Tunde Baiyewu and Paul Tucker of Lighthouse Family
NEWCASTLE pop-soul duo Lighthouse Family will revisit their 1995 debut album, Ocean Drive, complemented by their greatest hits, at York Barbican on March 8 2027.
Singer Tunde Baiyewu and songwriter, keyboardist and producer Paul Tucker met while studying at university and working at the same bar in the Tyneside city, going on to sell 15 million albums worldwide.
Ocean Drive, featuring Lifted, Goodbye Heartbreak and the title track, achieved six-times platinum status in the UK. 1997 follow-up Postcards From Heaven delivered further favourites including High, Raincloud and Lost In Space.
Third album Whatever Gets You Through The Day followed in 2001, and after a long creative hiatus, Baiyewu and Tucker returned in 2019 with Blue Sky In Your Head, their first studio album in 18 years, which reached number three in the UK album chart.
Lighthouse Family will play further Yorkshire shows at Sheffield City Hall on March 7 and Bradford Live on March 20 2027. Box office: York, yorkbarbican.co.uk; Sheffield, sheffieldcityhall.co.uk; Bradford, trafalgartickets.com.
Marti Pellow
No Marti No Party? Yes, Marti Pellow promises ‘non-stop hits and dancing’ at York Barbican on September 13
SCOTTISH singer and musical actor Marti Pellow will mark 40 years in music on his No Marti No Party tour, visiting York Barbican on September 13 2027.
From the much-loved songs of Wet Wet Wet to his solo favourites, expect a night of non-stop hits, dancing and a party atmosphere befitting the occasion.
When asked what fans can expect, Pellow, 61, replied: “The clue is in the title of the tour, it’s what the fans always sing back to me when the lights go down.”
The poster for William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet In Concert 30th anniversary tour
William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet is now + live music and DJ for 30th anniversary tour. York Barbican awaits
COMMUNION One and GEA Live, in collaboration with Disney Concerts and Baz Luhrmann, will bring the global tour for the 30th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet Film In Concert to York Barbican on October 21 2027.
Visiting three continents in all, and set to make its world premiere at the Sydney Opera House on September 29 next year, the tour will stop in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, York, Birmingham and Manchester next autumn.
Academy Award-winning Leonardo DiCaprio and Emmy-winning Claire Danes star as Romeo and Juliet in the bold retelling that made Shakespeare feel dangerous and romantic for a new generation and continues to influence fashion, music and culture that still reverberates today.
Presented on a cinema screen with the original dialogue and action intact, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet Film In Concert features a hybrid ensemble performing the film’s score and music live in sync with the screen.
Blending rock and orchestral musicians with vocals, electronics and a DJ, they will channel Luhrmann’s signature fusion of classic storytelling and contemporary sound.
“One of the greatest surprises over the past three decades has been watching Romeo + Juliet find new audiences again and again. That’s the enduring magic of Shakespeare and cinema,” says filmmaker Luhrmann, whose film marked its 30th anniversary on November 1.
“This concert celebrates both, while inviting audiences around the world to experience the film’s emotion, music, and theatricality in a completely new way.”
“Romeo + Juliet has influenced generations of filmmakers, musicians, and audiences, and its impact continues to be felt 30 years later,” says Floris Douwes, producer and managing director at GEA Live. “Our goal was to create a live experience that honours that legacy while giving audiences a fresh reason to fall in love with the film all over again.”
Becky Hill: High-energy performance on Knavesmire track
THE York Mystery Plays on waggon wheels, Becky Hill on Knavesmire, Calendar Girls in the round and early music beyond borders promise high summer times for Charles Hutchinson.
Under starter’s orders: Becky Hill, Summer Music Saturday, York Racecourse, today, first race at 1.20pm
BECKY Hill, two-time BRIT Award winner for Best Dance Act, opens the summer of post-racing concerts at York Racecourse, promising a high-energy performance on the “Glastonbury-style stage” after tomorrow’s seven-race card. For her set list, she can pick from such hits as Gecko; Back & Forth; Wish You Well; Lose Control; Better Off Without You; Heaven On My Mind; Remember; My Heart Goes; Run; Crazy What Love Can Do; History and Disconnect. For race-day tickets, go to: yorkracecourse.co.uk.
Kirkgate at York Castle Museum in full summer bloom with floral displays and new projections. Picture: Gareth Buddo Furmoto Photography
Flower power of the week: Summer at York Castle Museum, in bloom until September 6, open Mondays, 11am to 5pm; Tuesdays to Sundays, 10am to 5pm
YORK Castle Museum is capturing the essence of ‘grand days out’ and celebrating iconic summers across two contrasting centuries this summer season. Drawing on the breadth of the museum’s social history collection, Victorian York Galas and the Swinging ’60s are the programme’s key focus with games, crafts and seasonal decorations providing nostalgia and summer fun for visitors.
Further highlights include Last Stop Before Kirkgate, Novo Theatre’s immersive experience replicating a 19th century coaching inn and arrival into York, and Yorkshire artist Pippa Dyrlaga’s paper-cut hot air balloons, telling the story of balloon rides during the galas. Tickets: yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk.
Richard Ashcroft. Picture: Dean Chalkley
Coastal gigs of the week: TK Maxx presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Richard Ashcroft, today; Billy Ocean and Marti Pellow, tomorrow, gates open at 6pm
THE Verve frontman, songwriter and producer Richard Ashcroft, two-time Ivor Novello and triple BRIT Award winner, headlines today’s Scarborough bill, joined by DJ Wayne, original Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan and Yorkshire indie rockers Apollo Junction.
Trinidadian-British soul singer Billy Ocean (real name Leslie Sebastian Charles, by the way) takes top spot tomorrow, airing such hits as Red Light Spells Danger, Love Really Hurts Without You, Caribbean Queen and When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going. His very special guest is former Wet Wet Wet singer and musicals star Marti Pellow; Katie Owen supports too. Box office: scarbroughopenairtheatre.com.
Christina Meehan’s Annie, left, and Karen Holmes’s Chris in Calendar Girls The Musical at Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.Picture: Tony Bartholomew
Make a date with: Calendar Girls The Musical, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, today until July 25
AS director Paul Robinson reveals: “Our new in-the-round staging of Tim Firth and Gary Barlow’s Calendar Girls brings the audience into the heart of the Rylstone Women’s Institute, making this true story of friendship and determination feel more personal and immediate.
“This intimate production will create a unique, shared experience, reminiscent of gathering around a community hall or a close friend’s living room, allowing for a deeper connection to the characters and creating a collective, communal atmosphere that fully immerses everyone in the moving story of these ‘ordinary women’ doing something quite extraordinary.” Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Cathy Sara’s Villeyn and Thomas Frere’s Jongleur in Riding Lights Theatre Company’s Mistero Buffo. Picture: John Shepherdson
2026 York Mystery Plays Fringe play of the week: Riding Lights Theatre Company in Mistero Buffo, Friargate Theatre, York, today, tomorrow, then July 1 to 4, 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm matinees on July 3 & 4
TWO wild strangers roll into York for the 2026 York Mystery Plays Fringe to tell tales destined to turn the city upside down. Combining ferocious wit and fearless physical storytelling, Paul Birch’s two-hander production for York’s Riding Lights Theatre Company tears into faith, power, profit and hypocrisy by turning ancient Bible stories into urgent, humorous modern theatre with a clear spiritual heart.
Written by Nobel prize-winning Italian playwright Dario Fo, translated by Ed Emery and performed by Yorkshire actors Thomas Frere and Cathy Sara, this 1969 take on the Mystery Plays will appeal to Fringe theatregoers with a taste for subversive and unapologetic comedy with bite. Box office: www.ridinglights.org.
Bodhan Pitel’s Herod in DSpace Ukrainian Theatre’s The Massacre of the Innocents. Picture: John Saunders
Theatrical event of the week: 2026 York Mystery Plays, streets of York, tomorrow and July 5, 10.30am to 4.50pm; Sunset in the Shambles Market, June 30 and July 1, 7.45pm
THE four-yearly staging on the York Mystery Plays on pageant waggons takes place at four locations across the city: free viewing at the Minster Refectory Gardens, Deansgate, (from 10.30am) King’s Square (from 11.10am), St Sampson’s Square (from 11.50am) and ticketed seats at Dean’s Park (from 12.30pm). Ten core plays will be complemented by further extracts to tell the story from The War In Heaven to Doomsday. For full details, go to: yorkmysteryplays.co.uk.
Special midsummer performances of five plays will be held in Shambles Market on June 30 and July 1, introduced by the York Waits musicians before Pageant Master Dr Alan Heaven guides the audience through each play, from the Creation sequence to the End of Days in the interactive show Doomsday. These shows begin at 7.45pm and end as the dusk is deepening before 10pm. Tickets: ticketsource.com/york-festival-trust.
The Choir Of Man: “The best trip to your local you’ll ever have” at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: The Other Richard
Foot-stomping musical celebration of the week: The Choir Of Man, Grand Opera House, York, June 30 to July 2, 7.30pm; July 3, 4pm and 8pm; July 4, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
SET in the The Jungle pub on stage, The Choir Of Man is billed as “the best trip to your local you’ll ever have” as a cast of nine (extra)ordinary guys combine beautiful harmonies and foot-stomping singalongs with tap dance and soulful storytelling in an uplifting celebration of community and friendship.
The debut UK & Ireland tour cast features Gustav Melbardisas Maestro; Oluwalonimi (Nimi) Owoyemi as Poet; Levi Tyrell Johnson as Hard Man; Ben Mabberley as Joker; Rob Godfrey as Beast; Jack Skelton as Handyman; Joshua Lloyd as Barman; Sam Walter as Romantic and Aaron Pottenger as Bore performing Queen, Luther Vandross,Sia, Paul Simon, Adele, Guns N’ Roses, AviciiandKaty Perry hits. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Solomon’s Knot: Performing at York Early Music Festival on July 10
50th anniversary event of the summer: 2026 York Early Music Festival, Beyond Borders, July 3 to 11
THE premier British early music festival marks its 50th anniversary with a celebration of “just how far early music has travelled – beyond the borders of the myriad historic venues of our city to a worldwide audience,” says director Delma Tomlin.
Opening with Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers, presented by I Fagiolini, and closing with Solomon’s Knot’s rendition of Bruhns’s St Mark Passion, the festival welcomes The Sixteen, B’Rock Orchestra & Vocal Consort, Imago Mundi, mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston and NCEM Platform Artists Anacronia and Contre le temps, among others. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk/yemf.
In Focus: Ripon Theatre Festival, July 5 to 12
Maybe You Like It in Down To Chance: Playing Ripon Theatre Festival at Ripon Arts Hub on July 11 at 8pm
RIPON Theatre Festival 2026 celebrates five years of culture, colour and community spirit from July 5 to 12 with eight days and nights of performances focused on theatre in all its forms, from storytelling and puppetry to cabaret, Shakespeare and circus.
Top talent from Edinburgh & beyond
THE festival welcomes hit shows from the Edinburgh Fringe at Ripon Arts Hub, including Stephen Smith’s One Man Poe on July 10 at 8pm, fast-paced thriller Down To Chance on July 11 at 8pm The Poetical Life Of Philomena McGuinness on July 12 at 2.30pm.
Quirky & unique
RIPON Theatre Festival makes the most of the city’s venues and open spaces with pop-up events showcasing theatre everywhere. A knitting cabaret from Canada, a one-man show about British pub life, walkabout acts, Pop-up Puppetry and Poetry for Breakfast are among the acts that will appear in friendly cafes, pubs and independent shops. Look out too for a show performed inside a vintage bus.
The Big Weekend for families
SUPPORTED by Arts Council England through the National Lottery for a second year, the Big Weekend of free family entertainment on July 11 and 12 will feature street arts and circus theatre from across the four nations and beyond. Highlights include dance-circus troupe Circo Rumbaba and comedy, cooking and circus with Do What Ya Mamma Told Ya.
Reaching out to all the community
IN the weeks leading up to the festival, activities in care homes, “making and creating” sessions with learning-disabled adults and intergenerational music sessions ensure the event reaches all corners of the community.
This includes a schools’ programme featuring Opera North’s Little Listeners and the madcap Rubbish Shakespeare Company.
Supporting new writing & regional talent
ESTABLISHED regional artists, such as Victoria Firth and Kathryn Hanke, from Huddersfield, in Batty! at Ripon Arts Hub on July 9 at 8pm, feature alongside up-and-coming artists such as Constance Peel, from Boston Spa, performing the new play Service Please at The Water Rat on July 6 at 6.30pm.
Providing a platform for locally-inspired works-in-progress, the festival offers audiences the first chance to experience York’s Out Of Character Theatre Company in Outcast’s exploration of life in medieval Ripon and Imogen Wood’s work-in-progress, Jord, whose starting point is the petrifying powers of Mother Shipton in a union of live music, poetry and storytelling that challenges the fascination and obsession with women staying young and delaying ageing.
Summer season finale
RIPON Theatre Festival stretches beyond July 12 for a post-festival open-air Shakespeare finale at Ripon Raceourse on July 24, when The Duke’s Theatre Company presents Romeo & Juliet at 7pm (preceded by North Yorkshire Council-supported performances at Prince of Wales Terrace, Scarborough, on July 22 and Valley Gardens, Harrogate, on July 23). Box office: thedukestheatrecompany.co.uk.
Festival director Katie Scott says: “Ripon Theatre Festival is celebrating a five-year milestone birthday and we are proud of all that we have achieved so far.
“Community led, but showcasing some of the best professional touring work alongside an inclusive and lively outdoor and family programme, the festival is hugely valued for its variety and originality. We can’t wait to share our 2026 offering and bring the joy of live performance to an even wider audience.”
For the full programme and tickets, go to: ripontheatrefestival.org.
Amber Topaz in Red, Ripon Arts Hub, July 8, 7.30pm
Amber Topaz in Red
YORKSHIRE-BORN international cabaret and burlesque siren Amber Topaz celebrates redheaded musical theatre stars of stage and screen in her classy, sassy, fabulous musical revue Red.
Her delicious cocktail of Old Hollywood glamour and West End and Broadway classics is “full to the brim with iconic show-stopping numbers, honouring these formidable flame-haired trailblazers that have shaped musical theatre herstory”.
From the golden era of Hollywood to the bright lights of Las Vegas, Red embodyies legendary artists such as Rita Hayworth, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, Shirley MacLaine, Gwen Verdon and many more.
As a teenager, Amber left her Yorkshire roots to move to London and enter the world of cabaret and burlesque, since when she has travelled widely with her combination of frivolous and thought-provoking cabaret.
Fladam, Astro Norma, Ripon Library, July 11, 10.30am and 12 noon
Fladam’s Florence Poskitt & Adam Sowter in Astro Norma
YORK duo Fladam, Florence Poskitt and Adam Sowter, present their out-of-this-world musical comedy Astro Norma at Ripon Library, where they invite audiences aged three to ten to blast off on a madcap 45-minute quest to find Grandpa’s lost star, but beware, the sneaky Silencer is hot on her trail , ready to silence the tunes.
Packed with awesome aliens, rib tickling robots and interplanetary puppets, this joyful space odyssey will have young theatregoers reaching for the stars.
The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon: Leading a Charmed Life at York Barbican tonight. Picture: Kevin Westerberg
SEEKING Divine inspiration? Here comes Charles Hutchinson with his guide to what’s hot, from topical comedy to charming songwriters, a steamy thriller to intense jazz.
Charmer of the week: The Divine Comedy, York Barbican, tonight, 7.45pm
THE Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon plays York this weekend for the first time since the Irish chamber-pop leprechaun’s Minster concert in May 2011.
Hannon will be showcasing his 2022 compilation, Charmed Life – The Best Of The Divine Comedy, marking the completion of the 51-year-old songwriter, musical score composer and cricket enthusiast’s third decade as a recording artist
“I’ve been luckier than most,” Hannon says. “I get to sing songs to people for a living and they almost always applaud.” Hence that Charmed Life title. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Alexander Flanagan Wright feels the Stillington dance vibes
Outdoor dance vibes of the long weekend: Dance Dance Dance, A Damn Big Dance Party, At The Mill, Stillington, near York, Sunday, 6pm to 11pm
HEADPHONES on as At The Mill plays host to a three-channel Silent Disco with a bunch of very cool guest DJs, a live set from Flatcap Carnival and the pizza oven fired up for orders.
Organiser Alexander Flanagan Wright says: “We got Joshua Pulleyn coming. We got Bolshee taking over a channel. We got Sarah Rorke blasting out some Northern Soul vibes. Tom Figgins is metaphorically spinning a track or two.
“Paul Smith has some new punk and old-school hip hop heading your way. Abbi Ollive has a solid hour of girl power. And I’m lining up a lot of Chemical Brothers, Prodigy and Beyoncé as I can. Come dance. It’s gotta be mega. There’s a handful of tickets left at atthemill.org.”
Beth McCarthy: Heading back home to play The Crescent
Homecoming of the week: Beth McCarthy, The Crescent, York, Monday, doors 7.30pm
BETH McCarthy, now living in London, heads home to play her first York gig since March 2019.
Singer-songwriter Beth has been buoyed by the online response to her singles and videos, drawing 4.8 million likes and 300,000 followers on TikTok and attracting 465,000 monthly listeners and nine million plays of her She Gets The Flowers on Spotify. Box office: myticket.co.uk/artists/beth-mccarthy.
Double at the treble: Stewart Lee serves up his Snowflake and Tornado double bill on three nights at York Theatre Royal from May 3 to 5
Comedy gigs of the week: Stewart Lee, Snowflake/Tornado, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday to Thursday, 7.30pm
DELAYED by lockdowns, Stewart Lee finally brings Snowflake/Tornado – a double bill of two 60-minute sets, back-to-back nightly – to York with new material for 2022.
Heavily rewritten in the light of two pandemic-enforced dormant years, Snowflake looks at how the Covid/Brexit era has influenced the culture war between lovely snowflakes and horrible people.
Tornadoquestions Lee’s position in the comedy marketplace after Netflix mistakenly listed his show as “reports of sharks falling from the skies are on the rise again. Nobody on the Eastern Seaboard is safe.” Good luck trying to acquire a ticket on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Trouble brewing: Lift-off for Susie Amy’s Alex Forrest and Oliver Farnworth in Fatal Attraction. Picture: Tristram Kenton
Psychological thriller of the week: Fatal Attraction, Grand Opera House, York, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm matinees, Wednesday and Saturday
JAMES Dearden, screenwriter for Adrian Lyne’s 1987 “bunny boiler” American psycho thriller, has written a new stage version of Fatal Attraction for 21st century audiences, mobile phones et al.
The plot remains the same: happily married New York attorney Dan Gallagher (Oliver Farnworth) has a night on the town with editor Alex Forrest (Susie Amy) that boils up into passion.
Dan returns home to wife Beth (Louise Redknapp), trying to forget what happened, but Alex has only one rule: you play fair with her and she’ll play fair with you. If not…! Box office: 0844 871 7615 or atgtickets.com/York.
All smiles: Marti Pellow on his Greatest Hits Tour at York Barbican
Smile of the week: Marti Pellow, Greatest Hits Tour, York Barbican, Tuesday, 7.30pm
LET Marti Pellow introduce his Greatest Hits Tour show. “It’s about finally being able to come together to celebrate love, life, and remember those we may have lost along the way. Most of all, it’s about enjoyment and celebrating the here and now. Get your dancing shoes on: it’s time to party with Marti.”
Expect songs from his Wet Wet Wet and solo catalogues up to 2021’s Stargazer album, cover versions too, plus reflective chat as he sits on the edge of the stage. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The good sax guide: Saxophonist Trish Clowes with her My Iris bandmates, promising earthy restlessness and futuristic dreamscapes at the NCEM
Jazz gig of the week: Trish Clowes: My Iris, National Centre for Early Music, York, Tuesday, 7.30pm
SAXOPHONIST Trish Clowes leads her jazz band My Iris in their York debut, providing pianist Ross Stanley, guitarist Chris Montague and drummer James Maddren with a high-intensity platform for individual expression and improvisation.
Driving grooves and lingering melodic lines combine as they “seamlessly morph between earthy restlessness and futuristic dreamscapes”. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Exploring motherhood: Ana Silverio in Me, Myself & Misha
Indoor dance show of the week: Terpsichoring Dance Company in Me, Myself And Misha, York Theatre Royal Studio, Friday, 7.45pm
TERPSICHORING Dance Company’s Me, Myself & Misha is a heartfelt, autobiographical 40-minute show devised and performed by award-winning dance artist Ana Silverio, who explores the physical and emotional journey, full of challenges and joys, that one woman undertakes to become a mother.
Universal themes of pregnancy and labour are presented, using a mix of physical theatre and dance alongside an original and moving musical score. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The poster for the Yorkraine benefit concert at the Grand Opera House, York
Fundraiser alert: Yorkraine, for DEC Ukraine Appeal, Grand Opera House, York, May 24, 7.30pm
YORKRAINE’s benefit concert combines four of York’s finest cover bands, The Supermodels, The Mothers, The Y Street Band and Sister Madly, plus acoustic slots from Alex Victoria and Mal Fry and guest speakers.
The evening of pop and rock classics from the past six decades will raise funds for the British Red Cross DEC appeal to aid Ukrainian refugees who find themselves in dire circumstances. All artists, hosts, sound tech and crew have donated their time free of charge. Box office: atgtickets.com/York.
Balancing act: Gary Barlow talks the talk as he walks the walk on his musical journey through A Different Stage
Gig announcement of the week: Gary Barlow, A Different Stage, Grand Opera House, York, June 10 and 11
TAKE That legend, singer, songwriter, composer, producer, talent show judge and author Gary Barlow is adding a theatrical one-man show to his repertoire.
“I’ve done shows where it has just been me and a keyboard,” says Barlow. “I’ve done shows where I sit and talk to people. I’ve done shows where I’ve performed as part of a group.
“But this one, well, it’s like all of those, but none of them. When I walk out this time, well, it’s going to be a very different stage altogether.” Now the bad news: tickets went on sale at 9.30am yesterday and sold out by 10am, but Pray there could yet be a silver lining…
TWO Big Egos In A Small Car arts podcasters Graham Chalmers and Charles Hutchinson compare notes on their separate interviewing experiences with Marti Pellow, smarty fellow of pop, ahead of his York Barbican greatest hits show on May 3.
Prompted by his Wet Wet Wet exit, Chalmers & Hutch then discuss famous bands’ substitute singers, from Genesis to AC/DC, Black Sabbath to Buzzcocks.
Plus why Kenneth Branagh’s second Agatha Christie revamp, Death On The Nile, bristles with much more than Poirot’s monumental moustache; Harry Sword’s deep dive of a book on drone music, Monolithic Undertow – In search Of Sonic Oblivion… and a Sting in the tail end.
All smiles: Marti Pellow returns to the concert platform tomorrow night
GET your dancing shoes on, it’s time to party with Marti, says that Pellow fellow ahead of the opening night of the first leg of his Greatest Hits Tour at Scarborough Spa Theatre tomorrow (9/11/2021).
Next spring’s second leg will bring the former Wet Wet Wet frontman, soulful solo singer and musical theatre star to Hull New Theatre on April 25 and York Barbican on May 3.
“Throughout lockdown, I was inundated by beautiful messages from fans, asking me to please organise a tour once we come out of these terrible times. Twelve million people tuned in for the Lockdown Sessions I did and each one of you has inspired me to make this tour happen this year,” says the 56-year-old Scotsman.
Expect both Wet Wet Wet and solo material. “I finally wanted to put together a show that would celebrate all the wonderful music throughout my career and that I – and I know all of you – fell in love with again through the sessions.
“All through lockdown, when I could only communicate with my fans through my social-media platforms, you – the fans – would ask me to sing songs from the beginning of my career right up to the present day.
“It was a joy to get such great feedback from everyone and got me thinking about a greatest hits tour, where we could all enjoy those songs again and where I could enjoy singing them.”
Cover versions are promised too: “During the sessions, I also got to cover songs from other songwriters that were either favourites of mine, or had been suggested by you all,” says Marti. “I think they resonated with everyone so much that I’m looking forward to including some of them in the shows.”
Selections from Marti’s March 2021 album, Stargazer, will feature as well. “I finally got to write the songs that let me pay homage to all my heroes. I can’t wait to sing those songs live for the first time,” he says.
Tomorrow, the wait will be over. “It’s all about connection, all the things we love about live music that were taken away as we navigated the last year and a half in the strangest time that has ever happened to my industry, when we’ve lost friends from the industry that make performers look good: the sound engineers; the tech crews, the riggers,” says Marti.
“It’s all about connection,” says Marti Pellow as he whet, whet, whets his appetite for launching his Greatest Hits Tour tomorrow in Scarborough
“I could do certain things to keep myself busy, but though you can prepare for a rainy day, you can’t prepare for a rainy year and a half, and our industry was the first to go into storage and the last to come out.”
Marti’s Lockdown Sessions kept that all-important connection with fans with those 12 million hits. “Incredible! Here’s how it happened. I’m going about my business, and I got this wee email from the guys that run my social media, who sent me a wee message from someone asking if I’d sing a song for a relative who had Covid, so I recorded a song into my phone, hoping she would recover, and the response I got to that song was phenomenal,” he recalls.
The series of recordings ensued. “It worked for me because it wasn’t just ‘digital noise’. It really was a sense of connection, and I got just as much from them as everyone else who watched them did,” says Marti.
“James Taylor sent me an email after I did one of his songs and Annie Lennox wrote me a beautiful message too.
“I sang whatever took my fancy or whatever anyone asked for. Me and my musical producer, Grant Mitchell, created the tracks during the daytime, with me recording in the spare bedroom, where there are all these pro-tools going on, and Grant doing all the arrangements, creating the tracks, putting the reverb on.
“You can still see them on Facebook and my YouTube channel, and I also did lots of Q and A stuff, talking about growing up in Clydesdale.”
Now he can look forward to the tour’s opening night, as he enthuses about his fans: “You spoke and I listened. This brand-new Greatest Hits Tour is about finally being able to come together to celebrate love, life, and remember those we may have lost along the way.
“Most of all, it’s about enjoyment and celebrating the here and now. Get your dancing shoes on – it’s time to party with Marti!”
First stop, Scarborough Spa Theatre. “You have to have fish and chips in Scarborough, because we all have so many memories around fish and chips, debating about where you can find the best fish supper,” he says. Any recommendations for Scarborough, let Marti know via his social media.
Marti Pellow: Greatest Hits Tour opens at Scarborough Spa Theatre tomorrow (9/11/2021); box office, scarboroughspa.co.uk. Also: Hull New Theatre, April 25 2022, hulltheatres.co.uk; York Barbican, May 3, yorkbarbican.co.uk.
“I finally wanted to put together a show that would celebrate all the wonderful music throughout my career,” says Marti Pellow
MARTI Pellow will return to York Barbican next spring in a May 3 show newly added to the 2022 leg of his Greatest Hits Tour.
The former Wet Wet Wet frontman, soulful solo singer and musical theatre star, from Clydebank, Scotland, says: “Get your dancing shoes on – it’s time to party with Marti!
“Throughout lockdown, I was inundated by beautiful messages from fans, asking me to please organise a tour once we come out of these terrible times. Twelve million people tuned in for the lockdown sessions and each one of you has inspired me to make this tour happen this year.”
Expect both Wet Wet Wet and solo material. “I finally wanted to put together a show that would celebrate all the wonderful music throughout my career and that I – and I know all of you – fell in love with again through the sessions,” says Pellow.
“All through lockdown, when I could only communicate with my fans through my social-media platforms, you – the fans – would ask me to sing songs from the beginning of my career right up to the present day.
“It was a joy to get such great feedback from everyone and got me thinking about a greatest hits tour, where we could all enjoy those songs again and where I could enjoy singing them.”
The poster for Marti Pellow’s Greatest Hits Tour date at York Barbican next spring
Cover versions are promised too: “During the sessions, I also got to cover songs from other songwriters that were either favourites of mine, or had been suggested by you all,” says Pellow. “I think they resonated with everyone so much that I’m looking forward to including some of them in the shows.”
Anything else? “And, of course, not forgetting my new album Stargazer that came out in March [on BMG], where I finally got to write the songs that let me pay homage to all my heroes. I can’t wait to sing those songs live for the first time,” says Pellow, 56.
Looking forward to next year’s travels, he concludes: “You spoke and I listened. This brand new Greatest Hits Tour is about finally being able to come together to celebrate love, life, and remember those we may have lost along the way.
“Most of all, it’s about enjoyment and celebrating the here and now. Get your dancing shoes on – it’s time to party with Marti!”
Pellow last played York Barbican in May 2018 on his Private Collection tour, preceded by his March 2017 appearance on his Mysterious itinerary.
Tickets for May 3 are on sale at yorkbarbican.co.uk. Pellow will open the first leg of his Greatest Hits Tour at Scarborough Spa Theatre on November 9; the second leg will begin at another new addition, Sheffield City Hall, on April 12; Hull New Theatre is already in the diary for April 25. Box office: scarboroughspa.co.uk; sheffieldcityhall.co.uk; hulltheatres.co.uk.
