Phil Thornalley features in the latest issue of TapeOp magazine. A fascinating read that covers his work with Bryan Adams, Thompson Twins, The Cure, Prefab Sprout, The Psychedelic Furs, The Jam, XTC, Duran Duran, Paul McCartney and, of course, Astral Drive.
Read it in full here: tapeop.com/interviews/135/phil-thornalley/
The first single from Graham Gouldman’s new album, Modesty Forbids, is out now. “All Around The World” is one of eleven tracks from the album that’s now available for pre-order on LP, CD and digital with instant grat download of the single.
With Graham’s 10cc tours enjoying ever-increasing success around the world in recent years, in 2018 he was invited by former Beatles’ drummer Ringo Starr to join his All Starr Band for tours of Europe and the USA, during which the band played three 10cc songs, elevating Graham’s profile yet further.
That relationship continues, with Ringo making a very special guest appearance on Modesty Forbids. Graham said, “Playing with Ringo Starr and The All Starr Band was absolutely brilliant, and having Ringo play drums on one of my new album’s songs was the icing on the cake. In it, I write about how I came to be asked to join Ringo’s band and about my experience of being on the road with him, alongside Steve Lukather, Colin Hay, Gregg Rolie, Warren Ham and Gregg Bissonette, who also plays drums on three of the album’s tracks.”
Graham said, “I can’t begin to tell you what a pleasure it was making Modesty Forbids and to be able to work with so many fine musicians. When listening back to the album I realise that there are two recurring themes. One is about climate change awareness and the other is a call for ‘peace and love’. These two subjects may be clichés, but I don’t care – as long as we take action on the first and practice the second we’ll all be ok.”
Pre-order Modesty Forbids here, or at you local record store.
In addition to global dates with 10cc, Graham will be touring the UK in March:
Tickets available now from all venues and ticket agencies.
Thanks to Robert Elms for inviting Graham onto his BBC Radio London show. Listen to the interview – including 2 new songs – here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07xn2x4
Graham Gouldman interviewed by Jim White and Natalie Sawyer on TalkSPORT radio, 6th December 2019.
10cc’s Graham Gouldman will embark on a run of UK tour dates in March and April 2020 to coincide with the release of his first solo album in eight years.
Long-established as one of the world’s greatest songwriters, Graham’s 14-date tour with his semi-acoustic band Heart Full of Songs begins in Gateshead on 19th March and ends in Cardiff on 4th April, including a date at London’s Union Chapel on 26th March.
Graham’s new solo album – the fifth of his career, and his first since 2012’s ‘Love And Work’ – is scheduled for release on 20th March on Lojinx.
With 10cc tours enjoying ever-increasing success around the world, in 2018 Graham was invited by The Beatles’ drummer Ringo Starr to join his All Starr Band for tours of Europe and the USA, during which the band played three 10cc songs, elevating Graham’s profile yet further.
That relationship continues, with Ringo making a very special guest appearance on Graham’s new album, playing drums on a song called ‘Standing Next To Me’.
Graham said, “Playing with Ringo Starr and The All Starr Band was absolutely brilliant, and having Ringo play drums on one of my new album’s songs was the icing on the cake. The song is about how I came to be asked to join his band, and about my experience of being on the road with Ringo alongside Steve Lukather, Colin Hay, Gregg Rolie, Warren Ham and Gregg Bissonette, who also plays drums on four of the album’s tracks.”
When Graham formed what became Heart Full of Songs it was purely for the pleasure of playing his songs in their simplest form: acoustically. The format became so popular that the acoustic four-piece undertook its first concert tour in April-May 2013.
The band now tours across Belgium, Germany, Holland and the UK and comprises Graham, Ciaran Jeremiah, Dave Cobby and either Iain Hornal, Nick Kendal or Andy Park, depending on their various commitments.
For lovers of perfectly-crafted music performed by the composer, a Heart Full of Songs concert is truly an exquisite experience, featuring 10cc classics such as I’m Not In Love, Dreadlock Holiday and The Things We Do For Love, Bus Stop – a hit for The Hollies, For Your Love (The Yardbirds) and Bridge To Your Heart (Wax), along with some new material.
Graham’s songwriting status was acknowledged in 2014 with his induction into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame – an arm of America’s National Academy of Music. Previous inductees include Noel Coward, Irving Berlin, Burt Bacharach, Neil Sedaka, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Leonard Cohen and Sting.
That was followed in 2015 by Broadcast Music Incorporated in the US anointed him an Icon of the Industry at a special ceremony in London, where he wowed the audience with an acoustic rendition of I’m Not In Love, accompanied by Lisa Stansfield on vocals.
Around that time, Graham got another unexpected lift. It happened backstage at the UK’s Cropredy Festival when Robert Plant walked up and thanked him for writing one of the songs that got him through the audition to join Led Zeppelin. The song was For Your Love.
Looking ahead to the tour, Graham said, “I always love taking my Heart Full Of Songs show on tour. Acoustic performances always create a very intimate atmosphere where every song – which is what it’s all about – can truly be heard. It also gives me a chance to explain how the songs came about and something of the writing process. We’ll see you there.”
The full Heart Full of Songs tour:
Tickets available now from all venues and ticket agencies. Album pre-order details coming soon.
Self-titled Astral Drive album #2… sort of… aka “Green”. Although this is an album of new recordings it’s designed as a companion piece, an extension to the original Astral Drive record.
“After playing my songs solo and acoustically during promotion of the album, Andrew at Lojinx gave me the idea to strip down and “recycle” the summer-bleached original recordings and go back to their green grass roots, the essence of the songs, with me singing at the piano.”
“I recorded the original album with an avalanche of ideas and off-the-cuff performances that caught the vibe, in the moment. I aimed to capture the spirit of the songs as they bubbled up from a fragment of melody or a line of scribbled lyrics and formed into a full-on production.”
“The theme of this ‘Green’ album was to strip away the production from the original recordings and shine an astral light on the songs from a different angle. I re-recorded them in a more basic form, added some spicy herbs, and then served it all with some chilled vibes. Like an astral green curry.”
“There’s a few name-dropping guest performances from Keith Scott on guitar and Gary Breit on piano and vocals (Bryan Adams band), David Munday on harmonica (who had sat in on my live performances) and Kasim Sulton (Todd Rundgren’s band) on vocals. My daughter Maddy also sings harmony vocal too.”
So, here it is… Astral Drive, the ‘Green’ album, back to basics with, hopefully, a few spicy surprises.
Out now is the new 3-track single and video from Astral Drive! ‘Wishing I Could Change the World’ is taken from the self-titled album and now re-mixed for radio by the legendary Dave Bascombe. The single includes 2 new recordings; a cover of the Goffin/King classic ‘Up on the Roof’ and new song ‘Who Loves You’.
“‘Up on the Roof’ has such evocative, melancholic lyrics”, says Phil “and in my slowed down version, based on Laura Nyro’s 1970’s recording, I wanted to let the words come to the fore – the wide-eyed hope and the heart wrenching sadness“.
“The great reception for Astral Drive inspired me to write the lyrics for a dreamy song that wasn’t finished in time to make that first album. ‘Who Loves You’ is about how life can change in a heartbeat and how insecurity can haunt us just as easily as love can lift us.”
Lojinx: https://ljx.cc/wicctw (digital download + new limited edition T-shirt)
Apple: https://ljx.cc/wicctw-Apple
Spotify: https://ljx.cc/wicctw-Spotify
Amazon: https://ljx.cc/wicctw-Amazon
Deezer: https://ljx.cc/wicctw-Deezer
Tidal: https://ljx.cc/wicctw-Tidal
Astral Drive is songwriter/producer, Phil Thornalley’s vision of a long lost album from the 1970s. Writing, singing and playing all the instruments in the style of 70’s legends Todd Rundgren and Stevie Wonder. The eponymous debut Astral Drive album is out now!
David Myhr’s video for new single “Lovebug” is out now! The song, from the Lucky Day album, was co-written by LA favourite Linus Of Hollywood and the video is directed by Alexander Edström from footage shot during the album recording in Nashville and Stockholm.
Fans of David Myhr‘s 2018 CD album Lucky Day were delighted and confused, in equal measure, to discover the 10-track CD was actually 14 songs. The 4 undisclosed bonus tracks were not listed on the artwork, or otherwise announced, and were added to the CD as a surprise for those who supported the physical release.
David explains his selection of the 3 cover songs and 4th bonus track:
Military Madness (Graham Nash) – “I love a lot of 60’s music and one of my favourite bands is The Hollies, not least because of Graham Nash’s high harmony vocals. However, I never got to love any particular album as much as I did Graham Nash’s first solo album (Songs for Beginners, 1971). It kind of resonated with me when I discovered it in my 20s and it’s been in my top 10 albums list ever since.”
My Messed Up Friend (Brad Jones) – “The idea came up to surprise Brad – the co-producer of the album – as I’ve been an admirer of his production work for a long time. His only solo album Gilt-Flake is an album worth discovering. My Messed Up Friend is a song that means a lot to my wife and I and is a really touching song that’s musically interesting too.”
Somewhere In My Heart (Aztec Camera) – “I don’t have a big reason for picking this song other than it’s one of the few of it’s era that I fell in love with just by hearing it on the radio. I felt a real connection with the song and it’s 60’s roots wrapped in modern production. It somehow felt like a secret love, my discovery, despite being a massive international hit! Some songs can have that effect on you, a kind of special relationship.”
Spellbound – A song co-written with Jimmy Lagnefors for Swedish film Flykten till Framtiden (“My Future Love”). – “The director had specifically requested a song that ‘sounds like Electric Light Orchestra’ and Jimmy asked me to collaborate. As a huge admirer of Jeff Lynne’s songwriting and production I obviously jumped at the chance. Somehow we managed to create ‘the song that E.L.O. never made’. It was played a lot on Swedish radio, people really liked it, and I’ve come to realize that it actually kind of works really well as a song on its own merits. I’ve grown really proud of it. It kind of seemed too good to not have on the album!”
All 4 bonus tracks are now available to all on the “Deluxe Edition” release of Lucky Day, out now on all good digital platforms.
GET LUCKY DAY: http://ljx.cc/DavidMyhr-LuckyDay
Apple: https://ljx.cc/LuckyDayDeluxe-Apple
Spotify: https://ljx.cc/LuckyDayDeluxe-Spotify
Amazon: https://ljx.cc/LuckyDayDeluxe-Amazon
Tidal: https://ljx.cc/LuckyDayDeluxe-Tidal
Deezer: https://ljx.cc/LuckyDayDeluxe-Deezer
On first listen, the music of They Might Be Giants can come across as lighthearted, even glib. Don’t be fooled.
Our first release of 2019 is the new single by Astral Drive, out today!
“Love Is Real” is taken from the self-titled album and re-mixed for radio by Dave Bascombe. The 3-track singles includes 2 new recordings; a cover of Todd Rundgren’s ‘A Dream Goes On Forever’ and an acoustic version of ‘Wishing I Could Change The World’.
Apple: https://ljx.cc/LoveIsReal-Apple
Spotify: https://ljx.cc/LoveIsReal-Spotify
Amazon: https://ljx.cc/LoveIsReal-Amazon
Deezer: https://ljx.cc/LoveIsReal-Deezer
Tidal: https://ljx.cc/LoveIsReal-Tidal
Astral Drive is songwriter/producer, Phil Thornalley’s vision of a long lost album from the 1970s. Writing, singing and playing all the instruments in the style of 70’s stalwarts Todd Rundgren and Stevie Wonder.