Barclay James Harvest

News Archive: 2018


A Message from John Lees' Barclay James Harvest

7th November, 2018

Last night of the tour in Wuppertal


And so the BJH 50th Anniversary year draws to a close with a fantastic reception from the fans in a packed house at the beautiful Historische Stadthalle in Wuppertal.

What a year of varying challenges it has been for Team JLBJH. It started with the 50th Anniversary show in May with some musical rarities performed for the first time, all the additional video content and the exhibition ; it was a memorable event and we look forward to the release of the DVD and CD package later this month and hope you enjoy it.

Then came a number of summer shows with a more mainstream set list, including the show at Ludwigshafen where a crowd of 9,000 turned up to see us!

Next up, came the Athens shows in the wonderful, historic setting of The Odeon of Herodes Atticus just below the Parthenon, where we performed 2 nights with the 70 piece orchestra formed from members of the Prague Philharmonic and Athens State Orchestras.It really was a fantastic experience!

Meanwhile, we had agreed to perform Everyone Is Everybody Else in entirety for National Album Day so no sooner had we got back from Athens than we had to get those songs into shape and ready to perform. It was quite a challenge, particularly for Craig to take on the daunting task of singing "Negative Earth" and "Paper Wings" in the original keys. The rest of the band reckon he has done a great job on them too.

The UK dates saw us bring back the acoustic medley first performed at the 50th Anniversary show plus we fed in some of the EIEE tracks to "play them in". The Islington show where we did the whole album was quite special for the band because of the reaction from the crowd. It's the first time we've had a standing ovation at the end of the first half of a show, so judging from that, we must have done justice to the album!

Then finishing the year with a tour in Germany. We haven't played "The Poet" and "After The Day" in the regular German set list for a good few years, but in the 50th Anniversary year, we decided it was time for it to return, along with playing the "acoustic medley". Both seem to have gone down well with the German audiences, who seem to be increasingly appreciative of the musically more challenging Prog elements of the show.

So reflecting back on this 50th Anniversary year, there have been some truly memorable concerts. We have performed 38 different songs in a single calendar year, which is an achievement of which we are quite proud. Added to that, we have already recorded some brand new tracks which we hope to release next year with some more brand new material. Then there is the added bonus of the profile for John's classic composition "Hymn", which Sarah Brightman has recorded and named her forthcoming album and tour.

This year also marks the 20th Anniversary of Craig and Kev joining John's BJH variant, and the 10th Anniversary of Jez joining the band. It doesn't seem like it (except perhaps for John having endured 20 years of Craig's rabbitting on!)

At the heart of all of this activity is a fantastic crew - the regular core team of Pete, John and Dom have been supplemented at various times by Jamie, Ian and John Turner. Huge thanks to all for their efforts and their cameraderie. Likewise to Mark and Vicky and Keith and Monika for all the help and support, and to our friends at DMC and Kultopolis with whom we have enjoyed working in Germany.

But perhaps the biggest thanks should go to all the fans who continue to come to the gigs and give us fantastic receptions everywhere we play. It has been a big motivating factor in our delivering such a comprehensive catalogue of BJH music across that 50 year span. Our heartfelt thanks to all our the fans for coming to the concerts, for the warmth of your continued support and for making it so rewarding for us all.

We look forward to seeing you all again next year.

John, Craig, Jez and Kev



Charity Auction of Original John Lees Painting

5th November, 2018

We're pleased to announce a unique opportunity to obtain an original piece of art by John Lees, painted exclusively for the charity project Doves For Peace, established in response to the plight of innocent child victims of conflict around the world.

The project asked high profile personalities to make a spontaneous drawing of a dove, which would then be auctioned, with all proceeds going to UNICEF, who are supporting this project.

Amongst those who have previously contributed drawings are David Bowie, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Sir Andy Murray, Sir Bob Geldof, Robert Plant, Bryan Ferry and many more. You can learn more about the project, and see examples of the other drawings, at

http://www.dovesforpeace.co.uk

John’s painting is A5, painted on heavy duty water colour paper, and will be supplied mounted on A4 mounting card and backed. Postage, packing and guaranteed delivery will be included in the winning bid. The auction will close at 18:00 UK time on Monday, December 10th.

Please help us to support this great cause by bidding now at the link below, and you could become the owner of an original piece of art by John Lees!

http://www.bjharvest.co.uk/auction/doves-for-peace/


[Please note that the auction does not function in the same way as eBay, as it does not support “proxy bids” where you specify a maximum bid and the system bids up for you as required. With this auction, the bidding will go straight to the amount you bid. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at ibjhfc@bjharvest.co.uk.]



50th Anniversary CD and DVD Set

28th September, 2018


The 50th Anniversary Concert CD/DVD cover


Cherry Red will issue a 2CD plus DVD set of The 50th Anniversary Concert by John Lees' Barclay James Harvest on November 23rd. The set includes the entire performance from the band's rapturously received sell-out celebration of fifty years of BJH music, which took place at Manchester's Royal Northern College of Music on 6th May this year, on two CDs and a DVD, and comes in a foldout digipack. Copies of this standard edition can be pre-ordered now from our secure online shop.

Those of you who pre-ordered the special limited edition set with signed card and your name in the booklet and on the rolling credits of the DVD can expect to receive your copies about two to three weeks before the release of the standard set, and we'll e-mail everybody once their order has been sent. A massive thanks again to everyone who pre-ordered that edition, as without your support it would not have been possible to film what was a very special performance and release it in this way.



The Orchestral Shows In Athens

28th September, 2018

The two orchestral concerts in Athens were a truly magical experience in the stunning setting of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus amphitheatre, with the band and a seventy-piece orchestra playing to a capacity audience of four thousand each night. You can now see the official photos of the event, taken across both nights, on the JLBJH web site gallery



The Progressive Music Awards

14th September, 2018

I’m delighted to say that John attended the annual Progressive Music Awards ceremony, organised by Prog magazine, in London last night, where he received the “Visionary” award. Big Big Train aficionados will be pleased to hear that the announcement of John’s award was made by BBT’s David Longdon.

A list of all the winners and a video of the whole ceremony can be seen at:

https://www.loudersound.com   (John’s moment in the spotlight begins just after 1 hour 13 into the video)


John Lees, Prog Visionary 2018


Second Orchestral Concert Added in Athens

17th August, 2018

Due to popular demand, John Lees' Barclay James Harvest will play a second night at the Classic Rock 2 event at the Athens Herodes Atticus Odeon amphitheatre in the shadow of the Acropolis, on Friday 21st September, 2018. The first half of the concerts will comprise two symphony orchestras playing their arrangements of classic rock songs, then for the second half they will be joined by JLBJH for a set of orchestrated BJH favourites. Tickets for both nights are available here.



Free Concert In Ludwigshafen!

3rd August, 2018

John Lees' Barclay James Harvest have been invited to perform a live concert at the BASF Kellereifest in Ludwigshafen on Saturday, 1st September, 2018. The event will take place at the Festgelände in Anilinstraße, entry is completely free to the public from 17:00, and there is also free parking available on Anilinstraße. JLBJH will be on stage at 21:00. More details (in German), at the BASF web site.



Manchester RNCM CD/DVD Progress Report

3rd August, 2018

Work is underway on mixing, mastering and cutting the audio and film footage from last May's 50th anniversary concert at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and the aim is to release the set in November. Those who pre-ordered will receive their signed copies, including their names in the booklet and on the film, before the set is made available to the general public. We'll keep you updated with more definite dates as soon as we have them!



Everyone Is Everybody Else Live!

2nd August, 2018

We’re delighted to announce that, as part of the National Album Day celebrations which will take place on 13th October, JLBJH will be giving a one-off performance of the classic 1974 album, Everyone Is Everybody Else, in its entirety!

It will take place during their previously announced concert at London’s Islington Assembly on that day, and tickets are still available from this link.



Colmar Concert Cancelled

27th July, 2018

We're sorry to announce that the band have just heard from the promoter of the planned "On The Beach" festival in Colmar on 15th September that the event has been cancelled. JLBJH regret any inconvenience caused to fans, but it is, of course, completely outside of their control.

Ticketholders should apply to the point of sale for a refund.



JLBJH in Athens - With An Orchestra!

17th July, 2018

We’re delighted to announce that John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest will be performing a very special concert with a 70-piece orchestra in Athens on 22nd September, in the stunning setting of the Herodion Amphitheatre at the foot of the Acropolis.

Tickets for this concert are available from Athens JLBJH tickets (an English-language version of this page will be online soon).



Woolly Wolstenholme (& Maestoso) Box Set

29th May, 2018


Woolly Wolstenholme (and Maestoso) Strange Worlds box set


We're very proud to present a new 7CD box set containing all of the Woolly Wolstenholme and Maestoso albums from 1980's Maestoso to 2007's Caterwauling, plus a bonus disc of over an hour's worth of rare and previously unreleased recordings.

All of the albums are presented in miniature card sleeves with the original artwork, and the bonus disc contains 20 pieces, ranging from two finished recordings which appeared only on the Uneasy Listening compilation, to previously unheard songs and instrumentals in various states of completion, many of which might well have appeared on a new Maestoso release or a John Lees' Barclay James Harvest album, had Woolly not been tragically taken from us. The set comes with a 20-page full-colour booklet including a comprehensive history, and is housed in a sturdy clamshell box.

All copies pre-ordered from us will also come with an archive photo or postcard.

Strange Worlds will be released by Esoteric Recordings on July 27th, 2018, and full tracklistings and pre-ordering information can be found at our secure online shop.



Festival in France

20th May, 2018

John Lees' Barclay James Harvest are pleased to announce that they will be headlining the Progressive Rock night at a festival in France this summer, as follows:



Your Privacy

20th May, 2018

We have updated our privacy policy in line with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which comes into force on the 25th May. Mailing list subscribers and mail order customers can rest assured that we will never share your details with anybody else, and that we will amend or delete your data on request. You can stop receiving these bulletins at any time using the "Unsubscribe" link included in every newsletter, and on this web site you can view our revised privacy policy.



JLBJH Concert Update

11th April, 2018

Tickets are now on sale for the John Lees' Barclay James Harvest concert at the Buxton Opera House on 4th October. The full list of confirmed concerts for 2018 is now as follows:




German Date Added

10th April, 2018

John Lees' Barclay James Harvest are pleased to announce the final date for their October German tour, as follows:



Debut Album Deluxe Edition

21st March, 2018

Barclay James Harvest deluxe edition

Esoteric Recordings is proud to announce the release of a new re-mastered four disc deluxe expanded boxed set limited edition (comprising 3 CDs and a DVD) of the self-titled debut album by Barclay James Harvest.

This expanded reissue has been newly re-mastered from the original master tapes and features an additional 33 bonus tracks drawn from new 5.1 surround sound & stereo mixes from the original multi-track master tapes, BBC radio sessions from 1968 and 1971, the singles "Early Morning", "Brother Thrush" and "Taking Some Time On" and a rare Woolly Wolstenholme solo demo from 1969 of "The Sun Will Never Shine", along with the 1968 short film Mr. Sunshine.

The set, along with a companion single CD remastered and expanded edition, will be released on May 25th, and will initially be available to pre-order only from Cherry Red Records at the following links:

Deluxe Box Set

Single Disc Edition


Both editions will also be available for pre-order through the BJH web site at the end of March.



JLBJH UK Tour

17th March, 2018

John Lees' Barclay James Harvest are delighted to announce their first UK tour since 2016, with the dates now confirmed as follows:


The remaining ticket links and details of the last concert to be confirmed on 7th October will follow as soon as we have them.



JLBJH UK Tour

7th March, 2018

Apologies for the delay in announcing dates for the John Lees' Barclay James Harvest autumn UK tour. There are still a few contractual details to be agreed for the shows, but we can now confirm that the band will be playing around eight UK concerts in the first half of October, and that one of those will be as follows:



We should be in a position to announce the remainder of the dates in the next week or so.



JLBJH Concerts

2nd February, 2018

John Lees' Barclay James Harvest are pleased to announce a summer open air show plus the first confirmed concerts of their 50th anniversary autumn tour, as follows:



Tickets for the October and November shows are on sale now from eventim.de


Further autumn dates, including a UK tour in the first half of October, are in preparation - details to follow as soon as we have them.



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