It is with great sadness that we have learnt of the
untimely death of Mike Colman, who was a member of the pre-Genesis band
Anon. Mike (who was known by the other members of Anon as Mick)
joined Anon after Mike Rutherford was banned from playing the guitar by
his House Master and soon started collaborating with Ant on a number of
songs, some of which were played live by the group. Mike was also
with the band when they recorded their first demo tape in April 1966 at
the makeshift studio set up by their friend Brian Roberts and played with
Anon at the Beat Concert at Charterhouse in July of that year where they
shared the bill with fellow Charterhouse groups The Climax and The Garden
Wall.
A talented musician, Mike played piano,
violin and guitar and also enjoyed writing, having two books
published. In 2003 Mike contracted pneumonia from which he never
fully recovered and he passed away on January 12th.
Ant's personal tribute to Mike can be seen here.
Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.
Further re-issues scheduled for 2010 (News
date: 20-12-09, updated 20-1-10)
Voiceprint Records are set to re-issue more
of Ant's back catalogue albums during the course of 2010, with the first
release being the first two albums in the Private Parts & Pieces
series (Private Parts & Pieces and Back To The Pavilion)
which are scheduled for release as a double CD set on 15th February. Both
of the albums have been re-mastered for this release and Private Parts
& Pieces also features a previously unreleased extra track in the
form of a 1976 recording of Movement IV from Guitar Quintet. More information on this release can seen on a new page here.
Update: copies that are pre-ordered
from Camino
Records will be signed by Ant - pre-orders are being taken now.
The CD can also be be pre-ordered from Voiceprint.
We've now uploaded our new YouTube promo
clip for the album here which features sound clips from selected tracks.
Other re-issues currently in preparation
are a re-mastered and expanded double CD release of Sides and a
re-mastered edition of Sail The World, which has been unavailable
for sometime. More news on these titles will be announced in due
course.
Tarka World Premier live
performance (News date: 20-12-09)
Ant and Harry
Williamson's large-scale orchestral work Tarka is due to
receive it's World Premier live performance in Melbourne Australia
in February 2010 as part of a unique Community Music and Water Event
called Precious Music, Precious Water. Ant has assisted
with the preparation and checking of the scores for the concert as
some parts from the original required re-scoring.
Ant is unfortunately unable to attend
the concert so his original parts will be played by guitarist Doug
De Vries alongside Harry Williamson. Doug and Harry will be
joint soloists with the Whitehorse Orchestra, (conducted by Gerald
Keuneman) for the performance of Tarka.
The concert is taking place at the
Melbourne Town Hall on 27th February 2010 and there will be two
performances at 2 pm and 7.30 pm.
Tickets for the event are on sale now
from the Australian Green Tix site - here are direct links to buy
tickets for the afternoon
and evening
performances.
Missing Links Volume 4:Pathways
and Promenades is released by Voiceprint on 2nd November.
The album brings together for the first time most of the tracks that
Ant has written and recorded over the years that have only ever been
released on compilation albums. With most of the compilations
now long out-of-print and increasingly hard to find, Pathways and
Promenades provides an excellent opportunity for these
particular Missing Links to be heard once again.
Complementing the tracks only
previously released on the compilations are some choice tracks from
Ant's extensive Library music output which receive their first
commercial release here alongside the previously unreleased track Haylcon
Days. More information and the track listing for the album
can be seen on a new page here.
We've now uploaded our own YouTube promo
clip for the album here which features sound clips from selected tracks.
Ant makes guest appearance on Steve Hackett's new album
(News date: 10-6-09, updated 1-11-09)
Ant has recently played 12-string guitar on a session for
Steve Hackett's new album Out of the Tunnel's Mouth. You can read more about
Ant's appearance on the album on Steve's
blog where a short sound clip of one of the tracks that Ant has played
on can also be heard.
Originally scheduled for release on
October 5th on Steve's new Wolfwork label, the album was delayed
for legal reasons. However, the good news is that the album has now
been released and can be ordered from Steve's online
shop. The album is also being sold at the shows on Steve's
current tour.
The Single Factor re-issue (News
date: 27-9-09)
Camel's 1982 album The
Single Factor (which has been unavailable in the UK for some
time) was re-issued by Esoteric Recordings on 28th
September. The reissue has been re-mastered from the original
master tapes and also includes the rare edited promotional
version of You Are the One as a bonus track. Ant
plays on five tracks on the album, including End Peace which
he co-wrote with Andy Latimer.
The Single Factor is available
to order at Amazon.
