Wild Weekend

Some poems

Sunday – and the squirrels are lazing in their branches,
the sheep are congregating for morning service,
and the bears are sleeping off their sore heads.

The sloths are taking things slow, the hippos are wallowing,
the cats are curling up on the newspaper in front of the television.
The alpacas will spend the day in their fluffies.

Not everyone is taking it easy. The deer are up already
for a walk around the park. The ducks are planning a trip
across the lake. The salmon have gone wild swimming.

The snails are pottering about the garden, while the crows
scan its aisles for materials and a spot of DIY. The pigeons have split
up: some are hanging around the shopping centre,

others intend to spend the afternoon at the Test match.
The lions are having an old friend over for dinner, the camels
are baking, the spiders are browsing their webs, and the humans…

the humans are wondering where the weekend has gone
as they stave off the prospect of another beastly Monday,
questioning the natural order of things.

Stream ‘Sounds Made by Humans’

News

Sounds 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.

Today’s Climate Forecast

Some poems

And onto today’s climate forecast, 
where we can expect to see a prolonged spell of inaction,
interspersed with patches of hazy promises
across many areas. 

Over Westminster and other centres of government,
a build-up of hot air will cause inactivity to soar
to record levels over the coming days,
in spite of the high pressure.

Elsewhere, a front of chronic misinformation 
will sweep in from the east,   
bringing with it a thick band of climate change deniers
and the chance of scattered falsehoods,

while powerful gusts of idiocy and ignorance
look set to blow across social media.
Outbreaks of ‘We just got on with it in 1976
and ‘It’s called the British summer, mate’ are likely.

In summary: unsettling.

Ireland tour in October

News

Exciting times … I’m coming back to Ireland this October to read some poems in what is set to be my most extensive tour there yet*:

17th: BELFAST, Mandela Hall
18th: DUBLIN, Ambassador Theatre
19th: LIMERICK, Lime Tree Theatre
20th: DERRY, Millennium Forum

Tickets are on sale here: https://brianbilston.com/events/.

Book now to guarantee disappointment.

* previous record = 2 shows

Nights of music and poetry …

News

One 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!

News

Last week saw the release of ‘Sounds Made by Humans’, an album of ‘poem songs’ I’ve made with the brilliant Catenary Wires.

Sounds Made by Humans

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…

BANDCAMP

SHOPIFY

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

Brian Bilston & The Catenary Wires

Every Song on the Radio

News

A 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.

Caravan of love

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.

A Poem for Every Question

News

Some news! A new book is on its way …

A Poem for Every Question consists of 100 new poems for children, written in answer to the curious questions that kids will ask.

Questions such as:
Are unicorns real?
How many stars exploded in the Universe today?
Was Blackbeard a real pirate?
Can it rain fish?

Each poem is accompanied by the clever and funny artwork of Joe Berger. It’s the first time I’ve ever had any of my poems illustrated like this, and I’m completely bowled over by how Joe has brought these poems to life.

A Poem for Every Question publishes in the UK on 25th September with Farshore Books, and is available for pre-order now. It can be ordered through all the usual bookshop places. You can find a few places to pre-order from here, including a link so you can find your local UK indie bookshop: https://linktr.ee/brianbilston

It will be out in Canada in December, and I’ll share news about when it’s available in the US as soon as I have it.

I’ll leave the last words about the book to Michael Rosen, who says: ‘These poems are the answers to every question you ever wanted to ask, and the question for every answer you wanted to question. Funny, informative and intriguing, this book will expand your brain to twice its size.’

Sounds Made by Humans

News

Some 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

SHOPIFY: https://skepwax.myshopify.com/products/brian-bilston-and-the-catenary-wires-sounds-made-by-humans-album?variant=50478896906579

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.