Alan Parsons - News Archive

	Alan Parsons
	News Archive
	2003

WELCOME TO THE NEW YEAR

(Jan. 3/03): We hope everyone enjoyed The Avenue Online's "12 Days of Christmas". Thanks to the response of all Alan Parsons fans, December broke the record for visitors in a single month. This has been a busy year at the Official AP website, and the total number of visitors for the year hit 148,901 smashing the old record set back in 1999.

Looking forward to the year 2003, keep your bookmarks posted to this site, as we hope there will be some other great news this year. Later this month, we will be auctioning a poster from the first "A Walk Down Abbey Road" tour, which has been autographed by all artists, including the late John Entwistle. Also coming this year: tourdates (hopefully more), the final issue of "The Avenue" newsletter, updates on the movie "5-25-77", the new album by Iconic Phare. Later in the year the new AP album should hopefully hit the streets as well.

With the end of the newsletter, there have been questions as to the fate of the website and mailbox. Hosting fees for the website have been prepaid for the year, so The Avenue Online isn't leaving anytime soon. The mailbox will also remain open, and forwarding of mail to Alan and the band will continue as well.

SITE UPDATES

(Jan. 20/03): A new poll is online in the Fanzone. The question is in reference to the "You're The Voice" / "White Dawn" CD single. Recently a number of people have been looking for this because the tracks are both live recordings from The World Liberty Concert. If you're interested in buying one, let your voice be heard - with enough interest, maybe we can get it re-issued.

Speaking of the Fanzone, those ugly pop-up ads are gone - on a trial basis. For the next few months the Fanzone will be sponsored instead by Maison du Soleil.

AUTOGRAPHED POSTER AUCTION

(Jan. 20/03): The Avenue Online is auctioning a very special item. A rare poster from the 2001 edition of the "Walk Down Abbey Road" tour. The poster is even more special in that it has been autographed by all eight artists on the tour including the late John Entwistle. Proceeds from this auction will be given to The Teenage Cancer Trust in memory of John Enwistle. The auction is now open at eBay and is item #2502518261.

POSTER AUCTION COMPLETED

(Feb. 10/03): Going, going... gone! On January 20th, The Avenue Online announced the auctioning of a rare poster from the 2001 edition of the "Walk Down Abbey Road" tour. The poster had been autographed by all eight artists on the tour including the late John Entwistle.

The auction went well, and the results far exceeded expectations, with the auction closing at $760.99 USD. Proceeds from this auction will be given to The Teenage Cancer Trust in memory of John Enwistle.

NEW ALBUMS FROM RELATED ARTISTS

(Apr. 10/03): While you're waiting for the next Alan Parsons album, there's other great new music to enjoy. Procol Harum (with Gary Brooker) has just released "The Well's On Fire" - their first new album since 1991's "The Prodigal Stranger". Eric Stewart has just released his "Do Not Bend" CD.

Coming soon: a new DVD and CD from It Bites (with John Beck and Dick Nolan), and the long awaited Iconic Phare CD produced by Alan Parsons.

NEW COMPILATIONS

(Apr. 11/03): Two new compilations are due for release April 15th. One called "Hits" and the other one called "Silence & I: The Very Best Of".

Track Listing for "Silence & I": In The Lap Of The Gods / Psychobabble / Silence And I / I Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You / Back Against The Wall / Hyper Gamma Spaces / Nucleus / Day After Day (The Show Must Go On) / Wine From The Water / Mammagamma / One More River / Shadow Of A Lonely Man / I Robot / Old And Wise / Pyramania / Some Other Time / The Three Of Me / Gemini / Turn It Up / Breakdown / Step By Step / Children Of The Moon / Voyager / What Goes Up / Sirius / Eye In The Sky / Re Jigue / The Voice / Breakaway / Cant Take It With You / Mr. Time / You’re Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned / Don’t Let It Show / The Eagle Will Rise Again / Total Eclipse / Genesis Ch 1 V 32

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HAPPY COUPLE

On Saturday, April 12, 2003, Alan Parsons married Lisa Griffiths in a small private ceremony in California, surrounded by family and friends.

The ceremony was held on their favourite secluded beach, and standing alongside the happy couple were their children: Alan's sons Jeremy and Daniel, and Lisa's daughters Tabitha and Brittni

The reception and cruise took place on "The Channel Cat" - a catamaran. Attending the wedding were a wide range of guests from Alan's mother and brother Paul, to old friends Stuart Elliott and David Pack.

It was of course a musical event with Godfrey Townsend playing at the ceremony. David Pack sang "You're The Biggest Part of Me" at the reception, and soon everyone joined in, including Alan himself on the Beatles tune "Lady Madonna".

Here's wishing many happy years to a very happy couple.

	The beach ceremony.
	Taking their vows.
	The Channel Cat.
	The happy couple at the reception.
	David Pack (standing) and Godfrey Townsend at the reception.

"THE SEARCH" BY DAVID PATON

(July 6/03): Fresh from his latest Pilot release "Blue Yonder", Project bass player and vocalist, David Paton, releases a new solo record called "The Search". The new CD has twelve tracks written and performed by David Paton. If you liked the albums by Pilot, then this is a record you won't want to miss. Order it today at David's site: www.davidpaton.com.

While you're there, also check out the album "If Only" by Nobby Clark. David produced the new album by Clark.

NEW RELEASES FROM IT BITES

(July 7/03): Before joining forces with Alan in The AP Live Project, John Beck (keyboards) and Dick Nolan (bass) were in a band called It Bites.

It Bites has just released two new titles: "Live In Tokyo" is a DVD, while "Live In Montreux" is a CD. This is a great way to catch up with the band.

For more information about these titles, and news on the band, check out the official It Bites website: www.itbites.com.

ERIC WOOLFSON IS BACK!

(July 8/03): For years Project fans have been asking where Eric has been, and the good news is that he is back with his most ambitious project to date. After more than six years of hard work, Eric has just completed the album "Poe - More Tales of Mystery and Imagination". As you can guess from the title, this is the follow-up to the ground breaking Tales album that The Alan Parsons Project released in 1976. The new album has ten tracks; some are inspired by specific Poe works, while others are reflective of the man himself.

The main vocalist on this new Poe album is Steve Balsamo who was in Andrew Lloyd Webber's West End production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Steve performs lead vocals on five tracks, and Eric Woolfson sings lead vocals on "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". One name from the Project days is back: Laurence Cottle performs bass on the album.

There will also be a musical production to support this album, and an announcement will be made about that soon. The album "Poe - More Tales of Mystery and Imagination" comes out September 2003. While you're waiting, check out the official site: www.poe-cd.com. It's full of great information about the album, plus some great clips.

SHEBOYGAN SHOW CANCELLED

(Aug. 26/03): There was a show scheduled planned for Oct. 11 in Sheboygan, WI. We regret to announce that AP will not be appearing at that date, as this was cancelled by the promoter. Please contact point of purchase for refunds.

(Sept. 2/03): Press Release from Alan Parsons' manager Bob Ringe

Alan Parsons Live Project was scheduled to perform a show at the Weill Center in Sheboygan on Oct 11, 2003. This show has been postponed. Parsons says, “ I just want to be clear that it was not me who postponed the show. The promoter was unhappy about the fact that we had played a date in nearby Milwaukee just a few weeks earlier. That happened in order to fill in for Dennis DeYoung (formerly of Styx) who had cancelled his appearance at the A La Carte Festival in Milwaukee at the last minute. Coupled with this, was a rescheduling of our upcoming South American Tour with Air Supply. I was disappointed to hear of the postponement in Sheboygan as I was looking forward to performing at this benefit show”.

Parsons states that the show will be rescheduled for early next year. He adds, “I’m very sorry for any inconvenience this has caused our fans who had already bought tickets, but I ask that they understand that this was beyond my control.”

TOUR OF MEXICO - OCTOBER

(September 24/03): It's been a long time since Alan Parsons has done a live show in Mexico, and what better way to return than with a multi-show tour. Check out the tourdate page for a list of dates.

Vocals for upcoming shows will be performed by P.J. Olsson. Olsson has performed with The The, has done solo work, and will be appearing on the upcoming album by Alan Parsons.

Dates for St. Charles, MO (near St. Louis) and Sheboygan, WI have been confirmed as well.

MAGAZINE SLAMS THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT!

(September 05/03): In the September 2003 issue of Blender magazine, they ran a list of the 50 Worst Bands Ever. The Alan Parsons Project was listed at #21, and they said the following:

"Having conquered the Dark Side of the Moon, EMI Records' beardy staff engineer Alan Parsons decided that what the universe really needed was a prog-rock concept album based on the works of the nineteenth-century horror novelist Edgar Allen Poe, narrated by Orson Welles. It didn't, of course, but an undeterred Parsons soldiered on, swapping prog-rock for vapid AOR in the '80s. Finally bundled off to play guitar in Ringo Starr's backing band, he was never seen again."

Appalling fact: In the 90's the world champion Chicago Bulls took to the court to the pretentious swells of Parsons' "Sirius".

Worst CD: Pyramid (Arista, 1978)

Of course, many fans were upset to read this. However, should we really even take this seriously? This is from the same company that publishes Maxim. It's also hard to take the list seriously when it also included Creed, The Doors, Kansas, and Rick Wakeman.

Check out the new poll in the Fanzone. Should we just ignore this as bad journalism, and the typical ramblings of critics, or would you like to have the fans band together to send in a joint response to the editors of Blender?

(Sept. 29/03): The poll has drawn an almost 50-50 split, so we won't go and launch an assault on the editors of Blender. However, if you still feel like sending in a letter yourself, don't hold back. Keep in mind that it's hard to take this too seriously when they list The Doors as one of the fifty worst bands, instead of a band like O-Town.

CD PRICE REDUCTION

(October 16/03): There's no better time to buy either Alan Parsons' "On Air" DTS version, or the Chris Rainbow "Anthology" disc. Both have been marked down at The Avenue. Limited copies available, and TAO members still get their extra dollar off!

ICONIC PHARE ALBUM RELEASED

(October 17/03): The new album "Turning The Tide" features a combination of new versions of songs heard on "Thinking Rock", as well as some brand new songs. The result is a new 14 track album with Alan Parsons as Executive Producer. Click here for more details.

"POE" ALBUM READY FOR RELEASE

(September 29/03): Eric Woolfson's "Poe" will be released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on September 29th. For ordering information, check out the Poe site, or buy it from Amazon.com. The CD will not be available though The Avenue Online.

To help launch the CD, there will be a special live performance of "Poe" featuring Steve Balsamo. The performance will take place in Studio One of the Abbey Road Studios in London. There will only be four performances (Nov. 6-8, 2003) and seating will be limited to 300 people per performance.

Also check out our Poe-poll in the Polls section of the Fanzone.

Oct. 16/03: Price reduction! Tickets for Eric Woolfson's POE concert at the legendary Abbey Road Studios are now available at £45 each for the 6th and 7th November performances. To purchase tickets please go to www.wayahead.com.

ALAN PARSONS COMING TO SPAIN

(November 11/03): A new date has just been added to the tour date schedule - Dec. 13th in Spain. The line-up for the tour is the same as the tour of Mexico with PJ Olsson at the mic. This is one show only, and does not feature a "reunion" line-up.

Speaking of "reunion tours" - the dates for early 2004 featuring a classic line-up are still not confirmed by the band. While there has been advertising and ticket sales, we still need the band to confirm the shows. Feel free to buy tickets for these shows, but we caution you to not go buying non-refundable airline tickets until everything is confirmed. As soon as the band has confirmed these dates, they will be added to the site.

APP "REUNION TOUR" CANCELLED

(December 22/03): For a while now there has been rumours of an APP Reunion Tour. However, we can now confirm that plans for this tour are off. Below is the official press release from Alan Parsons' management.

The 2004 “Alan Parsons Project Reunion Tour”, promoted in Europe for several weeks, will not take place. The tour had been assembled by Jason Rothberg and booked through Primary Talent as agent in London. Many of the proposed shows were to be promoted by Clearchannel during February and March.

Parsons says, “I was amazed to learn that tickets had been put on sale without my confirmed participation. I never gave consent to anything on this proposed tour and nor did other artists on the so-called “reunion” line-up. Neither my agent nor my manager had been formally contacted about these shows and there were no offers on the table and certainly no contracts. Also, objections were raised over the advertised billing of the tour and issues relating to the use of the name The Alan Parsons Project”.

Parsons fans who have bought tickets should seek full refunds from the venues or ticket agencies. “I am disappointed that the fans have been let down, but I ask that they understand that it is through no fault of mine”, added Parsons.

The Alan Parsons “Live” Project has been an active and successful touring entity since 1994, although there have been a number of personnel changes. The current line-up is Parsons on Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards and Vocals, Godfrey Townsend: Lead Guitar and Vocals, Steve Murphy: Drums and Vocals, Manny Focarazzo: Keyboards, John Montagna: Bass and Vocals. The newest addition the band is P.J. Olsson on Vocals.

Parsons is currently putting the finishing touches to an album for release in the spring of 2004. The album is a series of collaborations with Electronica acts including The Crystal Method and Uberzone and features a guest appearance by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.

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