New mailing list

2009 was a busy year. And 2010 is looking to be as hectic.

I have my act together now thanks to Tina and she is now beginning to compile a Phil Bates emailing list. I will try my best to send out a quarterly email update on my activities,
so to register please email Phil Bates

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MESSAGE FROM PHIL ABOUT HIS NEW BAND PROJECT

'I want to announce a new project I am putting together. The band is called 'Wheels of Fire', and is a sort of tribute to the great gutarists of the 60s/70s - Clapton, Hendrix, Page, Green, Alvin Lee, with a dash of Gary Moore and anybody else who takes my fancy. We will also include a few classic tracks like a re-work of Day Tripper, and While my Guitar Gently Weeps, plus a nod or two in the direction of Jethro Tull. 

Joining me in this venture are keyboardist Mark Stanway, from Magnum, who has played with almost everyone in the rock biz, far too long a list to print here, and Clive Bunker, who was Jethro Tull's original drummer back in the 60s, and whose list of credits is as long as Mark's. The bass player is yet to be decided, but it will be someone excellent.

This project will run alongside my other bands - The Orchestra, Beatles Blues & Blue Violin, ELB, The Phil Bates Band (Hammond Organ blues trio) - and represents me returning to my second musical love, the Beatles being my first.

I hope you all come along and support us at our first trial-run gigs - The Diamond, Sutton-in-Ashfield on May 30th, and The Robin 2, Bilston on August 5th. After that, we will be putting together short tours in rock clubs and small theatres etc, when other commitments allow.

Watch my gig list for info. Love and best wishes to everyone.'

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'Phil is hard at work at the moment recording tracks with Les Penning, who played the recorders on Mike Oldfield's 'Portsmouth' and In Dulce Jubilo', and who appeared on many of Oldfield's best-selling albums. Jo is also contributing low whistle, vocals and keyboards. The music is very English and very folky, and very interesting for someone working way out of his comfort zone. The album, when it appears, will most likely be under the name of Les Penning, and we are hoping to have it released in May in time for the Hay Festival.

Maybe even some live dates at some point in 2010. Watch thus space.'

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DECK THE HALLS WITH BOUGHS OF HOLLY
CHRISTMAS 2010
AT THE MAGNIFICENT MIDDLETON HALL

I can already hear you saying UGH!!!! The snow is still on the ground, and we have only just left Christmas 2009 behind. But I am a great believer in getting things organised - well I am but actually Tina does it all - lol!!!

You will see from my review of the year 2009, that it was a fantastically busy time, but one big regret was because I wasn't sure of the travelling arrangements of returning from Eastern Europe with The Orchestra, we couldn't be 100% sure that we could be back at our favourite Christmas haunt, Middleton Hall, in time to do our traditional Christmas concert. In fact, we did just about make it back, but hindsight is a great thing.

Tina, Mik and myself really enjoy this special festive get together at Middleton Hall, which is a magnificent historic venue in a wonderful setting and a has fabulous atmosphere. Especially as the hall is bedecked in all its Christmas glory. Quite a few people expressed their disappointment in us for not doing this gig last year, and I know for a fact that two people were intending to travel from Glasgow (well beyond the call of duty me thinks!!).

So we will definitely make amends in 2010 and tickets can be purchased now priced £13.50 from this website. The date of the show is Saturday 11th December 2010. The doors will open at 7pm and the concert will start at 7.30pm. There is a good licensed bar, and a glowing fire.

Please note that every time we have played Middleton Hall, the tickets have sold out well in advance. Hence the reason for us giving you plenty of time to book. lol

If any of you are travelling susbstantial distances for this show, and would like details of local hostalries for B & B purposes, please email Tina and she will certainly be able to help.

To purchase tickets for this special concert please click here:

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A HARD DAYS NIGHT!
ON THE ROAD WITH
BEATLES, BLUES & BLUE VIOLIN

Tina McBain talks about the forthcoming tour of the Beatles, Blues & Blue Violin Project.

This all started as a germ of an idea in Phil Bates head. Phil who is the lead guitarist and vocalist with The Orchestra (formerly ELOll) is a huge Beatles fan and we had previously toured with a band called The Eleanor Rigby Experience, which also featured ex members of Fairport Convention, Jethro Tull and Manfred Mann’s Earthband. We undertook 4 tours of the UK which all went well. Phil left the ERE to take a few years out to do a history degree, but always seemed keen to return to the format we had successfully developed of re-arranging and messing about with some of the greatest Beatles material.

Phil decided that the new project should be more acoustic based than a full band format, mainly because it’s financially more viable to tour smaller and more intimate theatres and arts centres with just three mouths to feed instead of the rigours of touring a full band. It was an obvious choice for Phil to recruit his colleague and friend, original ELO violin virtuoso Mik Kaminski to be part of the project; hence the name Beatles, Blues & Blue Violin.

Phil wanted the project to heavily concentrate on Beatles songs, particularly where the Beatles and the blues can be fused. Although of course there are some great blues covers, some of Phil’s compositions and a smattering of ELO songs obviously get an airing too. Phil and Mik had previously worked together on an acoustic project 10 years earlier when Phil undertook his first solo project, entitled ‘Naked’. Two tours of the UK had been organised and Phil and Mik had a ball, although as I recall it seemed a bit of a learning curve for Mik playing in the smaller, toilet seat venues. Phil of course was well familiar with this.

Phil first spoke to me about the BBBV project and asked if I would be interested in doing a bit of guesting. I had at the time almost retired from live performance. The reason the Eleanor Rigby Experience came to an end was due to a major health scare I had, and it took more than 18 months for me to regain full working status. So I had become a little rusty and the thought of getting my backside into gear again and trawling the motorways of the UK was a little daunting. One must remember that with this sort of project, it’s very low on budget, you don’t have posh hotels, and you have to make do with basic B & B’s and travelling about. Many times we have driven hundreds of miles back from a gig. It’s not the sort of thing, when you get to our age, that’s easy to take on. But Phil was insistent that we give it a go.

Our first ever gig with BBBV was a quite impressive setting, albeit we were somewhat exploited as we didn’t get paid a bean, but it was good to do, as it trialled the project. We needed to confirm that it would work, and it certainly did! This gig was the Acoustic Festival of Britain at Catton Hall in Derbyshire and boasted a line-up of some quality; Donovan, Jethro Tull, Fairport Convention, Midge Ure, Hazel O’Connor, Glenn Tilbrook to name but a few. We played the smaller stage at the festival at 11am on a Sunday – not the best time of the day for vocalists – but being first on, before the ‘big boys’ rolled out meant that we played to a very large and healthy crowd who were intrigued, but the set was very well received and it gave us the information we needed to carry it through to tour the project.

The interesting thing about Beatles, Blues & Blue Violin is that it was all put together by the creative head of Phil Bates. This guy is a dream to work with and as a vocalist I always feel safe in the knowledge that Phil knows exactly what will work and what wont for my vocal range and style. I had never worked with Mik before, but again like Phil, he is easy to work with and in a very short time we were gelling as a trio. But rehearsals are a nightmare, very hap hazard, mainly due to the fact that Phil and Mik are constantly touring with The Orchestra and although they get a little time to work together on the BBBV material whilst on the road, I just have to slip in and rehearse at the last minute, quite literally sometimes. I can’t think of anyone I could do this with other than Phil and Mik.

Our first full tour took place in November 2008. How would it be received? Would people turn up and if they did, would they like it? Again this was all done with no real marketing budget other than the usual posters, flyers and local newspaper editorial. Eight shows were scheduled and it was ‘suck it and see’ time. It is always a source of great annoyance for me and although it is understandable that the general punter/fan has no knowledge of how touring works, that they often come out with pearls of wisdom, albeit well meant, of how we should advertise on the radio, how you should take out ads in the monthly music mags like Q, Mojo, etc. Of course this is not economically viable to do when you are running a much smaller outfit than the bigger touring projects. The only thing we had going for us was that The Orchestra were touring the UK a month before our first tour with BBBV, so we were able to piggyback The Orchestra fan base which helped a great deal.

Those first few gigs meant a lot to all of us, but particularly to Phil. He was nervous watching his new baby taking its first steps. Phil can appear sometimes to be quite moody, but it’s because he cares about his work and does everything possible to ensure it’s all going well. Mik and I are the first to admit that the pressure always lands firmly on Phil’s shoulders; we have no roadies, so it’s all down to Phil to get everything that is vaguely technical running right. In fact he banished me and Mik from the stage sometimes when we are setting up, as we do try to plug things in and move things about and I have to admit that its quite funny sometimes when I get told to f*** off and go and do shopping or something (or go to the pub in Mik’s case).

The first run of gigs were on the whole very successful, with the one exception – London – which was as per usual so poorly promoted that we had to pull the gig. Sorry to the handful that bought tickets. We averaged around ¾ full on most shows, with one wonderful exception, a jam packed Cavern in Liverpool on a cold Saturday night. It was s sight for sore eyes seeing all those scousers singing along to every single word of our Beatles re-arrangements.

I and Phil had experienced the delights of the backstage of the Cavern on previous occasions, but I think it was a bit of a culture shock to Mik, but if my memory serves me right, he handled it with aplomb and performed a sizzling set on the old violin. Without a shadow of a doubt, it has been fantastic to have the support of Phil and Mik’s ELO/ELOll/Orchestra fan base with fans turning up to venues travelling sometimes huge distances.

We came together again for a one off show at Christmas at the splendid Middleton Hall – another sell out. We were all feeling that the year had been kind to us. We were buzzing. Beatles, Blues & Blue Violin had legs.

Then disaster struck. In February I received a phone call with the sad news that Kelly Groucutt, of The Orchestra had died. I cannot tell you the sadness I felt and I could only imagine what Phil and Mik and the rest of the band were going through, not to mention Kelly’s family and friends. I had to jump into organisational mode, the discussion took place – should we cancel the forthcoming BBBV tour that was scheduled for March? Phil and Mik would hear none of it, they knew that this would be the very last thing that Kelly would have wanted, so the ten date tour went ahead, and was in many ways considered a tribute to Kelly. The ELO classic ‘I Can’t Get It Out Of My Head’ became a feature of the set and many tears were shed on and off stage for Kelly. During this time Phil and Mik again proved their professionalism, although I knew they were suffering real sadness and a great sense of loss. The one time this became most evident was on a Sunday night in Lichfield. The Garrick Theatre, which is a very impressive venue, was well attended for our show, but on that night there were a few unexpected faces in the audience, namely Parthenon Huxley, Gordon Townsend and Kelly’s two sons. Because you see, the following week was dear Kelly’s funeral. We were all under pressure somewhat to turn in a good performance. Phil and Mik did the business and it was an honour for me to be on stage with them during such a difficult time.

We finished the second tour at mine and Phil’s ‘home’ town of Tamworth, at the Assembly Rooms and I remember well that Phil and Mik gave me a big hug and said ‘well we got through it, didn’t we?’

The project is growing all the time, the interest is growing too. We are about to set out on the third tour in November and then again in March 2010. All the Beatles albums have just been re-mastered and re-released, so there is lots of interest in the Beatles material at the moment, I am sure this will have some good impact on our gigs too, and we have almost established the project as financially viable. It looks like we might even get a roadie lol.

We look forward to seeing friends old and new in the future. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

NEW ALBUMS AND RE-RELEASES DUE

Well, I am finally getting round to putting the much awaited Beatles, Blues & Blue Violin CD together, and hopefully it will be ready for Spring 2010. I am also looking foward to compiling an album which will feature tracks from the dark and distant past which will feature stuff that i have written/recorded/played on, and including the first song I ever wrote, which has never been recorded, so this should be a nostalgic journey I think and hopefully people will be interested in hearing this eclectic album.

I will also (phew, this is a lot isnt it lol) be recording a CD with the Hammond Organ Trio in 2010. As well there is a possibility that I will re-issue the albums Alter Ego and One Sky for those of you who have requested them.

All of the above will be available for pre-orders on the website, so if you are keen to get hold of them, look out for the pre-order bulletin.

*****

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November 2009 Tour Poster

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Yer Blues - Phil, Mik & Tina back at The Cavern

Just a bit of advanced notice. The November tour for Beatles, Blues & Blue Violin is now complete and we are now booking for the March 2010 tour.

We have just received confirmation that we will be retuning to the world's most famous music club, The Cavern in March 2010. The day will be a Saturday, we are awaiting confirmation of the exact date.

The last time we played there it was a hoot. The venue will be cabaret seated and if its anything like last time, it will be a fantastic night. It was a delight to have a packed Cavern singing along with every word. We will publish details in the special events section in due course.

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PHIL'S TRIBUTE TO KELLY

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BEATLES, BLUES & BLUE VIOLIN ALL SET FOR NEXT TOUR

This week Phil, Mik and Tina have been busy doing PR and press for the forthcoming BBBV tour. Tickets at venues are on sale now and they are looking forward to being out and about again with this project. The tour kicks off on 1st March at the Keys Restaurant, The Crypt, St. Peter's Church in Huddersfield, which is already sold out. The tour finishes with a home town show for Phil and Tina at the Tamworth Assembly Rooms on Sunday 15th March.

Phil said 'It's looking good, we were all reasonably pleased with the response from the first tour in November last year and we are looking to develop the show. But all in all it was a very pleasing first tour. We are looking forward to meeting lots of friends, old and new in March.'

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ORCHESTRA TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR UK TOUR

NEW ORCHESTRA DATES

A few dates are starting to appear for the UK in 2009 and most of the tickets are already on sale. Please check out the gigs page for more info. In the meantime Phil, Mik and Tina will be back on the road with their Beatles, Blues and Blue Violin tour during March. Tickets are on sale at all venues now.

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A LOOK BACK AT THE FIRST TOUR OF BBBV

Well Phil and Mik had no time to rest after the last show on Sunday 16th November. They jetted off on Monday to Latvia to prepare for the Eastern European leg of The Orchestra dates. We were all delighted with the first outing of Beatles, Blues & Blue Violin, just one disaster really, London!! But the rest were great. We started off gently in Leicester, all a little nervous, but the show went well. The following night at the Diamond in Sutton in Ashfield, we had a ball with a large and enthusiastic crowd. Likewise Solihull and Cromer, which has to be one of the highlights, it's such a quaint place. Liverpool was something else, and thanks to the very upbeat crowd who sang along to all of the Beatles and ELO material.

Phil and Mik are determined to make sure the BBBV album is ready for March 2009 and hopefully more news will follow about this soon. We will be putting links so you can buy tickets for the second tour, and we look forward to seeing you at some of the shows.

Thank you to all those who came to the gigs, and to those who came to chat to us and expressed approval, it means a lot. BBBV is different, its a bit more of an arty project that previous projects, but all in all it looks as if its a good recipe to build on.

Love, Tina xx

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A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE

Well another UK Orchestra tour is over, and I would like to thank all the guys in the band for making this little jaunt so memorable. The crew, Jill and the merch team, and everyone who has helped in any way, but most of all I would like to thank all those who turned out to see us. You were fantastic. There were too many highlights to single out any, but we had some great shows and a great reaction. It was so nice to meet so many after the shows. I am away home now for a bit of a rest, but not for too long and Mik and I will be heading up to Tamworth for rehearsals this weekend with Tina for the Bealtes, Blues & Blue Violin Tour which starts on Thursday 6th November. Again we hope to see many of you at these shows. The feel is completely different it is a more intimate affair, but we are all looking forward to it.

Regards, Phil

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JUST FOUND THIS ON YOU TUBE - A BLAST FROM THE PAST

With just one week left of the Orchestra UK tour which has been a great success, our thoughts are now turning to the Beatles, Blues & Blue Violin Tour which starts on 6th November. Phil and Mik will be teaming up with Tina for extensive rehearsals soon. We are really looking forward to the tour and hope to see you all there. As we have said many times, we do not have the big budgets that The Orchestra have for advertising and promotion, and are really hoping that those who read this website will support and help spread the word about.

We found this clip on you tube and thought it would make good viewing - a great blast of Mik from the early days (without the famous blue violin). Phil and Mik are busy working at re-arranging lots of material for BBBV and although we dont want to spoil it for you I have just one thing to say, the re-arrangement of Dear Prudence is simply awesome.

 

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BEATLES, BLUES & BLUE VIOLIN TOUR T SHIRTS
NOW ON SALE IN SHOP SECTION

We have just added the new Beatles, Blues & Blue Violin Tour T shirts which will accompany the tour in November and March onto the SHOP page. We have gone for understated, tasteful logo's on breast in black standard t shirts with yellow print. There are aslo ladies fit V neck yellow with blue print and black with yellow print also available. Please check out the shop . The cost of the T shirts will be £13.00 plus postage and packing (UK £3.00)

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Hello Mr Blue Sky!
Interview with Mik Kaminski re. the forthcoming Orchestra UK tour

Friday 26th September 2008
By Tim Hughes - The Oxford Mail

Fusing rock with cellos, violins and horns, Electric Light Orchestra were the undisputed masters of symphonic rock.

Between 1971 and 1986, the Brummie band was responsible for a clutch of massive hits which show no sign of growing old.

Livin' Thing, Turn to Stone, Evil Woman, Do Ya, Don't Bring Me Down, and, of course, Mr Blue Sky, were the soundtrack to an era of overblown stage shows, grandiose production and towering ambition. And they have never been away, still cropping up in all sorts of unlikely places — such as films, adverts and TV programmes. Mr Blue Sky has even served as a club anthem for Birmingham City FC.

ELO spent 255 weeks in the singles chart, 393 weeks in the album charts and sold more than 100 million records, with 27 top 20 hits and 11 top 10 albums in the UK alone.

At the heart of the band was Roy Wood (of Wizzard and The Move fame) and Jeff Lynne, who wrote and produced pretty much everything they did.

So when Lynne decided to call it a day, it seemed reasonable to expect the band to come to an end. Except that much of the rest of the collective — and thousands of fans — quite fancied the band to carry on. So they did.

For contractual reasons, however, they couldn't use their original name, so rather cannily settled on the unambiguous ELO Part II. Until, that is, original drummer Bev Bevan (who co-owned the ELO name) hung up his sticks and sold his share of the name to Lynne.

Still keen to continue, the rump ELO (featuring original members Mik Kaminsky, Louis Clark and Kelly Groucutt) stuck at it, but being forbidden from using the name ELO by Lynne, they had to find a new name — settling on The Orchestra.

Despite the thin disguise, anyone who sees them live will be under no illusion about who they are.

"We play ELO's songs better now than we did when we were playing big shows," says Mik — famous as the 'man with the blue violin'.

"The sound is much closer to our original records. Because of the technical challenges of synths and string instruments, the songs used to be hard to reproduce — and it could all sound a bit strange if we weren't careful.

"Nowadays, with computers, we are pretty close. People all say how great the sound is. It's amazing the audience we get at our gigs. They range from young kids to their grandparents. Some of the kids know the words as well as us."

So what's his favourite song? "For reasons of longevity Mr Blue Sky still stands out," he says.

"We've played it so many times, but it goes down a storm every time. I never get bored of it, and will play it for as long as people want to hear it.

"If you go and see a band famous for music from the past, you want to hear the hits. You don't want them to throw in a load of new songs. So we don't either."

Judging by the popularity of their tours, the band must be doing something right. They have played stadiums in more than 50 countries, and recent months have seen them perform everywhere from South America to Siberia.

"We ended up in Vladivostok, which was amazing," Mik explains. "People there have obviously been fans since the years before they had their freedom. They have been listening to it all their lives after picking up records on the black market.

"We travel around the world," he adds. "In Chile our song Last Train to London is a second national anthem — which is unusual as we didn't even play it very much. Though we do now."

So is there any chance of the original ELO reforming? Err, No.

"We didn't part with Jeff on great terms," he sighs. "There are also a few legal issues, which is why we are now called The Orchestra.

"He had hoped it would be the end of it back in 1986, and was reluctant to see us tour. But it's a legal point and not something I can really comment on.

"This is where we've ended up, and we're quite happy to have our own name. I haven't seen Jeff for 22 years and there's less than a slim chance of us getting back together. But we've got the shows and all the old favourites."

And while the songs remain, another thing to change is the elaborate stage sets — which once included a giant fibreglass spaceship, out of which the band members were raised on to the stage via hydraulic lifts, among a sea of fog and lasers. The shows were seen by up to 80,000 fans.

"We still have a good light show but can't stretch to the spaceship," laughs Mik.

"We needed 11 American articulated trucks to take it around the country and it took a day and-a-half to set it up. I can't tell you how much it cost, but there were a lot of noughts!

"It did go wrong sometimes," he laughs. "Once Jeff and cellist Hugh McDowell had to crawl over the edge because the lifts broke. It wasn't the most elegant way to get on stage."

It was all very 'Spinal Tap', as Mik agrees.

"Spinal Tap was so close to the truth," he confesses. "I can still watch it again and again as we always found ourselves in the same situations — like not being able to find the stage in some of the bigger venues.

"Life in those days was fast and furious. The first time I got on a plane was to go to America with the band.

"We were catapulted from small clubs to giant arenas and private planes. It was a real culture shock to start with."

It was a heady existence, though he is reluctant to elaborate — refusing to say how many times he has been married and declining an invitation to share the gory details of the band's legendary parties.

"If you can remember the party, you can't have been there!"

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BEATLES, BLUES & BLUE VIOLIN TOUR T SHIRTS

We have just passed the design for the new Beatles, Blues & Blue Violin Tour T shirts which will accompany the tour in November and March. The images will appear shortly on the shop for you to see, but to give you a little information, there will be black standard t shirts with yellow print, or black standard t shirts with blue print. There will be ladies fit V neck yellow with blue print also available. Please check out the shop after next weekend (5th October) when they will appear. The cost of the T shirts will be £13.00 plus postage and packing (UK £2.00)

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We attended the first of the Autumn tour dates last Saturday (27th Septmeber) at The Philly in Liverpool, and what a fantastic show it was, we had a great time. The boys done well !!! I also managed to pin Phil and Mik down to sign the ERE re-issue album covers and I am happy to report we now have the first 50 done and I will be posting them out to those who have ordered, during this week.

For those of you who havent yet seen The Orchestra in concert, please do try to get along, its a fantastic show and we know you will just love it.

Thanks
Tina xxxxx

*****NEWS FLASHES!

The Old Joint Stock Theatre, Birmingham added to 2009 Spring tour.

The old Joint Stock Theatre is Birmingham's premier pub theatre where you are guaranteed first class entertainment. The venue is really causing a stir in the second city. Since the demise of Ronnie Scott's small intimate theatres have been a little thin on the ground. The Old Joint Stock has definitely caught the imagination of theatre goers and we are delighted to be starting the spring tour now in Birmingham.

Located in Temple Row West, Birmingham, on the second floor - by lift and stairs - the theatre is a custom built, fully fitted, 80 seat, versatile, air-conditioned theatre space with a programme to suit all tastes.

Tickets will be priced at £15.00 details on how to book to follow. The box office number is 0121 200 0946

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Chipping Norton date is re-scheduled to November 2009.

There is a slight change to the March BBBV tour dates. The new Director of the theatre has asked us to re-schedule due to the Chipping Norton Music Festival taking place during the week of the BBBV gig. He was concerned that it would impact on ticket sales, and as a result we have agreed to move the date to November 2009, which is the period for the next BBBV tour. Details will appear on the gigs page soon.

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ADDITIONAL DATE FOR MARCH 2009
BEATLES, BLUES AND BLUE VIOLIN TOUR IN A UNIQUE,
BEAUTIFUL AND ATMOSPHERIC SETTING

The Beatles, Blues and Blue Violin March dates kick off in style. On Sunday 1st March 2009. And although not strictly Mik's home town, it is only a few short miles from where he lives. We are delighted that we have a localish gig for Mik as of course during the March tour we call in at Phil and Tina's home town of Tamworth and at Phil's current local theatre at Hereford. So we don't want to leave Mik out now do we !!

This new date is a rather splendid affair, and will be a dining/concert format in the The Keys Restaurant in the Crypt of St. Peter's Church in Huddersfield. Phil and Tina are delighted with this as they have always loved playing in the magnificent St. Editha's Church in Tamworth

The format for this special show will be dinner, followed by the concert.

This show is certain to sell out, please book your tickets early. The box office number is 01484 516677. We look forward to seeing you in this wonderful venue. PLEASE NOTE ONLY 100 TICKETS AVAILABLE

To find out about the fascinating history of St. Peters Church, please click here.
The Keys Restaurant website

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Eleanor Rigby Experience re-issue Album
new cover and track listing

Apologies for the delay in sending the albums out to those of you who have ordered them.
I am waiting for Phil to sign the albums, this will be done as soon as I see him next, which will be in Liverpool at the start of The Orchestra tour on 27th September.

I am so sorry about the delay, the albums are completed and with the manufacturer now ready for collection I will get them signed and despatched as soon as Phil has signed them. Regards, Tina x

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BEATLES, BLUES & BLUE VIOLIN PROMO ONGOING

Yesterday, Sunday 3rd August, national ads appeared in the Sunday Mirror, promoting the forthcoming Orchestra tour, which of course is very pleasing. BBBV starts as soon as The Orchestra dates have been completed. Here is the back of the new flyer which accompaines the tour. We need everyone to help us to ptomote this tour as of course this project, although important to us does not have the budget to do major ads. We need your support to spread the word

 

ORCHESTRA UK PROMO ONGOING

I am pleased to say that the promotion for the forthcoming UK tour is well underway. The management and band have been working hard on PR since the end of the last tour. The scan on the left shows a tour ad which featured in the National Sunday red top, The Sunday Mirror, on 27th July 2008.

There have been lots of other ads placed and will continue right up to the tour start. Also it is refreshing to see that the fans are playing their part in helping in the promotion with all the activity on the various websites and message boards.

We thank you.

For the Beatles, Blues and Blue Violin Tour which starts immediately after the Orchestra tour finishes, we do not have the luxury of such big budgets. Mik, Tina and I are looking forward to the tour very much but we need the help of the loyal fans. Let people know. All the shows are in nice intimate settings.

EXTRA EASTERN EUROPEAN
ORCHESTRA DATES ADDED

We have just confirmed the locations of the Eastern European dates for Orchestra, there are two extra dates in St. Petersburg, Russia. Then it's straight onto a plane to Birmingham for the Middleton Hall show. Phew !!

Thanks for your continued support. Love Phil. x

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Tickets go on sale next week for a special Twixtmas concert featuring Phil and Tina at the Big Night Out Cabaret at the Marston Farm Hotel in Sutton Coldfield ~ the event is a regular feature of Phil and Tina's and takes place on Sunday 28th December. The perfect anitdote to the mid Christmas and New Year lull. The event features a fabulous 4 course meal, (no turkey in sight) and Phil & Tina in concerts. The hotel will be offering a package for the show and over night accomodation for those who are travelling and may like to stay over.
For further details click here

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New Orchestra Dates added to Gigs Section

The promotion of Orchestra's Autum UK tour is in full swing, tickets are on sale at all venues now. Two new UK gigs have been added to the intierary. Kelly has been busy recording a series of radio interviews, to promote The Orchestra autumn UK tour, for various stations which will be going out around England in the next day or two...or sometime this week. Here's a list of where you'll find him and with which presenters, although we don't actually have any dates, so you'll have to keep listening in...the Gold Radio interview is quite a long one by all accounts...

Virgin Rock with Russ Williams. website

Gold Radio with David Jenson. website

BBC Radio Leeds with Paul Carrington. website

BBC Radio York with Adam Tomlinson. website

BBC Radio Stoke with Tim Wedgewood. website

BBC Radio Kent with Roger Day. website

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Unveilling of Beatles, Blues & Blue Violin Project

Phil, Mik and Tina unveil the Beatles, Blues & Blue Viloin Project in illustrious company on Bank Holiday Monday 26th May. They will be appearing on the Maverick Tent Stage at 11.30 am. Mondays billing also includes Peter Tork of The Monkees, Midge Ure, 60's Legend Donovan, The Animals ....... Day tickets are available on the gate, check www.acousticfestival.co.uk for details.

This show will be touring in November and again in March 2009. See gigs page for details.

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Signed Phil Bates Promotional Photograph on sale

It's time for a spring clean in Bates mansion, Phil has been donning his mop cap and apron, and having a right old clear out since his return from the successful Orchestra tour and has given Tina a great promotional photograph to add to the shop, for those collectors of memorabilia, which he has individually signed for you to purchase should your heart desire.

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New Phil Bates Band and Orchestra Dates on Gig Page

Fully refreshed after a little break, I am now getting back into the swing of things. There are a few new dates in the diary for June and July which are now on the gigs listing. There are some details missing at the moment until I have the information to hand. This will be added as soon as possible.

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Great New Site for You To Look At

The Orchestra have a page on 4th Beat, its well worth looking at, you can hear two tracks and their are also pics and lots of other stuff. Tina has just registered too so there will be some Eleanor Rigby Experience and BBBV stuff on soon.

CLICK TO GO TO THE ORCHESTRA'S PAGE ON 4TH BEAT

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Thanks Everyone, You Were Great

Well its the last day of the tour and I have to confess to being a little tired and am looking forward to getting home. But its been a great experience and I have had a thoroughly enjoyable time. I would like to thank all the management and crew and most of all I would like to thank all of those who came to the shows, you made it a real party.

I have met lots of good folks and look forward to seeing you all again soon. Tina has just posted The Orchestra dates for the Autumn tour and I guess after a few days off, I had better start getting things ready for the Beatles, Blue and Blue Violin project.

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The Acoustic Festival of Britain 2008 at Catton Hall
Update

Mik, Tina and I will be playing the Acoustic Festival of Britain at Catton Hall, Nr. Lichfield, Staffs, on Bank Holiday Monday 26th May. Also on that billing will be Donovan, The Animals, Peter Tork (Monkees), Midge Ure, Michael Chapman, (Bay City Rollers). As yet we do no know our time slot, but we will try to find this out very soon. Tickets seem to be going well as you would expect for such an eclectic line-up. They can be purchased from the official website: www.acousticfestival.co.uk If you are coming just for our day, day tickets cost £35.00

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A Little Reward for Services to Music

Myself, Mik and Tina really appreciate all the hard work and dedication that Serena Torz of u-l-s puts into her passion for the music she loves. As a little thank you from us, we have decided to issue Serena with a special guest pass for any Beatles, Blues and Blue Violin show in the November 2008 or March 2009 tours. We cannot thank Serena enough for the work she does.

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Fancy writing a Review?

Today sees the start of the UK tour with The Orchestra. I am just heading off to Reading. I thought we should post this before I leave.

Are you a budding writer itching to get your words read by the masses? Well, the people that read this anyway!! Then look no further as we are looking for fans to submit their reviews for our Live Review section.

If you have a passion for our music and have recently been to a gig, or a festival, and fancy writing a review for inclusion on this website, please send it to Tina at this website

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Beyond the Eleanor Rigby Experience
Blushes all round today (28th Feb) we have just read what the most influential Beatles Fan Site in the world say about the Eleanor Rigby Experience and the new BBBV project.
The Abbeyrd website is American based that has a world wide readership and has way passed the million visitors mark

Click to see why they made us blush, thanks!!

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Beatles, Blues and Blue Violin Project
Officially launches at
The Acoustic Festival of Britain 2008

Dear Oh Dear! things are hectic at the moment for yours truly. What with the forthcoming Orchestra tour and the Beatles, Blues and Blue Violin project taking shape. But i am pleased to announce that we will be officially launching the BBBV project at one of the biggest acoustic festivals in Britain on Bank Holiday Monday (26th May 2008) when we will be appearing on the bill with such artists as Donovan, Midge Ure, The Animals, Peter Tork of the Monkees. All the details of this fantastic three day festival can be found at www.acousticfestival.co.uk We are all very pleased about this and its a perfect way to start the proceedings.

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Beatles, Blues & Blue Violin drop in at The home of The Beatles

On the Eleanor Rigby Experience tour myself and Tina played The Beatles Convention at The Cavern in Liverpool to a packed audience of Japanese tourists on a Monday afternoon. it seemed only natural that we should return with the Beatles, Blues and Blue Violin project. We are pleased to announce we will be playing The Cavern on Saturday 15th November 2008. We are delighted to have been invited back to the famous city especially in such an important year as Liverpool is The European Capital of Culture 2008. Love to see you there, yeah yeah yeah !!!!!

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Beatles, Blues and Blue Violin Project
Phil Bates, Mik Kaminski
and at selected shows, special guest Tina McBain

The first short tour of the BBBV project has now been confirmed. It will be taking place in November 2008 (Thursday 6th to Sat 15th). Four dates are already in, but will be shown on the gig guide when contracts are exchanged. Flyers will be available at forthcoming UK Orchestra dates. A more lengthy tour of the UK is planned for Spring 2009.

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Ho, Ho, Ho, 2008 Acoustic Christmas Show confirmed

There is an old saying that the early bird catches the worm, and we have certainly taken that on board. Today we have confirmed that myself and Tina will this year be returning to the magnificent Middleton Hall on Saturday 6th December to present our annual Acoustic Christmas Show. We are also preparing to present a special Summer Garden Party on the lawns of Middeton Hall, the date will be announced soon. We are hoping the Mik Kaminski will join us for both shows, but this is yet to be confirmed.

For further details click here online tickets will be available as from 1st February 2008

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THANKS FOR YOUR MESSAGES

Thanks for all the kind words and messages I have received since my announcement that I was rejoining Mik, Kelly, Lou and Eric. I will do my best to keep everyone updated about future concerts. The gigs page has all the information. There are a few websites for specific information on Orchestra, see Links for details. I will pass on any news as it comes in.

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It's like Friends Reunited in here !!!

The first of the National press ads for the forthcoming Orchestra UK tour has appeared In the Sunday Mirror. I am really looking forward to this tour and meeting up with many of you who I havent seen for a while. It's an exciting time ahead and I think we are all very much awaiting the start of the tour with relish.

For those who have seen me either solo or with Bev Bevans Move, Brum Rocks or The Eleanor Rigby Experience, but have not as yet seen The Orchestra, then I think you may well be interested in coming along to the show when we are near to you. The band is currently working on a new set which encompasses 30 years of ELO, ELO Part2 and Orchestra material. Possibly the most comprehensive set list ever performed by the band or any of its variants.

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AN ALBUM
LOOKING BACK AT THE ELEANOR RIGBY EXPERIENCE

Doesn't time fly? It's coming up to ten years since Tina, myself and the rest of the mottley crew were touring with a project called The Eleanor Rigby Experience. The tours and the albums I remember with fondness. Tina is currently putting together a look back compilation of the ERE material which she hopes to have ready for later this year. Hopefully, in time for our Summer Garden Party at Middleton Hall (details will be added to the site when dates are finalised) I am hoping to find the time to try to add a couple of new tracks for inclusion. So for those of you who never experienced the Experience, and would like to pre order a copy of this limited edition CD, you can email Tina We will announce the track listing and the launch date soon.

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Bates Bands