BIG BIG TRAIN rescheduled to Friday 2 September 2022

 Modern prog heroes Big Big Train were originally scheduled to play Friars Aylesbury on 16 July 2020 which, due to lockdown, was postponed until 18 July 2021. This second date was also not possible due to government regulations on live events. 

Today we are announcing that this long-awaited date will now take place on Friday 2 September 2022.

 Tickets for the new date are on sale now from ATGTickets/Aylesbury, Ticketmaster and See Tickets. If you have tickets for the original date or the first postponed date, please hang on to your tickets….. they will be 100% valid for this new rescheduled date. 

Local prog legends LIFESIGNS will also be appearing with Big Big Train on 2 September 2022 although that is still to be confirmed.

 Big Big Train dropped their stunning new album ‘Common Ground’ on 30 July 2021 which is now available on streaming services, CD & Vinyl. Tracks “The Strangest Times’, ‘All the Love We can Give’, ‘Apollo’ and ‘Common Ground’ just have to be heard. The band released a further new song ‘The Connection Plan’ via streaming services on 24 August 2021 as part of their 'Stay Tuned' series." 

Lifesigns released their excellent third album ‘Altitude’ in March 2021

ALTERED IMAGES added as Special Guests to OMD – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark and Covid safety information

 FRIARS AYLESBURY at the WATERSIDE THEATRE FRIDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2021

 TICKETS on sale now from atgtickets.com/Aylesbury (0844 871 7615), Seetickets.com and Ticketmaster.co.uk.  

Altered Images and the effervescent Clare Grogan have a strong history with Friars Aylesbury. The band first played as support to Siouxsie & The Banshees in October 1980 which was followed by another stunning performance as special guests to U2 in June 1981. They then came back as Friars headliners in November 1981 and in May 1982. 

The band were first championed by John Peel and had 3 big albums “Happy Birthday’, ‘Pinky Blue’ and ‘Bite’, the latter of which was produced by Tony Visconti. They also had multiple top 10 hits including ‘Don’t Talk to Me About Love’, ‘Happy Birthday’, ‘I Could be Happy’ and ‘See those Eyes’ which resulted in millions of record sales worldwide. 

Clare Grogan has also had an extensive career as an actress after her starring role in Gregory’s Girl. In recent years Clare has appeared in Father Ted, Eastenders, Doctors, Red Dwarf and many more. Clare has also been a presenter on 6Music. 

The pandemic meant that Friars Aylesbury could not present live events for nearly two years. Friday 17 September will mark the long awaited return and a great homecoming for two of Friars Aylesbury’s most iconic bands. 

OMD are one of the true Friars Aylesbury legends. Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys first played Friars as a duo with a tape recorder, supporting Gary Numan, on 6 October 1979. They went down a storm. A year later they came back with the full band as triumphant headliners. The gig on 1 November 1980 was a complete sell-out. Years later Andy McCluskey was talking to George Michael who said that he and Andrew Ridgeley had driven over from Watford that night and were in the audience. This was when George and Andrew were a couple of unknown music fans. It would be two years later that they had their first hit with Wham ‘Young Guns (Go For It)’.  OMD had released their second album ‘Organisation’ in October 1980, just before the Friars gig and the only single from that album ‘Enola Gay’ was high in the UK singles chart. 

PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM OMD's PAUL HUMPHRIES

OMD have sold over 25 million singles and over 15 million albums. They appeared on Top of The Pops 29 times. They had a string of hits that were the soundtrack to our lives including ‘Electricity’, ‘Messages’, ‘Enola Gay’, ’Souvenir’, ‘Joan of Arc’, ‘Maid of Orleans’, ‘Locomotion’, ‘Genetic Engineering’, ‘(Forever) Live and Die’, ‘Sailing on the Seven Seas’ and ‘Pandora’s Box’. Their albums still have pride of place in so many record collections from the first 1980 album ‘Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’ with its dayglow sleeve and later that same year ‘Organisation’, followed by their 1981 classic ‘Architecture and Morality’ and 1983’s ‘Dazzle Ships’. In 2017 they released ‘The Punishment of Luxury’ which was hailed by fans and critics alike as a return to the shimmering brilliance of their classic early singles.

 “Electronic music is our language” says Andy. “It’s how we talk.”

“We’re at our best when we’re in a room together, working.” Paul adds.

“That’s when the sparks and ideas happen. It’s the same now as it ever was.”

COVID-19 SAFETY INFORMATION

ATG who manage the Waterside Theatre are anxious to make the Waterside as safe as possible for you. It will therefore be a requirement that all ticketholders will need to show proof that they are fully vaccinated on arrival or that they have had a negative lateral flow test within 48 hours of arrival. Lateral flow tests will also be available at the door on the night.

You can see the exact arangements HERE.

Tickets for the following Friars Aylesbury dates are now available:

Friday 17 September 2021   OMD + ALTERED IMAGES

Monday 18 October 2021   STEVE HACKETT – ‘Genesis Revisited’ playing ‘Seconds Out’ and more

SATURDAY 30 October 2021    PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

MONDAY 30 May 2022    From Oklahoma City - THE FLAMING LIPS

FRIDAY 2 September 2022    BIG BIG TRAIN + Lifesigns (tbc)

 Friars Aylesbury is back.  

We can’t wait to see everyone again on 17 September.