From an announcement on Big Big Train’s Facebook group:

Dear Passengers,

A copy of the BBT newsletter which is being sent out later today is posted below. However, we wanted to write a more personal note about the last few months. This has, of course, been a tough year for everyone. People have lost family, friends and livelihoods. Activities that we all took for granted have been impossible. The music industry has been one of many that have suffered from the restrictions on normal life. In the last few months, BBT has lost two tours. Alongside the loss of the tours, three valued band members have chosen to leave BBT. At times it has felt that the most sensible approach would be to accept that we had reached the end of the line and to call an end to the band. However, we believe that we have lots of music left in us and we have decided to accept the changing circumstances and work hard to sustain BBT and to try to maintain the progress that we have made in recent years. We are looking forward to forming close musical partnerships with our exceptionally talented new live band members Carly and Dave, and we can’t wait to perform some shows as soon as circumstances permit. In the meantime, ahead of live performances, we will be recording a new album and releasing a newly re-mixed re-issue of The Underfall Yard album (with plenty of bonus tracks.) Thank you for sticking with us.

Best wishes,

David, Greg, Nick and Rikard

Big Big Train

Big Big Train newsletter October 2020

We hope that all BBT listeners, families and friends are ok in these challenging times.Like most recording artists, the pandemic has caused BBT many challenges. Over the last six months, we have lost two tours and have undergone a number of line-up changes. However, we have been working hard behind-the-scenes to keep the train on the rails and we are looking forward to playing concerts again in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, we have a number of announcements to make:

Empire: a new concert film and album

A new concert film and live album (filmed and recorded at the Hackney Empire, London in 2019) will be released on the 27th November. To watch the full length performance of Winkie from the Blu-Ray, please go here: https://www.loudersound.com/…/big-big-train-release…For full details of the Blu-Ray and two CD release and for a preview of the concert film please go to our website here: https://www.bigbigtrain.com

Band line-up changes

Danny and Rachel have decided to leave Big Big Train; we wish them every success in the future, both personally and musically. The band will continue as a core four piece for studio recordings. We are pleased to announce that Carly Bryant and Dave Foster will be joining the live line-up of BBT. For full details of the line-up changes, please go here: https://www.bigbigtrain.com/#announce

New studio album

During the enforced break from touring, we have written a new studio album which we are recording in November. More news on this in 2021.

Summer’s Lease

Our official store, Burning Shed, have imported 500 copies of the Summer’s Lease compilation album which was originally released by the Belle Antique label in Japan. This double album, featuring new artwork from Sarah Louise Ewing, includes a previously unreleased track called Don’t Forget the Telescope, the full 30 minute song-cycle called London Song (never before available on CD) and a number of other re-worked songs, alongside a selection of the band’s back catalogue. To purchase Summer’s Lease, please follow this link: https://burningshed.com/store/bigbigtrain

Solo albums

Over the summer and autumn, there have been solo albums from Nick D’Virgilio, Rikard Sjöblom’s Gungfly and from David Longdon who recorded an album with Judy Dyble shortly before she passed away earlier this year.All of these albums are now available on CD and vinyl from Burning Shed and other good record shops, and on streaming and download platforms.

Live shows

Whilst the situation concerning live shows is extremely uncertain, we currently have two performances scheduled in July 2021. For full details of our live shows, please see our website:

https://www.bigbigtrain.com/live/https://www.loudersound.com/…/big-big-train-release…