Ah, there you are. Fancy a d:news sarnie washed down by a tasty beverage of lo-cal enlightenment? then read on, my friends, read on...
Christmas is coming...
...And we all know that it means something extra special down here in D:land: the band's annual gig at Shepherd's Bush. With a packed year behind them the band have got plenty of pressies to open in front of you lot on Friday December 15th. Make sure you book your ticket nice and early to guarantee your place round the tree. Oh, and by the way, we're all pleased that Matt Redman and his band will be kicking things off on the night.
Stu G and Martin wrote a book...
...And it's not got any pictures in or anything. Actually, it has got some piccies in - very nice ones too - but this is a proper book. I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever takes a close look at some of the pair's best tunes, with Stu and Martin opening up and explaining the stories behind the songs. It's published by Regal, is out in May 2007 and you can get it from www.fierceshop.com. We managed to unplug Stu from the printer long enough to answer a few questions:
Q. What made you want to write I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever?
A. Well I don't know exactly how it came about but the lovely guys at Regal Publishing approached us about this and we thought it was a good opportunity to talk about the songs from a personal point of view.
Q. Did you learn anything interesting while reflecting on the past so much?
A. Well I remembered what it was like to have homework! It really was a stretch for me, and I now admire people who can write coherently and creatively. Looking back is something I try not to do so much but it was a good process to go back to some of those times and experience those things again. I admit I made myself cry more than once!
Q. Does writing songs get easier with time?
A. It's always a challenge but the longer you do it the more experience you have so there's more to draw on. We are writing again now and I am really inspired.
Q.What do you prefer: writing songs or books?
A. Definitely songs... that's what I do, but I would not count another book out I would want to get better at writing first though.
Mission Bell tour: 26 gigs, 9 countries, one continent
It's Monday evening and it's 8 o,clock. Normally the time when you get a bit twitchy, start getting dressed and warming up my voice for another night ahead. But tonight there's no date to play but I have a date with my wife, sitting on the sofa watching a bit of telly. Feeling tired, sad, happy, throat like a bag of sandpaper, a suspected broken toe (due to a leap off Tim's piano!) but content that the last 6 weeks and 26 gigs went great and proud that we were able to take our music to some parts of Europe that don't normally have bands come through. People would imagine that we can sit back and enjoy the spoils of a successful tour but this show cost a fortune to take out each night and we will barely make a bean on the whole thing. It's always been more important to us to be innovative and creative than let the economics dictate. If you don't move forward you move back and procrastination is the death of any osmotic movement.
Thank you to all the thousands of people who came out to see us, we have the best crowds in the world and we appreciate you all living these moments with us. Into the writing room now, Christmas at home and then off to India in the new year.
Happy Christmas and a blessed year. Martin
That was the year: 2006
OK, it was busy. Very busy. The Mission Bell came out of nappies, Stew Smee proved that he is fitter than all the band combined, we recorded and released 'Now Is The Time' - our first ever live DVD and we played a few gigs. In fact, we played a lot of them: over 87 dates in 24 countries including first time trips to Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Croatia, Latvia Colombia, Brazil and Argentina. Those South American dates were something else... we're sure we'll be back some day soon.
This is the year: 2007
And what's in store for us next? We'll be writing a new album and getting back into the studio with kiwi maestro Sam Gibson to record it. There'll be tours of America and Asia along with a hugely exciting rebirth of D:web site. Any thoughts about what you'd like to see on it would be nicely received - just drop us an email. Of course, even though the year planner's already nice and full there are bound to be a few detours, rabbit trails and last minute openings - all the usual good stuff that comes along when you're ringing a mission bell.
D:hot seat: Phil Wall
Q. Who are you?
A. Phil Wall
Q. What were you doing on the tour?
A. I was there to highlight the work of Hope HIV as it seeks to train and raise-up leaders from amongst the African 'Orphan Generation' of street children in sub-Saharan Africa. This involved a brief presentation about the involvement of Delirious in this fantastic cause over the last few years. In addition we sought to raise money through a text donation campaign.
Q.Was it a good experience?
A. The experience was fantastic, both in terms of the impact of the fundraising campaign -which raised nearly £18,000 - as well as the opportunity of traveling with the lovely D boys! Being on the road with a real, live 'rock n' roll' band was something of an experience for an ageing 'soul boy' like me.
Q. How did Hope HIV go down with the D 'gig-goers'?
A. Well from the fantastic response we got (which was nearly a 40% response rate from the text donation campaign), I would have to say it was absolutely remarkable. I also had some fascinating conversations with some very passionate people who are concerned about the future plight of orphans in Africa.
Q. What is the future of HOPEHIV?
A. We currently work in 12 African countries, serving some 30,000 orphans a year. Our aim is to expand rapidly to reach even more people, and this intention is signaled in our having recently opened a staffed office in Cape Town and in beginning the process of opening offices in Sydney and Los Angeles. We are encouraged by this growth, but with the number of AIDS Orphans estimated to rise to 25 million by 2010 we have no time to lose.
Q. If people still want to support you how can they do that now?
A. If people want to support us now they can text HHIV to 84858, or alternatively go to the website and preferably take out some kind of direct debit giving. This helps us a great deal as it gives us the ability to predict our income and budget accordingly. We also have a single that is being released in January (available on i-Tunes) called 'Song For Africa'.
Headed by one of Hope HIV's greatest supporters, Emma Pears, this fantastic song was developed and performed by the Mill Lane Community Gospel Choir to support our work with orphans. It is just £3 delivered from www.fierceshop.com or you can download from itunes. All profits and royalties are being donated to .
That leaves just one thing left to say and that is a massive thank-you to all of the wonderfully generous people who have helped raise so much money for this brilliant cause.
D:desking
Ever wondered what we get up to when we're not on the road? Well, let us put you out of your misery with some tasteful portraits of our desks.. This is Jon's desk/dining room table.
06 o'clock: laptop on laptop case
08 o'clock: mobile phone
09 o'clock: Book, NT Wright's the challenge of Jesus on top of a Novation Bass Station Keyboard with midi lead.
10 o'clock: Barbie as princess and the poor per puzzle
12 o'clock: Kelly Dream club fairy puzzle with note form wife
01 o'clock: Kelly Dream club princess puzzle [with piece missing] and glass
03 o'clock: Phillips screwdriver with unmade Cinderella puzzle
04 o'clock: Book, Craig Borlase's God's Gravity
05 o'clock: Empty cereal bowl with spoon.
Finally
Goodbye. We hope you have a peaceful, joy-soaked and truly memorable Christmas and a new year that leaves you all excited about all the great things that lie ahead.