music | twilightdawning

I’m going to be the producer on Randy’s re-release programme. In September, I’m flying in from the south of England and Randy will be flying in from Florida. We’ll be meeting in New York City to flesh out plans. We’ll be meeting at Yankee Stadium and living in Manhattan. Please pray for us. If everything comes together there will be a Kickstarter programme to finance everything.

Again, I want to emphasise that there will be no streaming releases and those that are out there are doing that to Randy’s financial disadvantage. There will be downloads, cds, and vinyl (depending on demand).

Consideration is also being given to a possible new album. We’ll see.

Bim Ingersoll is also prominently involved. He has been a great help in planning this.

I can’t believe how well he’s playing… He is batting much better than I ever expected he could… He looks so much better on the mound than his stats suggested he would…

And obviously, something had to give. And in June didn’t it just. The all-powerful Yankees who were strolling to the post-season and would be winners of the American League East. just ground to a halt and their true colours were shown.

June 2025 was not a good month for the Yankees

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Well, I’m a believer.

But it always surprises me how many of the musicians and artists in my collection have spoken of, or recorded music about their belief in Jesus’ teaching and his death and resurrection and the way it changed everything. I decided to brainstorm and then sort the list into alphabetical order:

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In 1991, Steve Harley played the Greenbelt Arts Festival at Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire. Greenbelt had it roots in the Christian music scene, and for some Steve was a surprisingly inclusion. For others – who wanted to check your faith credentials at the door, he perhaps shouldn’t have been there.

He chided the audience jokingly about why they had not been in church this morning instead of hanging around in a field in Northampton. What they hadn’t realised was that at the time Mr Harley was warden at the church he was part of in his home neighbourhood.

Steve suffered with polio as an infant and as a child spent at least 4 long periods in hospital. This hobbled him physically, but it gave him room to develop his love of words and to develop his art.

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We’re into advent… Over the years, I have written a few articles about Christmas music. Here’s some links:

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O, full of scorpions is my mind

What: Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Where: Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST), Stratford Upon Avon

Who: Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)

When: August-September 2023

Could things get any worse?

An old record by the Who echoed with the words:

“Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss”

Here at the RSC, the same problems that have haunted recent productions look like they are going to be around in the new era. Gregory Doran’s time at the helm was rather mixed. Now as we come out of an interim period, with Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey as co-artistic directors, things have really not changed. This production of Macbeth is diabolical, and I don’t mean devilish.

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What: Foxtrot at 50 and Hackett Highlights

Who: Steve Hackett and his band

Where: Hammersmith Apollo, London

When: October 12, 2022

Steve Hackett’s idea of incorporating his classic Genesis hits into his concert tours, setlist,and consequent live albums, has resulted in a commercial revival also. Prior to his Genesis Revisited II set in 2012, no album of his had charted in the UK for 15 years. Since then 12 of his albums (live and studio) have hit the UK top 100 album chart. His most recent release reached no. 28 in the charts. They don’t hang around for long, but it keeps his name in the public eye and these tours are at a reasonable profile.

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Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at the Royal Albert Hall in London, July 2022

I wasn’t born when the 4 Seasons first came to prominence in the early ’60s. By the time they made their second time around in the ’70s, I was still young but an admirer of their harmonies and the beautifully structured songwriting.

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Less than a year ago I was going to take some time to write a tribute to Jim Steinman, who was one of those songwriters I never quite go away from. He was a big influence in my teenage years and then his music re-entered my life when I was in my late-twenties and again, more recently.

The tribute for the songwriter (who passed away in the early Spring of 2021) never got finished. I guess my excuse has something to do with the pandemic and the fact that it seemed to be more relevant to be concentrating on the present than considering the past.

And then this month (January 2022), just as I had finished a day thinking about the current touring production of “Bat out of Hell – The Musical”, I heard the news that his sparring partner, Meat Loaf had also died. This time it seemed to be much more pertinent to reflect on the past than think about the present and if I hadn’t have been obliged to submit a report on the musical. I don’t think it would ever have got completed. You can find the part of that report which is for public consumption here:

https://twilightdawning.com/2022/01/26/out-of-hell-and-back-into-hell-again/

So, time for the tribute – well, a guide to their essential work really:

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Bat out of Hell – The Musical, touring version

January – November 2022 (various venues)

If I have seen the show before (during its two West End stints), what differences will I notice?

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twilightdawning

A writer's thoughts – mainly about music, sport and theatre. Shakespeare, Bob Dylan, live shows, New York Yankees

Category Archives: music

Working with gospel great, Randy Matthews

The New York Yankees in June – Part One – The Batters (2025)

Easter music!

Steve Harley made me smile – some thoughts

Christmas Music Anyone?

Macbeth – Double, double toil and trouble;

Steve Hackett – Dancing a Foxtrot in 2022

Working My Way Back to You…!

Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf – a tribute

Out of Hell… And Back into Hell Again