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:

I took about 400 photos during the concert, so here's a few more that didn't make it onto the main photo page from the gig or the previous blog post.


Looking over Tim's shoulder


Stu and Martin from the photographers pit


Jon in his orange PJs


Good view of the crowd and balcony


Martin and Stu with Tim in the background


The crowd watches Stew


Stu and Martin seen from the balcony

So the day had finally arrived: Stew's farewell gig. The venue, 'The Indigo2' is located inside what was once known as the Millennium Dome, now rebranded as 'The O2'. It's a huge and impressive structure, visible from miles away. As I left the tube station I caught sight of a huge video screen just outside the main entrance, advertising the Delirious? concert. Having arrived way too early and unable to reach Jon on the phone, I wandered around inside the O2 and eventually bumped into a few familiar faces (Clare, Tom and EEB from the forum). Later as I walked back past the Indigo2 I ran into Martin and Jon who escorted me inside. Jon gave me a quick guided tour of the venue, a fresh new trendy building with excellent facilities. The view from stage looked great, and the crowd were close to the action on both floor and balcony levels.


We headed behind the stage to the dressing room area where crew members were mingling, waiting for show time. I sat amused at Jon and Lee (guitar tech) questioning each other on the merits of the new songs. Before long the man at the center of attention entered the room. Stew looked a little nervous but still greeted me with a smile and a hand shake. I asked how he was feeling and he admitted to feeling a little strange. A few weeks back I had been due to carry out an interview with Stew, but he'd requested we do it face to face tonight instead. So with less than an hour remaining till the band were due on stage, Stew and I headed to an empty dressing room and settled into a couple of chairs.


It took me a few minutes to set up my laptop to record the interview, so we chatted for a few minutes without the pressures of a tape recorder. He seemed fairly relaxed but said he was worried about 'holding it together' for the show. I asked if he had many friends and family coming tonight. Rather impressively he said that he'd personally added 80 people to the guest list! We began the interview, and concious of the fact that he probably didn't want to spend too long talking about his decision to leave the band so close to his final gig and with his family waiting around outside for him, I deliberately cut a few questions out and kept the interview to under 15 minutes. He gave candid and open answers, talking clearly about some of his highlights over the years and his thoughts about the future of the band. The interview will be available on my site soon, but a few interesting points were his insistence to the band that if they were going to split up because of him leaving, then he wasn't going to leave. He also gave plenty of hints that the mainstream still holds a future for d:. Some very interesting thoughts. As we finished, I presented Stew with a Leaving Card that the forum had collectively contributed to. He was clearly touched by the gesture, although he understandably said he'd leave reading all the comments for a less emotional day!


By now the main back stage area was getting pretty busy, about half an hour till show time. JB from Fierce was there and we had a chat about a few things, including the superb special packaging for Kingdom Of Comfort. Fitting it on your CD rack will be a problem, but it's well worth the inconvenience! Finally the band made their way along the under stage corridor (plenty of low beams holding up the stage to bump your head on) and onto the side of stage where the DJ was finishing his support slot. Jon whispered in my ear that this was going to be the strangest start of show ever. "Why?" I asked. "You'll see" he replied. Stew walked out onto stage, climbed onto his drum riser and saluted the crowd. Suddenly Jon and the rest of the band pulled pairs of tights over their faces, armed robber style, and walked onto stage. Now I understood.


The security at the Indigo were extremely friendly and helpful, not once attempting to stop me taking photos or standing somewhere. Definitely a breathe of fresh air for me. No matter how shiny your AAA pass, there's usually at least one security guy ready to give you a hard time. But tonight they were happy to glance at my pass and let me get on with what I wanted to do, even pointing me in the right direction when I was unsure about the routes backstage. Having ventured down to the photographers pit (empty all night apart from me, and occasionally Hutch) and upstairs to the balcony, I then spent much of the show stood 2 meters to Stew's left, just behind a black curtain at the side of stage. I wanted to take as many photos (and a few videos - more on that another time) of Stew at his final UK show as I could. Several times Stew glanced down at me. He was clearly enjoying the show and giving it everything he had.


During the encore Stew's wife and two daughters were brought on to stage, and then behind Stew's back, Jon rode onto stage on a Vespa. I managed to capture the moment as Stew turned round to see the farewell gift from his band mates (see above). The look on his face was classic. Utter surprise, amazement and delight. The bike was wheeled off stage and the finale completed with a stunning rendition of Investigate.


As the band left the stage Stew gave me a sweaty hug, and I was impressed to see he'd managed to hold back any tears. "What a night!" everyone said. The band returned to their dressing room and huddled together in private. I headed back out into the venue and caught up with a few forum people.


Returning backstage I went up several flights of stairs to the VIP bar area where the after show party was taking place. Jon brought a certain Mr Paul Evans over to chat to me. He's a very nice guy and seemingly undaunted by what lies ahead for him in about a months time. He confessed to having already had a sneaky look around the forum, so I suppose he's well aware of what he's letting himself in for! After a drink and lots of chatting, I had to tear myself away to catch the train home. A remarkable and emotional night, but definitely not the last we'll hear of Stew.

I've just added my review of new album Kingdom Of Comfort to Delirious.org.uk and here are a few more thoughts about it.


Getting used to a new album is a mix of emotions. There's the excitement of what's new, the eagerness to learn the songs, and the unfamiliarity of listening to something that's not quite what you've heard before whilst still being somewhat familiar. Everyone has their own taste, and you listen out for that musical formula that directly meets your requirements. For me, I need certain things to enjoy music. When the ingredients in the music add up to what my brain knows it likes, I develop a bond with the music. Some songs instantly jump out and find a place in my sonical appetite, others take a while to convince me.

With Kingdom Of Comfort there were several songs that I knew from the first listen were going to be the 5/5 star rated songs in the review. Love Will Find A Way, Break The Silence and My Soul Sings all have the perfect ingredients. The first two have choruses that stick, begging to be sung, and guitar riffs that make you smile. My Soul Sings has that intense, emotional, close-your-eyes and stare-in-wonderment feeling to it that I can only compare to Take Off My Shoes from previous album The Mission Bell. There are two measures I use to know how much I love a song. One, I keep singing it to myself when I've turned off the iPod. Two, when the song ends I have to hit the back button and listen to it again straight away. This morning as I drove to work I did both those things with My Soul Sings. It could become an all time favourite.

Wonder is another song that I absolutely love. It just missed out on a top rank because I'm not sure the 'sweet heart' reference feels right, but the chorus (it's always the choruses I love) is just so infectious - absolutely amazing. I remember enjoying Stare The Monster down at the Living Room gig, but now I've really taken it in properly I can fully appreciate the lyrics. I mentioned several times in the review just how good the song writing is on this album, and it really has impressed me how well the words deal with difficult subjects like poverty and cancer.

And another thing - where's the 2/5 rated song? For me, every Delirious? album has one song that I could live without. Love Is A Miracle (The Mission Bell), Everyone Knows (World Service), America (Audio Lessonover) - OK don't shoot me, one man's least favourite is another man's favourite - I realise that, but the point is, I always find one song that in my opinion is only worth 2/5 stars. I couldn't do it this time. Eagle Rider came close. But the more I listened the more I had to up its score to 3/5.

My opinions of the songs will change. This is just a review based on first impressions and to be honest, my track record isn't great. In a moment of utter inexplicable madness I rated Take Off My Shoes 3/5 in my initial Mission Bell review. Within a few months it became not only my favourite on the album, but my all time favourite Delirious? song. So don't pay too much attention to me now, other than to believe me when I say that Kingdom Of Comfort is an absolutely stunning album that I can't stop listening to.