Hopefully you have all recovered from the New Year celebrations. As 2008 gets under way, it looks as though John is in for one of his busiest years yet. 

More dates are being added to the Concerts & Tours page over the coming days. An extra night has been added to the UK tour starting in March. Frosterley Village Hall, Weardale, close to John's home, will be the venue for the first concert of the tour. Tickets for this night will be available in the e-shop soon, so you will be able to buy them online if you wish.

~~~~ Now available at special web price, p&p free! ~~~~

While you are waiting for March to come round you should try to catch one of Pete's solo concerts. You probably know from the band appearances that he is a terrific guitarist and an exceptional songwriter, but if you have not already seen his solo act, you really must try to get to one - you will be impressed!
Between Feb 13^th and 28^th Pete will be performing in venues across the UK, probably at one near you.
Full details here.

A very happy Christmas and a peaceful, prosperous New Year to all friends, old and new.

Following one of his most satisfying and successful years, John and the rest of the crew are taking a short, well-earned rest before the 2008 tours start. First, John has a supporting role in Holland with Rolling Home's musical production "Going Celtic". He will then be in Denmark with Allan Taylor for a short tour.
The first U.K. concerts begin in March with Pete and Gregor providing the familiar backing.

For details see the Concerts & Tours section. Further dates will be added as they are confirmed.

We look forward to seeing you in 2008.

Tonight in Oldham is John's final concert of the year.

Last night was the annual "AGM" Christmas Party in Standish, Wigan. The near-capacity audience were treated to a hilarious warm-up from "Rum, Bum & Concertina" from North Wales, then two breathtaking sets from John supported by Pete, Gregor, Joe and John's long-time friend from Scotland, Frazer Spiers, one of the world's most talented exponents of the harmonica. In honour of the event Greg wore the kilt (not normal for UK concerts).
The final couple of songs saw the 5-piece band become 9 as "R, B & C" and compere Davy Jones were invited to join the band on stage. Despite over-running, the concert ended far too soon for everyone. Many have already booked their tickets for next year! If you could only get to one concert next year, this is the one that is a must. (Pictures have been added to the Gallery).

The next e-Newsletter will be going out in a couple of days. Its main item will be a Christmas card from John (and Stanley!). This card is exclusively for the friends' mailing list.
If you would like to receive one but have not already joined the mailing list, click the link above NOW!

More photographs have been added to the "Tour of Holland" section of the Gallery.

The next e-Newsletter will be going out in a couple of days. As a "Thank You" to subscribers, and to start the Christmas celebrations there will be a special offer through December! It will be exclusive to those of you who have joined the mailing list - The John Wright "Live and Life" DVD plus one album for only £25.
If you have not already joined the mailing list, click the link above NOW!

John and the guys played Fries Om Utens/Caledonia live for Dutch radio on Friday, and also "All the Lies that You Told Me". Sound man John Weatherby took a few photos during their visit. You can see some of them in the "Tour of Holland" section of the Gallery.

The recording session was also filmed on a camcorder, and the following video has been uploaded onto YouTube:

If your internet connection is not very quick you may prefer to open it in a new window by clicking here.
You can also view other videos here, and post comments and ratings for the videos.

John's Tour of Holland has got off to a cracking start. Fries Om Utens/Caledonia is selling really well, probably helped by the fact that it is being played a lot by the radio stations. Radio Friesland is playing it several times every day - it's really caught everybody's imagination. (It's also amazing how many British orders are coming in for it). John and the guys have also recorded the song for Dutch TV. This is for a programme which will be aired early in the New Year. On Friday they will be recording three songs (including Fries Om Utens) for a radio programme.

**** Extra Concert ****

Tues 27/11/07   Sneek      Hotel De Wijnberg (John's Friesian 'home')      0515419302/0515412421
Very  special concert due to Friday's sell-out. Hurry!! Limited seats available.

********

Advance tickets are selling well for all concerts in next month's UK Tour. The concerts at Denholm and Wigan (Standish) look like they will be sold out long before the day, so if you intend to be there get your tickets while there are some left! Both of these venues already have some super raffle prizes, including a £25 meal voucher donated by the Beeches Hotel, Standish (www.beecheshotel.co.uk).
The Wigan concert will also feature a return performance by North Wales trio "Rum, Bum and Concertina". Excellent musicians, but also unbelievably funny - they brought the house down last year!

We have had to bow to the demand and give Stan his own page! You can find a link in the Gallery.

Start of Tour of Holland  
John's tour of Holland starts today with a concert at Zuidhorn. This also marks the launch of the cd single Fries Om Utens/Caledonia. Anyone who pre-ordered it should expect its delivery very soon if not today.
It is available now for immediate dispatch or to buy at the live concerts. (You can listen to a sample in the Discography section then buy online in the Shop).

If you are planning to go to any of the concerts in Holland, we recommend you to buy your tickets as soon as possible. Some venues are already sold out, and many have only a few seats left. 

We hope to update the news during the tour, and hopefully add some pictures to the Gallery.

Have you missed out?  
As mentioned in last week's update the subscribers to the John Wright e-Newsletter have now received a sneak preview listen to the "mystery track" on John’s recording of Fries Om Utens/Caledonia due to be released on November 16. John is joined on this CD by his friends in the folk choir Rolling Home. You can find out more about them and John's previous work with them on the Links page here. He will also be performing with them in January/February 2008. More on that in a later update.

The CD – Fries Om Utens/Caledonia – has now been added to the Discography page with a link to the clip previously available only in the e-Newsletter. It has also been added to the e-Shop for pre-order and shipment on the November 16 release date. On this date the "mystery bonus track" will also be identified in the Discography.

The tour of Germany has now come to an end, though a few more pictures are still to be added to the Gallery. It has been particularly successful with several concerts being totally sold out. John and the guys are now enjoying a short rest before their UK concerts, then the tour of Holland.

Are you missing out?  
Recipients of the John Wright e-Newsletter have already received a sneak preview listen to John’s special ‘project’ due to be released in November.  Singing partly in the Fries language, John has recorded a haunting version of the Dougie MacLean classic Caledonia.
The CD 'single' will contain the full 6½ minute recording, plus an edited 4½ minute version (suitable for Dutch radio), plus a mystery bonus track previously unrecorded by John but instantly recognisable!

The sound clip will be available on this site next week, but if you’d like to make sure of hearing the mystery bonus track too, simply subscribe to the Newsletter following the link above. This will be the only bonus track sample available. 

Stan has become something of a celebrity since his appearance on the cover of 'Requests 1'. He now often insists on being called 'Stanley' and is demanding his own page on this site rather than a minor role in the Gallery. There is also a strong likelihood that he will get his own way and make a public appearance at the Christmas Party in Standish (December 15 - see 'Concerts & Tours').

Lyrics - Need the lyrics to one of John's songs? Paulien, one of his friends in Holland has compiled a collection of lyrics to all of the recorded songs. If you email her and ask nicely she will be happy to send you the lyrics to any particular song. You can find her on the Links page here.

Please continue to 'Shop' as normal - orders are again being despatched as the postal system has resumed. There is however a possibility of further industrial action. If this happens, we will again delay posting CDs and tickets until we are confident of their prompt delivery. As before, many apologies - we have no control over the situation.

Stop Press . . . .
Please continue to use the 'Shop' as normal, but be aware that the current industrial action by the postal service will delay delivery. Our best estimate at the moment is 7 - 10 days. We will not despatch your order until we know that it will be processed promptly - we don't want your merchandise to be buried under a mountain of other mail waiting for normal deliveries to resume!

Many apologies, but this situation is totally beyond our control. We will report here when we are sending out orders again.

Requests 1, the new album, is now on sale.
It was launched at the first concert of the German Tour in Ketsch on Friday and contains 12 tracks. 8 are much requested songs from older recordings that are no longer available (hence the title!) while the other 4 are previously unrecorded songs that have been added to the live concert sets in recent months.

The full track listing and sample clips are available on the Discography page. The album is also on sale in the Shop area, either by mail order (UK only) or by credit card or PayPal in the new e-shop. There have been problems recently with the third-party operated shop facility, so it has now been replaced with our own e-shop, totally within this website and directly administered by John Wright Music.

The 5 lucky winners in the CD prize draw (see last news below) now have their prizes in the post. If you missed out because you have not subscribed to the e-newsletter, why not put that right now. Simply click the 'subscribe' link at the top of this page to receive more detailed news emailed to you, and you will also qualify for future prize draws that will occur from tome to time.

Tickets are now on sale for the annual JW events in Scotland and Lancashire, all of which have sold out quickly in past years.
For the concert at The Auld Cross Keys, Denholm, Scottish Borders telephone Pearl on 01450 376651/363322. Tickets are £10.
The Christmas Party Concert at Standish, Wigan will feature a 'big-band' line-up and extra guests, all assembled in the bar from about 6:45pm for general chat and Christmas cheer, with the concert starting around 8pm. Advance tickets are £10 and are available now directly from Barbara at John Wright Music, otherwise £12 on the door.
The 'big band' line-up will also feature in the following night's concert at Playhouse 2, Shaw. Telephone 01706 847281 or go to www.playhouse2.com for details.

The Studio, Hartlepool, 15^th Sept, is the venue for John’s last UK concert before the start of the German tour. The next UK gigs will be staged in November and December -- check out Concerts and Tours for details.

The first concert of the German tour takes place at the Ferd-Schmid-Haus, Ketsch, on Friday September 28^th. John’s new CD – ‘Requests 1 – will go on sale, both at the concert and on-line.

However, we’re also ‘giving away’ FIVE new albums!! If you would like the opportunity to win a signed copy of the new CD, simply join the John Wright mailing list (see above). 
Fives names will be randomly selected from our list on September 28^th. The winners will be notified next day in the first e-mail newsletter.

This is a NEW mailing list, so please make sure your name is there. Good luck!

Although the September 28th launch date is during the tour of Germany, the CD will be available by mail order or e-shop from that same date. Why not use the mail order form to pre-order? Someone has to be the first to receive their copy - it could be you!

As it expands you will be able to keep up with news of John's concerts and tours both in the UK and abroad, buy his CDs and DVD, and learn a little of John's previous life. You can sign up for a regular emailed newsletter, download sample clips of his music and read what the media have to say about his performances and recordings. There could even be a dedicated John Wright chat room where you can discuss the latest news/CD/concert with others.

Promoters of festivals, clubs and venues can access a range of materials to help create their own flyers and posters, and technical specifications for PA equipment (though John will provide his own if required).

The new CD is to be called "Requests 1" and has a proposed launch date of September 28^th. More news on this soon.