When asked if I would be interested in running a competition on Delirious.org.uk to give away tickets for the World Service UK Tour, it didn't take long to make my mind up! Those nice d:boys have given me 6 passes to the UK Tour to give away. Three people will each win a pair of tickets to the concert of their choice. Better still, Delirious? have also promised that the winners will get to 'meet and greet' the band! How about that for a competition!

In true Delirious? fashion, the competition is all about anagrams. So, if you want a chance to win those tickets, check out the Competition Page and see if you can solve the 5 song title anagrams (they're quite easy!). The closing date is 1st October (9am BST) in order to select 3 winners before the tour begins on 5th October.

From the point of view of Furious?, the idea behind giving me some passes to offer as competition prizes is to try and drum up more interest in the tour. Every band wants to play to a packed crowd, and half-empty (or should that be half-full?) venues don't make for a great atmosphere at a gig.

Mind you, judging by the way ticket sales are going at the moment, the tour looks set to be a complete sell-out. One of the two Dunfermline concerts has already sold-out and I'm told that Maidstone and London are not far behind.

Spin and publicity aside, this really is going to be a superb tour. I can't remember the last time there was so much excitement about a tour, both from fans and the band. Top venues, great support bands, best-ever songs, new and exciting visuals and videos, and most important of all, an incredible band performing better than they ever have before. If that doesn't get you excited, nothing will.

As you may have worked out from my previous blog post (and the fact that I posted it at 3am!), the reason things have been a little quiet on Delirious.org.uk lately is because just under 2 weeks ago I became a Dad! My wife gave birth to Beth on 6th September. When I started this blog I said that it wouldn't be about me, but about Delirious? and things related to this site. However some things, such as the birth of your first child, change everything. So I hope you'll forgive me for the recent lack of updates and the slight diversion from d: talk.

So, getting back to business, things are starting to warm up in d:land after the summer break. Last night, out of the blue, I had a phone call from Jon Brown (the boss at Fierce) who gave me an update on what's going on with Delirious? at the moment.

The first piece of news is that tickets for the UK World Service Tour in October are selling very well indeed. It is expected that several venues will be completely sold out within the next few days. A second support act has also just been signed up for the tour: Taylor Sorensen, a 23-year-old rock singer from the US. Apparently he'll be performing acoustically, whilst Rock And Roll Worship Circus will be rocking full blast as the other support band. The tour is going to be massive, with 6 brand new backing videos being shown on a huge video screen.

The long awaited joint live worship album from Hillsong and Delirious?, recorded at the Hillsong conference in Sydney last year, is to be called 'Unified Praise' and will be released by Furious? on 5th November in the UK. I'm told the video is incredible, and with several of the d: songs lasting for a stunning 10 minutes, I can understand why! Check out the news item for more details.

On Monday (13th Sep) the 2nd d: single in Germany, 'Every Little Thing' was released. It's hard to tell how well the CD sales will go, but the song is already at number 3 in the SWR3 radio airplay chart, which has to be a good thing. Delirious? are in Germany this weekend for a couple of concerts to help promote the single.

So that's everything up to date again. Stay tuned for more updates.

Last month I published the first Delirious.org.uk Top 10 Lyrics Chart, for the month of July. The chart placings are calculated by the number of 'page visits' for the lyrics of each song during a month. It's now time to reveal the Top 10 for August 2004:

1. I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever
2. Majesty
3. My Glorious
4. Inside Outside
5. Rain Down
6. History Maker
7. The Happy Song
8. Deeper
9. Shout To The North
10. Lord You Have My Heart

The top 3 remains the same, 'Rain Down' and 'Lord You Have My Heart' move into the top 10 this month and 'Did You Feel The Mountains' drops right out of the top 10 from 4th place last month.

Things are moving on after the accident at Grapevine. Apparently those who were injuired have now left hospital. People at the festival report that Delirious? were around the next day, and had managed to put the memory behind them.

News of the accident received an incredible amount of attention in the media. Nearly every national newspaper in the UK, plus the BBC website, reported the accident. I've also seen news websites from as far away as America and Australia reporting the news. It is a shame that Christian events only get publicity when there is bad news to report. The publicity won't have done the Grapevine Festival's reputation any good, but if it results in other events double checking the safety of their seating and the prevention of a more serious incident taking place, then at least some good will have come from this.

So away from thoughts of the accident, Delirious? performed two excellent concerts at Greenbelt and Grapevine over the weekend, with people who attended the gigs saying that the Delirious? live show is back at it's very best. Good news for those of us looking forward to the World Service UK Tour in October.


Stu G and Tim at Grapevine (Photo courtesy of Dan Hames)
September looks like being a month mainly concentrated on Germany, with one festival appearance in the country (SWR3 New Pop Festival) and a concert in nearby Switerzland, both coming up in a few weeks time. Also in Germany, J-Star Records are due to release the new Delirious? single 'Every Little Thing' on 13th Sept, so expect more news on that later this month.