UK Tour blog 2 - Northern Nights
September 2022

The Buxton show
Photo © Lee Millward

Durham Cathedral Gothic interior
Photo © Jo Hackett

As the tour rolled on from Birmingham northwards, both the Hull and Gateshead shows had a terrific vibe... Nad, Jo and I also enjoyed a visit to Durham on the journey to Gateshead. It's a beautiful city where you feel you're walking through a past time as you climb the streets of Medieval houses and Dickensian shop fronts, finally reaching the Norman castle keep and impressive Gothic cathedral, built 900 years ago...

On through all those gorgeously wild hills of Northumberland and Cumbria into Scotland, where the Glasgow fans went totally wild... an amazing show experience... Thank you Scotland!

And so on to York, a city with many layers of history… the Romans, the Vikings and so much beyond... All those extraordinary old striking buildings, from the ancient city walls and gateways to winding haunted streets of gabled houses and the awesome spires and gargoyles of York Minster in the city's heart. We had a great time playing the show there and it was fab to hook up with pals Nick Clabburn and Peter Rudden as well as Bryan and Olivia of the band Mostly Autumn.

Following York, we enjoyed the drive through the inspiring Peak District with its high windswept moors and deep lush valleys. It was a joy to play in the beautiful Buxton Opera House, and here once again my brother John us on flute for Firth of Fifth.

We had fun playing in Grimsby where the crowd gave a rousing reception. Equally so in Northampton. It was lovely there to see my pal Richard Macphail, a crucial central figure of the Genesis team for those critical first few years. He has always been a particularly special friend to us all. I very much enjoyed celebrating my wife Jo's birthday that night too, both on and off stage!

Now as I write, we're heading to Sheffield for the next show. The band and crew are all in great spirits on this UK tour, which is going from strength to strength...