Thank you from Arena!
Clive: "So, the Arena tour is done. For me (including the writing and recording of the album... rehearsal and touring), it has been non stop Arena since January 3rd! Today feels a bit weird... What to do next...
In the meantime, I'd like to thank my band mates Mick Pointer, John Mitchell, Kylan Amos and Paul Manzi for the adventure - it was a roller coaster, guys! Massive appreciation to our terrific crew, Mark Westwood, Alec Morris, Graeme Bell, Ashley Reynolds and Phil Linstead. along with our amazing driver Tommy! Big thumbs up to the agents, organisers and supporters who made all these gigs possible. Naturally my everlasting gratitude to all you wonderful people who came along to the shows and cheered, shouted, sang and clapped your way through the evenings! Your enthusiasm, as always, is the fuel that keeps Arena alive and kicking! Thank you all, for this tour, and indeed the last twenty years... it was a blast!"
More about Arena HERE
Arena Jubilee DVD Recorded!
Halfway through the 20th anniversary tour, Arena has recorded what will be the band’s 4th official DVD. The show was registered on April 9th by Metal Mind Productions in Katowice Rialto in Poland. The new DVD, scheduled for release later this year, will consist of songs representing each album from Arena’s career, including material from the most recent CD, 'The Unquiet Sky' . The band's jubilee was celebrated with a birthday cake and a traditional ‘Happy Birthday’ sung in Polish by the enthusiastic audience.
Clive: “We had a great time in Poland! Thank you so much to all you lovely people who came and supported us. I think the DVD show in Katowice went very well and it was great to be presented with a 20th anniversary cake. ;) (Thanks, Magda!) And of course, a huge thank you to Metal Mind for organising the shows for us - I can't wait to come back in whatever band or project!”
More about Arena HERE
"The Unquiet Sky" First Review (MLWZ, Poland)
The eighth Arena studio album, 'The Unquiet Sky', is a concept inspired by M.R James' 1911 short story, "Casting the Runes". The story itself, as well as its 1957 film adaptation, "Night of the Demon", has always held a special place in Clive Nolan's memory and, not surprisingly, with its gloomy mood and a decent dose of the supernatural, it served as a perfect material for the next Arena release. John Mitchell suggested the title and the band got down to work.
Creative process, however, is complex and time consuming. Hence, from the birth of the idea till the album's completion, it took almost 5 months of work. The lyrics came first - much of them written in fever during the autumn Pendragon tour. As Clive recalls, he felt the urge to write and capture the flow of thoughts tumbling in his head, in an as unquiet and disorderly fashion, as the events of the libretto itself. In the end, it was a great surprise to him how many of these initial drafts ended up on the album in an almost unchanged version.
'The Unquiet Sky": New Album and Tour!
In just a few days Arena is setting off for their 20th anniversary European tour. The band will celebrate their 20th birthday by launching and promoting their new album, "The Unquiet Sky". The date of the official release has been confirmed for April 28th. However, the CDs, alongside numerous interesting anniversary merchandise, will be available for purchase at the venues from the first day of the tour.
Arena is currently rehearsing the songs chosen for the tour. The set list will feature compositions representing the whole history of the band.
Clive: “We have been rehearsing down in Devon, in the middle of nowhere. That certainly helps us to focus! This is a big set list and there has been a great deal to work through. It was great to finally be able to play through the whole of 'Moviedrome'... that was quite a challenge. Meantime, it's been fun to revisit some of the old favourites. There is a sense of studious determination in the band as we all realise just how much we need to do in the next few days. I hope we see plenty of people at the shows... this will be an Arena highlight, and I doubt we will do a tour like this again.”
More about Arena HERE
CRS Best Keyboard Player of 2014!
We are pleased to announce that Clive was voted the Best Keyboard Player of 2014. It is for the eighth time that Classic Rock Society awarded Clive with this prestigious title. Due to other commitments, Clive was unable to participate in the official CRS gala on February 21st. Nevertheless, he thanked CRS members with the following message broadcast during the ceremony:
Clive: “Hello everybody! I'd like to thank everyone who voted for me and allowed me the honour of winning the CRS Keyboard Player award again. That's fantastic! I'm sorry I can't be there to pick it up in person – sadly, I'm in the wrong country, but I look forward to getting my hands on this award soon. I'm thinking perhaps it's because on the last tour with Pendragon I had the new 360 degree rotating keyboard stand and initially I spent quite a lot of time chasing it around in circles... But I did get control over it in the end and I look forward to using it again on the Arena tour coming up soon. So, see you out there somewhere and thanks again! Thank you very much!”
On March 21st, 2015 Clive will return to the CRS with Arena and 'The Unquiet Sky' show.
More about CRS HERE