There now follows a short public information film containing particulars of Brian Bilston and The Catenary Wires’ autumn tour.
You can find more particulars here, in particular: https://brianbilston.com/events/
Music
Stream ‘Sounds Made by Humans’
NewsSounds Made by Humans – an album of my poetry put to music by the fabulous Catenary Wires – can now be listened to on Spotify, iTunes and those other streaming platforms.
“A contender for album of the year.” Backseat Mafia
“An instant cult classic. 5/5” Louder Than War
And if you like what you hear, you can hear it played live this autumn when we’re heading off on a UK tour. There will be music, poems, mugs, tea towels, and somewhere to sit down (should you want to). We can be found in the following places …
12 Sep: RAMSGATE: Music Hall
30 Oct: BANBURY: Mill Arts Centre
1 Nov: LONDON: Bloomsbury Theatre
3 Nov: NORWICH: Norwich Arts Centre
4 Nov: STAMFORD: Corn Exchange
5 Nov: MILTON KEYNES: The Stables
6 Nov: BRIGHTON: Komedia
12 Nov: WORCESTER: Huntingdon Hall
13 Nov: NOTTINGHAM: Metronome
14 Nov: SWANSEA: Grand Theatre
15 Nov: BRISTOL: John Wesley’s Chapel
21 Nov: MANCHESTER: Halle St Peters
22 Nov: OTLEY: Courthouse
23 Nov: CHORLEY: Chorley Theatre
24 Nov: LIVERPOOL: Royal Philharmonic
25 Nov: SHEFFIELD: The Foundry
26 Nov: GLASGOW: Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA)
27 Nov: NEWCASTLE: The Pilgrim
28 Nov: POCKLINGTON: Arts Centre
4 Dec: HERNE BAY: King’s Hall
Hope to see some of you along the way.
Nights of music and poetry …
NewsOne tour may have just finished but here’s news of another one coming soon …
I’m delighted to announce that this autumn I’ll be going on tour with The Catenary Wires, for some fun-filled evenings of music and poetry. We’ll be performing our album ‘Sounds Made by Humans’, and there’ll be poems from me and music from the band throughout the night.
Most of the gigs are in November, with a few either side. We’ll be coming to Banbury, Brighton, Bristol, Chorley, Glasgow, Herne Bay, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Otley, Pocklington, Ramsgate, Sheffield, Stamford, Swansea, and Worcester.
Tickets have gone on sale this morning. For the full list of shows and links to tickets, you can find them all here:
And here are few review snippets of ‘Sounds Made by Humans’:
“[An] album of the year.” Backseat Mafia
“An instant cult classic. 5/5” Louder Than War
“Filled to the rafters with wit and smart hooks.” Here Comes the Flood
Hope to see some of you there.
Brian
Sounds Made by Humans – out now!
NewsLast week saw the release of ‘Sounds Made by Humans’, an album of ‘poem songs’ I’ve made with the brilliant Catenary Wires.
The album is out now on vinyl and CD; it’s also available for streaming on Spotify and elsewhere, and can be downloaded.
Some places where you can find it…
ROUGH TRADE (including limited edition ‘white vinyl’ edition):
We’re really proud of it and we’ll be taking it on the road with us in the UK in November, for some evenings of music and poetry. More on that in a few weeks.
Happy listening x
Every Song on the Radio
NewsA new ‘poem song’ with the fab Catenary Wires is out today: Every Song on the Radio Reminds Me of You. We’ve even made an accompanying video, in which I do some very good walking around with a radio, plus knob twiddling.
It’s from our forthcoming album, ‘Sounds Made by Humans’ which comes out on 9 May and is available to pre-order on vinyl and CD from all good record stores. You’ll find it up on the various music streaming sites, too.
More info here: https://skepwax.myshopify.com/products/brian-bilston-and-the-catenary-wires-sounds-made-by-humans-album
Top of the pops to you.
Sounds Made by Humans
NewsSome exciting news …
I’ve been collaborating (well, having fun) with a brilliant band, The Catenary Wires, who have very cleverly put some of my poems to music. The result is an album of thirteen songs to be released on 9th May on Skep Wax Records. It’s called ‘Sounds Made by Humans’.
It can be pre-ordered now on vinyl and CD here: https://linktr.ee/brianbilston and it will also be available for streaming and download.
The LP features some of my most popular poems ‘Alexa, what is there to know about love?’, ‘She’d Dance’, ‘To Do List’, ‘Thou Shalt Not Commit Adulting’, alongside many more timeless, toe-tapping classics.
You can hear a sneak preview of ‘Alexa, what is there to know about love?’ here: https://brianbilstonandthecatenarywires.bandcamp.com/track/alexa-what-is-there-to-know-about-love
The album can be pre-ordered now on vinyl and CD, and includes a full colour insert with lyrics, illustrated by Elodie Ginsburg. It will also be available for streaming and download. Some places where you can pre-order:
BANDCAMP: https://brianbilstonandthecatenarywires.bandcamp.com/album/sounds-made-by-humans-2
ROUGH TRADE: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/brian-bilston-and-the-catenary-wires/sounds-made-by-humans
We’re really proud of it; so much so that there are plans afoot to take it on tour in the UK in November. I’ll share details of those dates with you when confirmed.
*The Catenary Wires are a group comprising Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey and Ian Button. Their critically acclaimed third album ‘Birling Gap’ was released in 2021. Since then, they have been focusing on their other bands, playing around the world with Heavenly (icons of the 90s indiepop scene) and Swansea Sound.
Robert Smith’s Lockdown Diary
Some poemsI don’t know if Monday’s blue.
It could be Tuesday. Wednesday, too.
Or Friday, I don’t have a clue.
But Thursday’s when I clap.
Monday, I don’t want to blame.
Tuesday, Wednesday not defame.
Nor Friday – every day’s the same,
But Thursday’s when I clap.
The weekend’s scrapped.
No Saturday, Sunday. It’s left a gap.
Thursdays, I never cease to clap.
I don’t know if Monday’s black.
A weekly schedule’s what I lack.
My sense of time’s not coming back,
But Thursday’s when I clap.
Chronologies I disavow.
Tuesday’s Wednesday, I don’t know how.
Friday’s just like Monday now.
But Thursday’s when I clap.
Have Yourself a Brexit Little Christmas
Assorted Poems, Some poemsHave yourself a Brexit little Christmas
and fill your days with fun,
because we know our troubles will have just begun.
Have yourself a Brexit little Christmas
and drink your days away.
From now on, our troubles will be here to stay.
Here we are as in olden days,
so-called golden days of yore.
Failing those who are near to us
for they are dear to us no more.
So just say auf wiedersehen to Europe,
au revoir and ciao,
then hang a tattered flag upon a lonely bough,
and have yourself a Brexit little Christmas now.
Blitzkrieg Top
Assorted Poems, Some poemsWhen I put on my Ramones tee-shirt,
with its presidential seal of rebellion,
I can almost smell the revolution
in the air.
I like to wear it everywhere:
down the match or shopping mall,
on the golf course, in the gym, or
in Costa
where I sometimes sit and watch the
protest marches go past the window,
whilst sipping on my frappuccino.
All roads lead
to Ramones; you will see our breed
on every street, pushing strollers,
iPhoned jogging rock n’ rollers,
defiant
in cottoned nonconformity, a giant
army of tee-shirted mayhem makers
(once we’ve read the Sunday papers).
Hey ho, let’s go.
Pretty Things
Assorted Poems, Some poemsThey spent the day swapping
stardust-sprinkled stories
of classroom rebel rebels
and rescued car journeys,
eye-shadowed evenings
of first gigs and girlfriends,
best gigs and boyfriends,
fan letters insanely penned,
awkward teenage oddities,
faces and phases and changes,
moon landings, all-time lows,
serendipity in far-off places,
the loneliness of Lazarus,
and the golden years of families,
fame, fashion, fancies, dances,
all the fanatically-vinyled panoplies,
tall, true tales of we-can-be-heroes,
for Planet Earth was blue
and there was nothing else
they could do.
