for a few minutes, but with Stu's amp just a meter away it was hard to hear what each other said. I asked him if it felt strange watching Delirious? on stage and he admitted it did feel a little bit weird. Later I noticed him taking photos of the band with his iphone, a definite proud smile on his face, and a slight nod of his head in the direction of Paul. I made a quick visit to the balcony for some long range photos, before returning to the pit to watch Martin climbing into the crowd during History Maker. The security man in the pit clung onto Martin's leg like his life depended on it. Before I knew it the concert was over, and we were back in the dressing room again. There was a general consensus that the crowd had been incredible and the show had gone well. I left them to meet up with their wives and children backstage, and headed home wondering how many more nights like that I would witness. The sinking feeling inside me knew there wouldn't be many more.

I've never been to Brighton before. According to the map the Concorde2 venue in Brighton, where Delirious? were opening their UK tour on Friday, is right on the sea front. So as I drove in to Brighton it wasn't hard to get myself in the general vicinity of the venue. But after I parked the car and looked around I couldn't see where it was, so I headed West along the sea front in search of it. Having reached Brighton Pier and still not located it, I decided I was heading in the wrong direction and so turned round and headed East. Back past the car again and eventually I saw the Concorde2. As I stood outside the venue I could hear support band Tree63 doing their sound check inside. I phoned Jon only to be told that he'd walked into town for dinner. "Come and join us" he said. So, I retraced my steps back along the sea front to the pier again! Then, following the directions Jon had given me on the phone I turned inland and walked into town. After a while my phone rang and Jon asked where I was. "Umm, somewhere in Brighton" I said, "There's a big church in front of me". "Turn left, up the hill" Jon instructed. So I took the next left and kept going. A little while later Jon called again, "Where are you now?". "Umm, somewhere in Brighton. There's a railway bridge in front of me" I said. "You're miles off track" Jon said, "Stay where you are, I'll come and find you". So I stayed put, and sure enough a few minutes later I saw Jon walked up the street towards me.


He led me through the lanes of Brighton to a Noodle restaurant where Paul and Stu were waiting. Taking my seat I was slightly alarmed to see chopsticks in front of me. Not exactly my forte. But to my relief when my meal arrived it was accompanied by a good old fashioned fork. As we ate Jon gave me the surprise news that the band would be announcing the release of Love Will Find A Way as a single. Having spent the past few weeks trying to convince a few people on the forum that a new single was neither likely nor a good idea, I was slightly taken aback to hear the news. It seems the band and their label want to tap into the fans passion for one last chart effort. Jon told me that they want to finish as if they're not finishing. I suppose that means not winding down to a slow end, but keeping the momentum going right to the end. As for what will happen in 2009, that's still to be finalised. Apparently they'll play about 30 concerts in total next year before calling it a day. There's some talk of a final tour, or a set of dates in the UK, but nothing concrete yet. (There is a big outdoor event though which Delirious? will be playing at on May 24th at Wiston House in Sussex).


It was good to chat to Paul a bit about how he has found it fitting into the band since taking over from Stew. He told me about getting mobbed at the airport in South America a couple of weeks back, and about shooting the new live DVD in Colombia. By about 7:30pm the guys were itching to get back to the venue, opening-night nerves were kicking in. As we walked back through the streets of Brighton, this time taking the direct route instead of my rather protracted route of earlier on, Paul and Jon turned tour-guides pointing out the sights of Brighton. As we arrived back at the Concorde2 I left the guys to head round the back to prepare for the gig, while I went in through the front door to collect my guest pass. Thankfully there was none of the usual body searching, complaints about carrying a camera or moans of "which list are you on?" that are normally associated with me trying to get into a gig. Once inside I was struck by; a) how small the venue was, and b) how packed the venue was. Tree63 were already half way through their set by now and I was stood at the back of the crowd with no easy way of getting anywhere near the front. I spent the next 10 minutes slowing working my way nearer the front in an attempt to have at least some chance of taking half decent photos of Delirious?


I was impressed with how well the crowd knew Tree63's songs, and the band were sounding very good indeed. By the time Delirious? came on stage the temperature in the room was both metaphorically and physically sky high. The only down side of the set was the surprising lack of recognition from the crowd when Deeper started. Normally it only takes a couple of notes from Stu's guitar for the crowd to start jumping and cheering. But half of the crowd didn't even seem to know what the song was, let alone jumping to it. On reflection I think Martin's observation later that "the front row seems to change every couple of years" was spot on. New fans come along and don't know some of the older songs that for years have been a stable part of the Delirious? diet. Interesting how things change.


Martin's shopping trolley microphone stand was an unusual idea. I think it might be just a little too big and clunky to work as a stand, and maybe in conjunction with a few other Kingdom Of Comfort props it might have worked better than on its own. But apart from that it was a very well received show to kick off the UK Tour.

As you will probably have seen by now, Delirious? have announced that the band will come to an end in 2009 [news item]. On Friday night I received a phone call from Jon Thatcher telling me the news. Here are my thoughts as the information started to sink in.

Friday, 4th July 2008
9:00pm Jon calls me. He's in the USA with his family. In the background I can hear an 'Independence Day' party in full swing. "I have some news", he says in his typical understated manner. During our 10 minute conversation he conveys to me the bands decision to call it a day. I can tell Jon is still slightly taken aback by the news himself. Even a few weeks ago the band didn't imagine the end was insight. As Jon says, they always knew this would happen one day, but they didn't expect it to happen so soon. But in the past few days the decision has clearly come to a head. Martin in particular has a busy family life with six young children, and mixed with a desire to see the CompassionArt charity full fill its potential, has clearly been reconsidering his future priorities. The band all have interests they'd like to pursue. I'm lost for words, and although we chat for a while neither of us really knows what to say to each other. Jon even jokes that they waited for me to reach 50 gigs before making the announcement. I try to mumble a cohesive reply, but probably fail. He says the news will be announced at their church on Sunday and asks me to hold of publishing the news until then.

9:30pm I talk about it with my wife Melissa. She says I should put all my Delirious? promos and memorabilia on ebay as there will be more demand for it now. She's joking. I think.

10:45pm Sitting watching TV but not really paying attention. My mind is reliving memories. Concerts I've been to, experiences I've had. I've been running Delirious.org.uk since 1997. That means for over 11 years Delirious? have been a huge part of my everyday life. It's a strange feeling to know that something that's been so constant for so long is coming to an end. There's the obvious sadness, and a slight emptiness. Yet I also feel an incredible sense of privilege. I've been fortunate enough to have so many unique experiences with Delirious? I remember watching the band sign copies of the 'Deeper' single in a Portsmouth record store. A few weeks later I stood inside Wembley Stadium and watched them perform. I remember listening to the radio on a Sunday evening to hear 'See The Star' reach number 16 in the charts. Then there was the call from Jon to say, "We're supporting Bon Jovi!". I saw them do that twice. Once in the rain at Milton Keynes, and again inside the impressive Millennium Stadium. Then there was another call from Jon, "Do you fancy a trip to Canada?" and a few weeks later I found myself sat on a plane with them for an experience of a life time. Memories of concerts at Greenbelt, the NEC, the Albert Hall. Gigs in football stadiums, tiny night clubs and on the beach. So many things that I'll remember forever. Maybe I'll blog about some of those experiences in more detail in the coming weeks.

12:00am In bed I drift off to sleep wondering how the final concert will feel. Knowing that I'm watching them on stage for the final time will be a truly emotional night.

Sunday, 6th July 2008
10:30am It's official. A press release lands in my inbox and the announcement goes up on Delirious.co.uk.

I suppose it will take a while for the news to really sink it. I've been a fan for so long and I can't quite believe there will never be a new album or another tour to look forward to. But I'm grateful for the amazing memories, and that's what I want to dwell on right now.

During Stew's farewell gig I also took several videos, filmed from the side of the stage, to give a unique memory of his final UK concert. The first two videos mainly concentrate on Stew's drumming during two very drum oriented songs, Give What You Got and Paint The Town Red. The third video is of Stew giving his goodbye speech to the crowd from behind his drum kit.

Give What You Got:


Paint The Town Red:


Stew's Goodbye Speech: