Barclay James Harvest News Archive 2001

This page contains older stories previously posted on the web site news page. For the latest happenings, see the News page.

15th December, 2001:

BJH on Top Of The Pops!

BJH will be included on the "Top Of The Pops 2" show to be broadcast on BBC2 on Tuesday, January 8th, 2002 (not as previously listed), at six p.m. Presumably this will be the band's one and only appearance from TOTP in 1977, when they mimed to the Live EP version of "Rock 'N' Roll Star".

Another Sample

Les has been sampled by rappers again! The new album by American band Mobb Deep ("Infamy") includes a song called "Get Away", which draws heavily on Les's "Taking Me Higher". The U.S. Amazon web site (www.amazon.com) has a short clip if anyone wants to hear it. Given that Mobb Deep's last album went platinum in the U.S.A., such exposure can only be good news for Les, financially at least!

2nd December, 2001:

Revolution Days in 2002

Recording and mixing of Les Holroyd's forthcoming album, entitled Revolution Days, was completed on November 23rd, and the album will be released as soon after the New Year as possible. No record company has yet been finalised, but a number of companies have expressed serious interest, particularly in Germany. Track listing will be as follows:-

The album was recorded at Revolution Studios with producer Andy MacPherson, who previously worked with BJH on 1990's Welcome To The Show. Amongst the other musicians contributing to the album are Mel Pritchard on drums and percussion, Ian Wilson and Mike Hehir (ex Sad Café), Steve Piggott, Steve Butler and John "Rabbit" Bundrick. All songs are composed by Les Holroyd except for "Totally Cool", penned by Tim Green and Mike Hehir.


John and Woolly Begin Recording

Recording of John Lees and Woolly Wolstenholme's next studio album begins in December with a view to a release in April 2002. The band line-up will be the same as for the Revival live album, and working titles of some of the songs lined up for possible inclusion are:-

16th September, 2001:

Fans' Tribute CD

A CD of cover versions of BJH songs performed by their fans was released on September 25th on our own Peacock label. Available only through the club, the disc comes at a bargain price of £6.00 (including UK postage and packing) and includes some excellent as well as some surprising interpretations of BJH songs old and new! With the title Everyone By Everybody Else, the CD’s track listing is as follows:-

Tribute CD cover Kev Walker - BJH Titles (Starbright Love)
The Silent Spring - How Do You Feel Now
Tim Beckwith - I'm Over You
David Witts - Crazy City
Al Hawkes - Loving Is Easy
The Sparkly Flames - Jonathan
The Dogs - Ursula (The Swansea Song)
K-Bal - Yesterdays Heroes
3rd Day Rising - Hymn
David Witts - Mockingbird (Ibiza Mix)
Christian Stahl - Poor Mans Moody Blues
Hutton and Brimble - Spirit On The Water
Clothears - Ursula (The Swansea Song)
Ian Alexander - The Streets of San Francisco
TooLate - Hymn

The CD can be ordered now through the secure form on this site - and you can hear samples of some of the songs on the home page of Tim Beckwith, who has masterminded the project.


German Rapper Samples Les

Samy Deluxe CD EP German rapper Samy Deluxe has sampled the keyboard intro to Les’s “The Song (They Love To Sing)” for his single “Weck mich auf” (Wake Me Up). It also appears on his eponymous album which was released in April, and whilst Les fans probably won’t appreciate what he’s done to the music, they can take comfort from the fact that the CD entered the Media Markt charts at number 2. In a very real sense, Les is back in the German album chart (and on MTV)!

1st September, 2001:

David Walker

We are very sad to report the death of David Walker, BJH's business manager since 1977, in the early hours of August 30th from a heart attack. David was the organiser behind some of the band's most commercially successful ventures, including the famous Berlin concert in 1980. Appreciation.

Les - Album Early Next Year

We're delighted to announce that Les Holroyd has signed a deal for his solo album with new company Musedia, which acts as an intermediary to arrange distribution with a variety of record labels. There has already been a very positive reaction from a number of well-known record companies in Germany, and the CD is likely to appear early next year. Recording began on the album in April, with some recording taking place at Les’s home, and some at an as yet unnamed studio. More information about the musicians appearing on the album will be available soon, but we can reveal that Mel Pritchard will be contributing drum parts. Probable inclusions on the finished album are:-

Of the other titles mentioned previously, the piece described as “Classical G Minor” may now be entitled “Sleepy Sunday”, and has a short classical intro leading into the main song which has a Parisian or Italian feel, “It’s My Life” needs a few more lyrics and “End Of The Day” is being reconsidered, but could end up being amalgamated with another song.

Those who attended the 1997 BJH tour will be delighted to hear that it is possible that Les will include a new version of “Life Is For Living” based on the “unplugged” rendition from that tour, and a second back catalogue BJH track is also being considered. Intriguingly, one more new piece, “Marlene”, is described as being part of a Berlin Suite, although it is uncertain as to whether that will appear on the album.

It’s too early to say yet exactly when the album will appear, but given the speed of progress so far and the enthusiasm of those who have heard some of it, you can look forward to hearing it sooner rather than later!

John and Woolly - New Album Soon

John and Woolly met up recently to begin choosing songs for their next studio album, which they hope to begin recording very soon. Both John and Woolly have been busy writing new material, and the album will probably appear later this year or early in 2002. The band line-up will almost certainly be the same as on the recent Revival tour, and judging from the way the band spirit has developed on the road, we can expect to see more prominent contributions from Craig, Kevin and Jeff this time around.

Amongst the songs which are likely to find a place on the album are “New Song (Old Story)”, as premiered on the 1999 Nexus tour, "Lied", “Bryan MacLean”, “One Drop In A Dry World”, “A Stolen Life” and “Hiraeth”. There probably won’t be any remakes of old BJH songs this time, but in any case the album will be primarily consist of new songs rather than a mixture of old and new as on Nexus. Recording will take place at John’s Friarmere studio.

"Hymn" Cover Version Now Available

Graziella Hymn CD singleItalian artist Graziella has released a CD single of BJH's "Hymn" on the German label De||Te|eM MusicFactory. The CD is now available by mail order from us via the secure order form on this site. Also included on the single are her own song, "Solo Tu", which was written at the age of 14 and reached the final of the "Deutsche Poptrophäe 2000/2001", a German song contest, and a version of "Amazing Grace". She is now working on her debut longplay CD which is planned for release this year.

March 2001

Japanese CDs

Everyone Is Everybody Else Japanese CDTime Honoured Ghosts Japanese CD

Polydor Japan released limited edition CDs of Everyone Is Everybody Else [UICY-9047] on March 28th and Time Honoured Ghosts [UICY-9048] on April 18th. Each CD is remastered and comes in a card facsimile of the original sleeve, and both are available now by mail order from us via the secure order form on this site.

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