Creeping back into view
Posted: December 3, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized 38 CommentsA full year’s gone by since I was last on stage, at the Pit Inn in Tokyo on November 24th. The time’s flown by, to tell the truth.
Since then I’ve been keeping a low profile and, in fact, pursuing a policy of Not Saying Yes to any offers of live work. I’ve also, of course, fallen silent for the most part both on this journal and at the Sofasound site. I’ve written something about this before in previous posts and it’s still the case that entries here might well be sporadic in the future.
Since I left Manchester to start this wonderful adventure in music I’ve never gone an entire calendar year without doing a show of one kind or another. Now, at the very last gasp of the year, I’m at last managing to fit in one for 2015. This’ll be in Madrid, at the Teatro Lara, on Monday 14th December. I’ll be playing piano only for this concert – I reckon I’ve got enough piano tunes, ancient and modern, to have a proper balance and variety in the set. I must say that having committed to this I find myself looking forward to it enormously. I find travelling itself more and more arduous, to be honest, as I get older…but as ever travel with a goal is most worthwhile.
It may be the case that there’ll be more touring next year, but as yet there are no plans.
Astonishingly, it’s now a full ten years since VdGG has been a trio. Admittedly Guy, Hugh and I didn’t yet know that we had a future together back in December 2005 but we did know that if we did it wouldn’t be with Mr. Jackson. It’s a matter of some satisfaction that we’ve now managed a full decade together in this sometimes wonky & always challenging line-up.
Happily there’s more to come. We’re now well into the recording of the next studio effort, which is sounding very exciting indeed. It’ll be out in 2016 and of course I’ll write more about it in due course….
Goodbye for now. This has been a quiet and gradual return to public view.
Sofasound 
Looking forward to the new album coming out and a special shout out to Seamus Ferguson for getting me into van der graaf and Peter hammill who hasn’t been well but is better now I owe everything to him to widen my musical horizons so thanks to him and Peter hammill and van der graaf they changed my life! !!!! Bless them
Frankly I’ve always found unbearable your looking-ahead obsession. Think it’s just a smart escamotage to run away from your present and past and – in the end – yourself. We are nothing but our memory and every note you play – reminiscence. Funny you live-ahead thinking back. Funny you think-ahead living back. Just a few plain lines from here and 47 years ago.
Dear Stefano,
All Peter us saying is that he’s looking forward to a new release. He’s been out on a limb for years creating great music without much support from anyone in the ‘industry ‘ but moved solely by his own inner drive. It seems a shame to take umbrage at his anticipating the fruits of his labours.
Yours
Alan Windsor
Dear Alan
just count how many times the looking-ahead thing comes out in words and lyrics.
And it means – by the way – crashing flowers, you know. But this is another sad story.
Yours
Stefano
Anniversaries are poignant in many ways. I remember the so-called 10th year anniversary of the University of Exeter VdGG/Hammill Society in 1984 upstairs at The Imperial, alas now a Wetherspoon’s. Quite frankly the accuracy of the celebration was dodgy to say the least. The group had morphed from the 60’s Progressive Blues and Jazz Society through many incarnations, scions and schisms including a fracture into the short-lived King Crimson Club. As we were mostly Honours students, even with the post-grads and the occasional lecturer, our historical knowledge was superficial. But hey! who doesn’t love a party?
1984 had only one fresh platter to spin and for me it was portentous. The Love Songs (side two is sooo much better then side one) was playing on Sedego’s Pioneer turntable through Kef speakers. As agreed we were all attempting to drink a DeKuyper`s Peachtree Schnapps per song (I know Don’t Tell Me!) when suddenly I had the vision that Judy would be my soul-mate.
Anniversaries are poignant in many ways.
Great news… Looking forward to a new VdGG. Happy New Year!
It’s always Nice to hear from you but what I dont understand is That after 10 years your still so full of hate at David Jacson, after all you have worked so long together.
Peter doesn’t “hate” David Jackson, and you don’t know what happened between them so you’re hardly in a position to comment are you.
Happy to hear about you again and VDGG. It’s always a pleasure to read your updates Peter.
Thanks for the good news. Have a great Christmas and a prosperous 2016 to you and yours.
Flash
Travelling, especially for musicians, is becoming more and more intolerable. Nor surprised you are not taking your guitar to Madrid. Even taking a violin in ‘planes has become problematic. Lovely world we have created. Looking forward to your next work, Peter. All the best,
Ricardo
*not* surprised…
Dear Mr. Hammill, i’ve never commented or reply. Shy or whatever that meants, I’ve reach half century (and one year), still grabbing my paintings and texts to the bone. They smell, now. So it’s nice to hear about you (and VDGG)! Regards.
Happy to hear from you again Peter, and the exciting news of a new VDGG release next year. I was lucky to see the band before the splt with Mr.Jackson in Paris ( 2005 Bataclan) a venue that was one of the IS targets on november 13. I of course also like the band as a trio, but hope on guest appearances in order to bring some new and or fresh elements into the bands sonic palette. Needless to say we all look forward to the new one, and maybe even more to a EU tour in order to promote the new songs.All te very best.
Good to hear from you.Long time fan but why still go on about DJ?
That is indeed a pity, but I guess it was just a view back on the 10 year history of the band as a trio. I hope one day they will shake hands again, life is to short.
Especially as “Mr Jackson” has kept a dignified silence these last 10 years.
Look on youtube Mr Jackson has been anything but dignified.And I think it is a fair comment to make – wow we have lasted 10 yrs as a trio against the odss.
Thank you for the update. Always great to read your posts. Hope to see you and or the band on tour next year. My higher power be with you.
I’m deeply glad you chose Spain for your only event in 2015!
Best wishes
Good to hear from you again, Peter.
Keenly anticipating the new album.
Best wishes.
Suerte. Y gracias, Gracias por dejarnos ver el mundo con sus ojos.
Der Künstler läßt uns durch seine Augen in die Welt blicken.
thank you
Pleased to hear all this Peter…
Thanks for your words. Since your last piece …all that might have been’ was I think a masterpiece, and VdGG’s Numbers similarly top notch, I am thrilled at the prospect of more from this wonderful rich vein.
I agree with you ..
I was just listening to H to He and checking my emails and found this!
Looking forward to the new album.
Merry Christmas, hope to see you in concert again next year.
It’s always a pleasure to read your updates Peter.
Wishing you all the best for Madrid and looking forward to the VdGG album.
Glad to hear you are still playing live, and I am not surprised about being rather tentative about touring, there are relatively few muscians of your vintage still touring and those that do tour do so with a lot more support than they let the public in on knowing about. As a creator of music that remains experimental, ‘left field’ or whatever, keeping creating new music that will stay fresh is the first priority-getting that music and older music out live must take second place.
Alleluia ! Peter vit toujours. Mais il est toujours fâché avec David Jackson. Dommage. Moi j’aimais bien le “traditional line-up”. À quand une visite au 66 à Verviers (Belgium) ? J’ai au moins deux amies que je voudrais y inviter.
Good to hear from you Have a happy christmas.and good luck in Madrid.
Thanks for the news. You gave so much to me, especially when I was younger, I’ll be always grateful for whatever you want to do and communicate in your own time. What’s another year…Looking forward to the new VdGG album.
Yes great to hear from you, we were getting worried! What a brillaint body of work you’ve produced, next year lets see you touring around the UK!
no words to tell. you are great
Great to hear from you again, Peter!
See you in Madrid!
All the best!
Good to hear from you. I was a bit worried.
Have a great Christmas and a prosperous 2016 to you and yours.
Fabulous to hear from you again, Peter. Whatever output you can manage as we all get older will be well appreciated in my household. There is always something to say about life and the world, and you have a great ability to say it objectively and musically! Keep the Faith. Love from Stephen Crutcher.
Exciting to hear about the new VdGG…can’t wait to hear it.
It’s nice to hear from you. If it’s any reassurance, we are all getting older with you?