All Things Must Pass
There’s a scene in “Let it Be”, the brilliant documentary about the Beatles on Disney, when George Harrison starts to play the best song he ever wrote. A haunting, profound song about how nothing lasts for ever and we all pass on. Paul McCartney and John Lennon aren’t really interested and the song doesn’t make the album. No wonder George was frustrated.
For us, also, this will be the year when we move on. Not quite yet and there are some great things to come, but later this year will be the last time we play together. Why? I’m sure you are asking, and the reasons are many.
The last album we will make is nearly finished and it’s a belter. If you liked the first four it will be a contender for best of the lot. On it you’ll find out that I recently made a dramatic discovery about myself which has changed my life for the better. Intrigued? You should be, but you’ll have to wait for the album to find out what it is.
Perhaps for this reason, perhaps because I’m now a grandad, perhaps because I’m just getting old, once the last album is out I will be extremely satisfied and proud of what I have done – to put it mildly. I just don’t feel the need to carry on doing it. And that’s the key.
Once you lose the need to do this wonderful thing other factors come into play. There’s the dreaded Brexit of course. It’s about as bad as we expected with its cost and paperwork.
I’m really not inclined to be bothered with all the hassle and cost Brexit has inflicted on us but we’ve still played some great festivals and concerts in the past year and it would be fair to say this unique act of self harm is part, but not all, of the reason.
I know many of you will be very sad and I thank you whole heartedly for that and apologize. Truly the most wonderful part of this adventure since I left the Boys has been the joy of meeting people all over the world who literally love us. The guy in an Osaka street with the second album under his arm, the crowd in the Clash City Rockers bar in Montevideo singing that song at the top of their voices and making us play it twice, the teenage girls at Wynchwood star struck and inspired by Sophie and Karen …. The list is endless and I thank you all eternally.
And I thank the Big Heads as well. I always wanted to be in a band who are as good at showing off as I am and we did it. I thank them for being show offs and I thank them for being musically brilliant. I’m so proud of them and, boy, we had some fun and created some memories along the way.
But it’s not over yet.
The new album is out in the summer. Please click the button below to pre order it as, with no touring to sell it, we will be pressing a limited run and I wouldn’t want you to miss out.
And have a look at the shows we have coming up and get along if you can. We’ll also be organising a farewell bash in London for early October so look out for that.