dnews 22
does it rock? yea baby, yea!

**** Q U O T E ****
"...what can i do with my obsession..."
~ Martin Smith

**** Contents ****
It's OK - Week 2 Charts
UK Summer Dates
US & World Summer Dates
New FAQ Up
Equipment
There's Somebody At The Door
Two Versions?
Germany
Tripe?
s'ok, i guess
Cross Rhythmns Article
d:end?

**** It's OK - Week 2 Charts ****
Sorry everyone, I forgot to put this in the last dnews - but the second week
chart position for "It's OK" is Number 63 in the Official UK Chart (from
www.dotmusic.com - thanks to everyone who told us). While this is possibly
the most dramatic second week fall for a delirious? single, it underlines
and places asterisks around the importance of radio play to single success.

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**** UK Summer Dates ****
May 13th > Alton Towers
June 10th > Pentecost 2000 Cheltenham Race Course
Info +44 (0)1242 582200
July 31st > Soul Survivor A - Manchester
August 1st > Stoneleigh 1 - Stoneleigh Bible Week
August 5th > Soul Survivor B - Manchester
August 6th > Stoneleigh 2 - Stoneleigh Bible Week

Delirious? will not be appearing at Soul Survivor C in Somerset.

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**** US & World Summer Dates ****
> 1st July ~ Creation 2000, East Agape Farm, Shirleysburg, Pennsylvania
T:001 800 327 6921 www.iticket.com
> 2nd July ~ TBC
> 3rd July ~ Life Christian Centre, St. Louis Missouri
> 4th July ~ Hirsch Memorial Colisseum, Shreveport, Louisianna
> 6th July ~ Cornerstone Festival, Chicago, Illinois
T: 001 773 561 2450 ext 2087
> 7th July ~ Spirit Song Festival, Timber Wolf Amphitheatre, Paramounts
King's
Island, Ohio
> 8th July ~ King's Fest, Paramount King's Amphitheatre, Doswell, Virginia
> 20th July ~ Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington, Texas T:001 817 640 8900
> 21st July ~ Six Flags Over Texas, Houston, Texas T: 001 713 794 3287
> 22nd July ~ Victory Fellowship, Metairie, Lousiana
> 23rd July ~ Spirit Fest Midwest, Detroit Lakes, Michigan
> 25th July ~ Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
T:001 505 352 6212
> 26th July ~ Hills Park Amphitheater, Las Vegas, Nevada
> 27th July ~ Creation 2000 West, Gorge Amphitheater, Quincy, Washington
T:001 800 327 6921
> 28th July ~ Spirit West Coast, Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Salinas,
California
> 29th July ~ Festival Of Life, Fiddlers Green Amphitheatre, Englewood,
Colorado T:001 303 789 2997 www.roadhomeconcerts.com

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**** New FAQ Up ****
The alt.music.delirious FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) has been radically
revamped and is now up on www.sphericalbowl.co.uk/amdfaq - its permanent new
home. Although this is for the delirious? newsgroup, it is applicable to
anything vaguely related to d:. The FAQ is created and updated by James
Clayton.

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**** Equipment ****
Richard Knott from New Zealand asks, "Do you have an equipment list for
delirious anywhere? Any help would be cool. I was actually wondering what
type of amps and guitars Stu G and Martin use."

~ Spurious? says: information like this is contained in the FAQ as shown
above, and while each member has their "favourite" make of instrument, they
do use lots of different types.

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**** There's Somebody At The Door ****
Delirious? continue to bang on the door of big-time recognition with the
release of another single from their favourably reviewed Mezzamorphis album.

'It's OK' is a song from the 'Everybody Hurts' school of reassurance pop.
'We knew someone who was going through depression,' explains guitarist Stu
Garrard, 'and I started to write this song as an encouragement to them. The
chorus came from that - "It's OK. You know you'll live to fight another
day".'

Without proper care - and talent - this kind of song can turn horribly
mawkish, but Delirious? pull it off, combining the softly spoken edginess of
Radiohead's 'Exit Music (For a Film)' (from the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack)
with the sympathetic tone of The Verve's 'The Drugs Don't Work' to make a
memorable single.

'It's OK' is released on Furious?

~ Spurious? says: Thanks to Duncan for sending us this article from "War
Cry," the Salvation Army paper, on 26 February.

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**** Two Versions? ****
Just to clear up the details, the American version of "Mezzamorphis" was
released on two different CDs, one for the Christian market (released under
Sparrow Records to Christian outlets) and one for the secular market
(released by Virgin Records to secular outlets). This was the terms of the
deal that Delirious? signed to market themselves in the States, because the
market there is too big for Furious? Records to handle.

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**** Germany ****
Dennis from Germany says, "I've got to tell you a wonderful story. As I was
driving home this evening I was listening to the radio. When I was changing
the channel I suddenly heard "It's OK"! I couldn't believe it but it really
was on. When the song was finished the moderator said something like "Did I
promise you too much? A nice ballad from delirious?" I think it's pretty
cool that they play it in Germany."

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**** Tripe? ****
Some of the more eagle-eyed dnews readers spotted in the last edition the
Worldwide Message Tripe were accidently referred to as the "Worldwide
Message Tripe." This dreadful 'error' will never happen again.

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**** s'ok, i guess ****
The feedback we got from you guys re: It's OK series was fantastic. Thanks
for making us feel appreciated, we like it lots.

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**** Cross Rhythms Article ****
~ From the August/September 1998 Issue # 46
~ Used with kind permission from Mike Rimmer

The De Montfort Hall in Leicester is buzzing as Delirious? bring the '98
version of the D:Tour to town. Cathy Burton from Blueberry stands vulnerable
on the stage. Without the rest of her band and with only an acoustic guitar
and her enigmatic powerful voice as defence against the crowd waiting in
anticipation for their heroes, she handles the tricky business of being a
support act with great dignity, quieting the crowd's conversations with the
beauty of her songs. Definitely one to watch!

Backstage it's business and banter as usual! From the moment I meet the band
it's clear that their trips to America are having a lasting influence!
Folliclly challenged keyboard player Tim Jupp is losing weight! His secret?
A rather strange American diet book which allows him to eat bacon and eggs
for breakfast and still lose weight! As for drummer Stewart Smith, his
appearance is radically altered too. Our hair is going in opposite
directions. I am growing mine (giving rise to Tim christening me "Tufty". I,
of course, respond by calling him "Baldy"!!) and Stewart's was cut at 7am in
a Nashville salon! Strangely he confesses that it was, for a short time,
coloured red! Doesn't bear considering, does it?

On stage the band unveil a pair of new songs from their forthcoming album
which is being meticulously recorded during '98 for release next year. The
new songs are well received and indicate that the band's U2 influences are
coming through strongly on the new material. There are some new videos to
accompany the live songs and the entire set is slightly scaled down
technologically from the previous leg of the tour. Some of the older
material has been revamped and given new life including a powerful chunky
version of "Louder Than The Radio" which has been included on the American
version of 'King Of Fools'. There are some nice moments, for an encore a
huge white sheet is dropped over the front of the stage and the band's
shadows are projected onto it from the rear of the stage. Martin's image
almost fills the sheet as he sings a revised version of "Did You Feel The
Mountains Tremble" but true to form, to one side Stuey G and Jon Thatcher
engage in their own fun, throwing humorous shapes like naughty schoolboys.

The Live Delirious? experience has recently been captured on a budget priced
CD alongside the one hour video 'View From The Terraces'. The CD wasn't
originally in the frame as Martin Smith explains, "We originally just
recorded the gig to have a soundtrack to the video, but the songs came out
so well we thought, 'Well I'm sure people will appreciate just having these
out on a CD' and we played well that night. So we picked the best tunes and
I'm really pleased with it, for what it is."

Tim elaborates, "We've tried to keep it a little low-key really, and pushed
it as a souvenir for those people who were on the tour - it's not really a
'Live In The Can' No 2, because that was recorded over a long period of time
and it captured a whole era of what we were doing. This album does really
capture what went on during the D:Tour."

Martin reflects about the D:Tour, "I think just being in those venues was
what did it for me - not necessarily the size of the crowds, but being in
those venues, like Shepherds Bush Empire, and the Manchester Academy. I
think it was just an encouragement to us that we could pack out those places
and get our D:Crowd in there. I remember the Manchester gig was just thick
with atmosphere and God was there and the crowd were up for it, and then
there were other nights where you get a different crowd of people in and it
changes the emphasis. Every night was different and Shepherds Bush in London
was different because it was a London crowd, and a little bit more 'come to
watch'. None of them were bad though."

Stu Garrard remembers, "We'd been travelling round the country for the 18
months previous to that, so what was really nice was to go to the bigger
venues, to do a shorter stint of time, but playing to just as many people. I
think some of the highlights for me would be walking out in front of that
big video screen and starting 'Sanctify' and just seeing so many people that
we'd seen from the couple of years previous all turning up - it was a good
moment."

The 'View From The Terraces' video captures the heart of Delirious? from the
on stage performances to some of the stranger moments of being a rock'n'roll
band! Tim explains some of the thinking behind the video, "We've always
wanted to do a video and it's quite a big job really. We wanted to do it
well, so it's taken its time coming. But we're really excited and it's come
out, not just showing the D:Tour, it's got footage from that, but also
backstage stuff from the last year and it's quite humorous in places - I
think it shows us as we really are" The video shows some interesting clips
of Martin getting his hair done. Tim laughs, "We've really bared all, not in
a literal sense, but I think we've let our guard down a little bit here."
There's a wonderful clip where Martin fluffs up an interview on television.
Tim again explains, "We were doing a TV interview and he was trying to
describe what he thought Delirious? were like - "and it was
exciting...etc...etc.", and the little out-take is of the interviewer
telling him off for not saying "exciting" in the most excited way."

It seems that Martin is the brunt of a lot of the video's humour! Tim
enthuses with glee, "You can actually find out that Martin does dye his
hair, contrary to popular belief, that it naturally has golden streaks in
it!" He laughs again, "Yeah, there's a few little give-aways on the video."
Martin takes all of this in his stride! Does it mean that we're going to get
Martin Smith's hair secrets I wonder? "Well there aren't many secrets to be
honest," he grins, "but you might get a little glimpse into me looking
very, very stupid."

The bulk of the work of putting the video together fell to Stu Smith and Jon
Thatcher who heroically spent long hours putting it together. Stu Smith
explains, "It's the first time we've put a video together so we really
didn't have too much idea! It was a long, long job and we'd allowed two
weeks but we did a month's worth of work! We were there editing in London
arriving at nine o'clock in the morning and the earliest we left was 11 at
night. One day we finished at 6.30 in the morning! We definitely breathed a
sigh of relief when it was all completed! We're so pleased with it because
it really does capture what it's like to experience Delirious? in a live
gig. It's exciting for us to capture that excitement on video and for people
to stick that in their VCR at home, press the play button and really
experience it in their front room and to be able to use that video as a
resource to play to mates, school mates, college mates, work mates,
whatever! I think it's a great product, we're really proud of it."

Having spent so many long hours working on it, I wondered what Stewart's
favourite moment could be? "It's a bit of an in joke," Stewart laughs, "it's
when Craig Borlase, our writer guy responds when the crew were doing vox
pops in the foyer at Southampton and he pretends to be from Belgium."

'View From The Terraces' aptly has footage of the band's memorable
performance of "Sanctify" at Champion Of The World. Watching the video, it
is difficult not to be deeply moved by the spirit of the event and the
passion of the performance. Over a year later, I asked what memories the
band had of the day? Stu Garrard responded, "It was a great day - we were
really looking forward to it - Noel Richards is a good friend of ours, and
we wanted to support him and back him right up with that. And of course,
that doesn't take anything away from the fact that a chance to play at
Wembley Stadium is a very exciting thing! And again, we were so surprised to
see so many people that we'd seen around the country show up and just really
get into our set, and it was just a part of a great day."

It's the biggest crowd the band have played to so were they nervous before
went on? Stu explains, "I'm not sure whether nervous is the right word - it
was just so incredibly exciting - so full of adrenaline." Memorably, as the
video testifies, the five men of Delirious? were suitably attired in
football kit with spoof names on their shirts but there was one mystery. Why
did all the shirts have a number five on the back? Tim Jupp goes all
mysterious on me and says "That's an interesting question that we often get
asked - we have no idea why '5' is associated with Delirious? and why it's
in our name." Stu helpfully chips in, "I think it's simply a design thing
that a '5' looks a little bit like an 'S', and if anyone wants to think
anything else, then send your suggestions in."

Not sure whether it's worth inundating Delirious? with postcards because you
never know when they might read your correspondence from the stage during
the famous sofa section of their sizzling set. Tonight in Leicester there is
more banter with fans, letters but no fruit and no standard lamp! This was
no surprise as I had spotted the lamp looking a little forlorn and worse for
wear in the makeshift studio where the band are currently recording!

On stage Martin launches into a worshipful "Lord You Have My Heart" and
suddenly the crowd turn their hearts to worshipping God. It's a beautiful
moment. This is still what makes Delirious? so special, the seamless
transition from being a great rock band one moment to suddenly lifting the
crowd into the presence of God. Where others choose to pigeon hole Christian
music into to either worship or artist/band related, Delirious? straddle the
divide creating a whole new approach.

In corresponding with American friends, it is clear that there is a huge
amount of anticipation across the Atlantic for the British invasion of Matt
Redman and Delirious? if only because it's a fresh approach. The band have
visited on promotional tours and regale me with tales of gruesome PR duties
and bravery in the face of inquisitive journos. Tim Jupp explains that they
have only had the chance to play a handful of American dates, "We've done a
few gigs on the west coast, and up in Canada - Vancouver. The great story
there was that we've never been there before and turned up at this gig and
there were 2,000 people who showed up - and people had driven for 24 hours
or so, and it was great, a really great gig." Even so, America has yet to
taste the full monty Delirious? live experience.

Martin Smith is careful to keep things in perspective when he says, "I think
that they're really digging the music over there. They keep on saying it's
got a certain freshness to it, and I'm pleased about that. Whether or not
Delirious are going to save America - I think that's a bit too much - a bit
too heavy a statement, but I think that we may have a small part to play in
it.

The band's songwriting, whether it's the worship material on the 'Cutting
Edge' releases or 'King Of Fools', has already won many fans within the
music business in America and Martin reflects, "I think that some of the
comments have been that it is quite honest in the writing, and that seems to
be refreshing to the people over there. But I can't really comment - we've
just released a record there and I think we need to see the reaction of the
people really. It's fine to get a reaction from the industry, but we need to
get the records out there and see the effect it is having."

The 'View From The Terraces' video shows that the boys have clearly had a
good time on their trips to the USA, after all Jon Thatcher even went as far
as getting married in New York! Tim Jupp shares his thoughts, "I think we've
just made a lot of great friends really and we've been over several times
last year, predominantly for promotional and business meetings. We're
finding our way and planning the way ahead with Sparrow and Virgin. This
year we're really going over there to play a lot more. We're going to be
playing at a lot of the summer festivals and as we don't live there, we need
to hit as many people as we can in the shortest amount of time. So I think
we're on mainstage at nearly all these festivals this summer - we're
reaching several hundred thousand people over a short amount of time. It's
going to be a really good opportunity just to let a few more people hear our
music and make a few more friends. America is such a huge place and it's
difficult to know how to do it really, without living there."

Stu Garrard continues the band's consideration of playing in America saying,
"I think that what America is picking up on is a couple of things. Firstly
that they can see what is happening here amongst the young people and how
one of the songs mentions the Revival Generation and that whole feeling of a
people movement in the UK and we're just a small part in that, along with
people like Matt Redman and others. Secondly, they see that there's an
honesty in the songs and music, almost a naivety about the themes and the
lyrics, and a British sound as well, which obviously will go down well. So I
think that's something that will really turn them on. And I think that a lot
of these guys in the American Christian record industry have come out of the
revival situations, like in the '70s with the Jesus Movement, and stuff like
that, and once you've got that sort of taste you don't want to forget it - I
think that's the sort of thing they can taste with us."

Many people have observed that there has been a change in the spiritual
climate in Britain, especially amongst young people during the last couple
of years. Thankfully that change has happened at a grassroots level and
although many Christian musicians have played their part (and Delirious? are
perhaps the most visible) there has been a wonderful lack of hype. Stu
observes what he has seen, "I think just a zeal, and a hunger, for God, and
an excitement about stuff which has been great to see." Tim continues, "Even
locally, I think even back home in our own church, I just see there's such a
seriousness in the young people about doing the business, and I think
there's a real fresh evangelistic edge to a lot of these young people.
They're really determined to go out there and spread the news and I think
that has really come from a renewed passion and a hunger after more of God."

The fact that the band are choosing to record their new album near to their
homes and the fact that they don't want to move to America to make an impact
there is tribute to the fact that this is a family band! All the guys are
married and my conversation with Martin was curtailed because he had to get
home to babysit his one year old girl to let his wife Anna go out!

I imagine the pressures of being in a band must be difficult. Martin is
disarming in his response, "I think that it's the same as anybody really.
You have to sit down and talk about what your priorities are going to be.
Every week is different. Sometimes it can be totally balanced and another
week it can sometimes go out a little bit. But I'm just grateful that I'm in
a marriage where we talk all the time and we're very, very happy. Anna is
also someone who's totally behind what I'm doing. Without that, it would be
impossible to be away and be so focussed. She's fantastic! I'm amazed for
all the guys how with being married, it's been so successful, and I know
that it is a priority to keep that as a first priority, and the music is
second."

A little known fact is that three of the band are brothers-in-law! Martin,
Stewart Smith and Tim Jupp are married to Jon Thatcher's three sisters!
Martin laughs at the thought, "Can you believe having Tim Jupp as a
brother-in-law? You work together and then you have Christmas and there he
is! He's just around all the time! But what a great bloke!"

I suggest that the combination of family and work in such an intense fashion
must in fact be a little, err...weird? "Well I think that's one of the
reasons why the band and the core of it is really strong," Martin responds,
"'cos we just have to continually talk about things. We can't let anything
fester about issues that arise, and when we go away all the girls look after
each other, and I think it works well. I'm amazed, but it works!"

That network of support was tested in the summer of '97 when Stewart Smith
and his wife lost their baby in the 12th week of pregnancy. Talking to
Stewart before the Leicester gig he told me a bit about it, "It was really
hard and because it was so unexpected it really knocked us off balance. It
makes you ask questions. What's going on God? We'd had so many people
praying and it's at times like that you have to ask questions. Do our
prayers work? As time went on we pieced the bits back together and the
fragments of what we were feeling, questioning God and talking to people and
trying to chat and bring out the emotional stuff as well. Everybody says you
can go through some really bad stuff but somehow this bad will be turned
into something that is good and we did find God in a new way and found that
God really cared. We really did find it tough but we found out something new
about God for ourselves and we learnt a lot about each other and about being
open. I learnt a lot about being a husband and how do I comfort and get
alongside my wife."

The close family network of the band also played its part as Stewart
explains, "At times like that it's your friends that keep you going
especially, especially when you're feeling disillusioned and you don't
understand and they haven't got any answers really because everyone is as
confused as each other! It's having people that come round and make you
meals or just sit with you and watch the TV. Months later, you look back and
see Jesus in your friends and your family and that's one of the good
things."

The song "Summer Of Love" was written as a result of Stewart's experiences
and is featured on the 'D:Tour' live album. It remains his favourite song
when the band are playing live. He comments, "There's so much depth in it.
We used to mess about in the van at the beginning of 1997 and say, 'This is
going to be the summer of love' and as we got into the summer, the
miscarriage happened. At the end of the day, it was the summer of love
because God was involved in it all. But for me every time we play it, I
think about what happened. My wife's pregnant now so it really is quite an
emotional thing and it's a very pasionate song as it builds to the end, it
has that sort of intensity which really draws people in. Live we're using a
different video and there are some of the words being written out by hand on
the screen."

In Leicester the band kick into the song and it is an intense moment in the
set. Now understanding the background, I find my eyes darting back and forth
from the giant video screen to Stewart drumming, totally mesmerised by the
song and trying to guess what he's thinking at that moment.

The gig closes with a huge version of their biggest song "Deeper" and as the
music fades and the crowd dispurses happily into the night, I'm left
reflecting that 1998 is going to be the summer of hard work for the band as
united in purpose they set forth to make an impact in America and continue
work on their much awaited new album.

~ Cross Rhythms Magazine has features and interviews with Christian bands
and musicians from around the world. If you want to keep up to date with the
best Christian music you can buy, then subscribing to Cross Rhythms should
be your first move.
~ Spurious? would like to extend extreme thanks, as ever, to Mike for
allowing us to use this. Mike Rimmer is a freelance journalist and the
Assistant Editor of Cross Rhythms Magazine. He can be contacted at
mrimmer@cmbc.u-net.com. To subscribe to Cross Rhythms magazine, contact Mike
at the above address or check out the website www.crossrhythms.co.uk

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**** d:end? ****
It's the of another over-lengthy dnews (sorry about that; had a lot of old
stuff to clear up on). With that out of the way, future dnewses will be
filled with interesting information, nerve-jangling news, dishy details and
a scintillating spuriousity. But please, keep your feedback flowing,
particularly with reference to the "what next for delirious?" question.
Catch ya on the flip side.

Adam, Adrian, Mike, Scooby

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