UK Foxtrot Tour blog 1 - Foxtrotting UK
September 2022

Birmingham show - Encore!
Photo © John Vincent

Steve, Jonas and Rob in the Birmingham venue elevator!
Photo © Jo Hackett

I was thrilled to get out again on tour in the UK a second year running after that long period of Covid lockdowns. We've now been almost solidly on tour catching up for a year!

We enjoyed our Swansea gig, the first show of our Foxtrot at Fifty & Hackett Highlights tour. It's always a great feeling when a new tour is launched...

The band went from strength to strength over the next few shows and the crowds were fantastic!

Cardiff always has a great vibe with a terrific crowd and singing in the streets... Lovely to drive through the gorgeous Welsh scenery too, with its verdant tree covered hills and valleys.

Majestic Cambridge was as wonderful to explore as ever on our day off, and great for Jo and me to be shown around both Pembroke and Kings Colleges by our author pal Chris Sandford who had once been a Cambridge University student. Lovely to have Amanda Lehmann play with us there too, and she will be joining us again for several shows later in the tour...

Aylesbury is always a special event, with musician pals in the audience, plus my mum and this time with my brother John playing flute on Firth of Fifth. My thanks to Mr Friars Aylesbury himself David Stopps for giving me the very special Friars Aylesbury (FA) cup. Never having been good at football, I didn't think I would ever receive the FA Cup!

Following the long drive to the West Country, we were immediately struck by the beauty of Torquay with its big sweeping bay, dramatic rocks and exotic foliage. The crowd that night were ecstatic!

Following a night in Southampton, on the way to Portsmouth Jo and I with Roger King had a brief chance to visit the ruins of Titchfield Abbey, destroyed by Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. It had a strange, spooky feel. Those moments on tour really help the imagination to roam and the gigs to fly with renewed vigour...

Both the Portsmouth and Bexhill shows had a terrific feel. Fabulous seaside towns with wonderful crowds...

We then headed up to Birmingham, leaving the south behind for a short while. The gig at the beautiful Birmingham Symphony Hall was as extraordinary as ever with an incredible response.

We're looking forward to the next show in Hull. This tour already has a very special feel and I'm excited to continue on our magic journey, now travelling further north...

Heartwarming to be able to include Timetable, Can-Utility and Horizons along with the more well known songs on this Foxtrot tour, which brings back so many happy memories of my time creating that album with the other Genesis guys.