BARBARA DICKSON
Release date: 3 September, 2022
Promoter: STRADA Music
BARBARA DICKSON ANNOUNCES NOVEMBER 2022 TOUR
Award-winning singer Barbara Dickson will embark on a thirteen date UK tour in November, 2022 alongside her long-term keyboard player Nick Holland.
“Playing live has always been my first love,” Barbara says, “and I can’t wait to get back out there. I’ve always performed – if it wasn’t concerts it was in the theatre. I started off singing in folk clubs in Scotland; gradually travelling down to England with a guitar and a suitcase. Starring in Willy Russell’s Beatles musical ‘John Paul George Ringo… & Bert’ in 1974/5 directly led to being invited to be the musical guest on the 1976 series of ‘The Two Ronnies’ singing to 12 million people every week and to having my first top ten hit with ‘Answer Me’ The result was that, after almost ten years as a professional musician, I was a pop star and able to tour with a band.
“I think I must have played live every year since 1977, with the exception of lockdown, sometimes huge tours of 60 plus dates at the height of my pop career. They were hugely enjoyable but also exhausting, something I wrote about in my autobiography, ‘A Shirt Box Full of Songs’.
In recent years, as well as doing tours with my full band, I have begun to work live as a duo with my long-time keyboard player Nick Holland. It’s given me the opportunity to explore songs in a much more intimate way. The show features me singing, playing keyboards and guitar, and Nick also plays keyboards and provides additional vocals. The shows have been a really creative experience for both of us and audience reaction has been just wonderful.
I like to perform an interesting mix of material and, of course, that includes some of my pop hits. I’m often asked if I ever get tired of singing songs like ‘Another Suitcase In Another Hall,’ ‘Answer Me’ or ‘January February’ but I really don’t. I protect my material from that time – it’s important to me… those songs are like little commas along the way. There will be people in the audience who have come to see me because of one of those songs. If I didn’t do ‘Caravan Song’, the most loved of anything I’ve done from those days, people would be really disappointed. These songs have an intimate quality that people love and hearing them live seems to take them back to a special time in their lives. I’m often told after shows that they met their partner at the time when a particular song was released. It’s a kind of spiritual thing and I can see how much joy it brings when I perform them.
I’ve enjoyed working with Nick so much that I asked him to produce my recent album, ‘Time Is Going Faster’ which was released at the start of lockdown. The ten songs include traditional music; twentieth century favourites and a re-working of the Blood Brothers classic Tell Me It’s Not True. There are also three songs written by me – I’ve felt more confident and inspired to write in the past few years. The album has been really well received and I am so proud of it and look forward to playing some of the songs on my November tour.
An additional pleasure for Nick and myself is that on this tour we’re supported by Anthony Toner, a hugely-talented singer and songwriter from Northern Ireland.
Even after all these years, it is still a privilege to be sitting at a piano, singing to people, this wonderful shared experience in a theatre. After all the lows of the past couple of years I want us all to be back to being able to enjoy life again.
Music really does feed the soul and we’re all in need of a pick-me-up.”
BARBARA DICKSON TOUR DATES:
03 November, 2022 – WORCESTER – Swan Theatre
04 November, 2022 – POCKLINGTON – Pocklington Arts Centre
05 November, 2022 – NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME – New Vic
06 November, 2022 – SUNDERLAND – The Fire Station
09 November, 2022 – TOTTON – Hanger Farm Arts Centre
10 November, 2022 – LONDON – Cecil Sharp House
11 November, 2022 – ABERDARE – Coliseum Theatre
12 November, 2022 – TORRINGTON – Plough Arts Centre
13 November, 2022 – STROUD – Sub Rooms
17 November, 2022 – SETTLE – Victoria Hall
18 November, 2022 – ALNWICK – Alnwick Playhouse
19 November, 2022 – LANARK – Memorial Hall
24 November, 2022 – LANGHOLM – Buccleuch Centre
25 November, 2022 – MUSSELBURGH – The Brunton
ABOUT BARBARA DICKSON
As a multi-million selling recording artist with an equally impressive Olivier Award winning acting career, Barbara Dickson has firmly established herself as one of the most enduring and popular artistes in Britain today. Born in Dunfermline, she began her career as a singer on the Scottish and English folk circuit of the late 60’s and early 70’s, alongside contemporaries including Billy Connolly, Gerry Rafferty, Archie Fisher and Rab Noakes. Her first pop hit, the classic ‘Answer Me’, in 1976 was followed by ‘Another Suitcase in Another Hall’ from the musical ‘Evita’, ‘Caravan Song’, ‘January February’ and the million-selling number one single, ‘I Know Him So Well’, with Elaine Paige.
Barbara has gone on to become one of the most admired and best-loved artists in the UK, amassing 20 hit albums and becoming, in the process, Scotland’s best-selling female album artist of all-time. Her acting career has included the West End hit musicals ‘John Paul George Ringo… & Bert’, Willy Russell’s ‘Blood Brothers’ (starring as the original Mrs Johnstone) and playing the infamous Pools winner Viv Nicholson in ‘Spend Spend Spend’. On television Barbara has starred in ‘Taggart’, ‘The Missing Postman’ and two series of Kay Mellor’s hugely popular drama series, ‘Band of Gold’. She is also the recipient of numerous awards, including two Olivier Awards, the Variety Club of Great Britain award for Best Actress in a Musical and Outstanding Achievement Awards from the Variety Club of Scotland and the Scots Trad Awards. In 2002 she was bestowed with an OBE by her Majesty the Queen for her Services to Music and Drama.
QUOTES:
“A folk-scene phenomenon, Barbara Dickson is a shadowy legend, ripe for rediscovery. (The Sunday Times)
“It is no exaggeration to describe Dickson as a great singer. She stood out a mile among the Scottish folks singers of her generation, and she has consistently shown her class when performing for a wider public.” (The Daily Telegraph)
“Barbara’s voice, as true as ever, has a thrilling quality in the upper register… The chance to hear her sing a personal choice of favourite good songs should not be missed.” (The Times)
“Preconceptions are made to be shattered. Barbara Dickson is plainly as hip as she is eloquent. What she treasures are great lyrics and she admits to a liking for Randy Newman, James Taylor and Elvis Costello… she is not to be underestimated”. (The Sunday Times)
“Barbara Dickson shows what true class is all about” (The Stage)
“The voice of Barbara Dickson soars gloriously to the rafters” (The Daily Telegraph)
“I love Barbara Dickson. From the very first time I heard her, her voice just nailed me to the wall. She’s just a one-off.” (Billy Connolly)
“Barbara Dickson is a very special talent” (Sir George Martin)
“You want to bottle her voice – it’s perfect.” (Melvyn Bragg: The South Bank Show)
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