Jan 12, 20213 min read

Happy New Tier.

Hi everyone,

I'm currently on another Facebook ban (which followed the last one approximately one week later). As some of you are aware I'm not scared to voice my opinions on an endless range of subjects but I fear this will have to end, or at least become a weaker stew as Free Speech is hunted down and killed by Big Tech. The Purge has come in fast and hard as people offer alternate views on the Pandemic - and the recent event in Washington has enabled a huge move against anyone who doesn't tow the official line. Deeply worrying times. I depend on social media (as indeed many of us do) for a lot - but apart from the fun, debate, chat and keeping-in-touch element of it all, it's my prime point of sales for both recordings, merchandise and ticket sales.

These Lockdowns are destroying far more than any virus could ever hope to. As a self-employed musician who depends on live work and the moveable merchandise table, the past ten months have been a real, living and breathing nightmare. Like everyone else I lost all my paying work. I have many shows booked for 2021 and we still do not know if they will be going ahead. Some may happen, others may not. I'm guessing the ones lower down the list have a better chance. There appears to be NO END IN SIGHT and that is the worst thing about it all. We all need something to look forward to.

Utopian my new album is almost ready to go to manufacturing. I was planning on releasing it to coincide with my dates which begin at the end of April. It's becoming harder and harder to be optimistic about these dates happening as I'm sure you can appreciate, but the album will still hit your doormats in the spring. I hope it brings you some joy. What I will say is that for all the impressive numbers of friends/followers I appear to have on Facebook and Twitter only a small percentage ever buy my latest album/come to a show. If you could make sure you order a copy that would help things enormously, also the postage costs for overseas have grown somewhat since we started talking pre-orders, all the money has been spent on making the album/mastering/artwork/manufacturing - there's nothing left - so I'm looking at a hefty bill for sending copies out over the coming months, and nothing's coming in - it's going to be another tough year if I cannot work AGAIN.

It's a LONG album. Twenty tracks on the CD/download and eighteen on vinyl. I'll also put it out to streaming - but if you hear it for free and enjoy it I would really appreciate it if you bought a hard copy. We need your support more than ever. I can't stress this enough. So there you are, you know as much as I do. I really miss seeing you all and let's hope and pray we can get back to something resembling normality in the not-too-distant.

Utopian pre-orders are available from the store on this website. All copies personally signed.

Track Listing:

CD1:

Boy

Harry Dean Stanton

Mesmerised

Deserter

Rollin' On (The Things We Gave Away)

Jonesin'

You Bring Good Things

The Outlaw

YOLO

CD2:

Runnin' Outta Stuff

Anamorphic Anodyne (Twistin' In The Wind)

Gigolo Days

Goin' To A Place

Swiss Army Knife Of Fuerteventura

The Old Grey Lady

We're Never Gonna Grow Up

Jivin' Miss Daisy

Great Spirit

No One Tells A Lie Like A Dude With A Tie

Melody

Vinyl:

Boy