…and my health issues, which reduced our activities in 2019, are thankfully behind me. Now it’s time to bring our friends and fans up to speed with our latest news. A lot of changes have taken place over the years, not least of which was the tragic and unexpected death of our great friend and bass player, Jim Rodford, who we were proud to share with The Zombies. Jim’s contribution to our live performances and our ‘In the Red’ album, not to mention his unfailing humour and enthusiasm, made him a joy to work with. Also, Justin Hildreth’s departure, after his substantial input on the drums, both recording and at live shows, has meant Geoff and I, as original members of the band, have reassessed and reorganised how we organise our line-up for recording and live performances.
We’ve had some amazing, world famous, musicians play with us over the years, and we feel it’s important to keep up this high standard. As musicians of this calibre are often very busy on a variety of projects, availability for specific dates can be a problem. Our answer to this has been to create a pool of talent on which we can draw. With Geoff and I as the constant presence (now that I am recovered sufficiently from recent health problems – thank you Derik Timms for the most excellent guitar and slide cover!) we have hand-picked a selection of bass players and drummers, friends who know our music well and whose style, sense of fun and musical ability fit perfectly with what we do. Having this team means we can say ‘yes’ to dates or tours as we have enough players to know that there will nearly always be someone available on drums or bass to hit the ground running. There’s a list of this family of Blue Bishops, both past and present in our ‘Members and Guests.’ Section. We’re very proud and lucky to be associated with these players.
In the meantime, with my health improved, we’re looking forward getting back up to speed with new songs and, hopefully, new places to play and people to meet in this The Blue Bishops’ third decade. So thanks to all our loyal followers and fans, and big hello to people who have just found us. Let’s rock!
Simon Burrett 1/1/2020