Clive Nolan 'Hidden Treasure' CD!
We are happy to announce the PRE-SALE of a new CD with material by Clive. 'Hidden Treasure' is a collection of demos, oddities and unreleased material from 'She' and 'Alchemy'. All songs on this album are never-heard-before versions performed by the stellar cast of singers and instrumentalists involved in both projects over the last 10 years. The album includes an impressive booklet featuring Clive's reminiscences, photos and interesting trivia concerning the songs, with excellent artwork by Kylan Amos and Mark Buckingham. 'Hidden Treasure' will be ready to be dispatched in mid-July. All funds raised from the CD will go to support the production of Clive's musicals. For more details about the album and the performers, visit our internet shop, The Lost Tribe Emporium.
Clive: "The perfect present - don’t get one when you can get four.! ;) I think if you are a follower of what we have been doing with these musicals over the last years, then this makes a very interesting accompaniment to the whole story."
Pre-order 'Hidden Treasure' HERE
More about 'She' HERE
More about 'Alchemy' HERE
'The Fire and the Quest' SOLD OUT!
We are proud to announce that Clive's jubilee event, 'The Fire and the Quest' is now SOLD OUT! The mini festival will celebrate 10 years of Clive's musicals with the premiere of the new productions of 'She' and 'Alchemy' and the acoustic concert featuring special guests. Rehearsals have already begun and works on scenery and costumes are in full swing now. The casts and the production team are getting ready for what will be their biggest venture of 2015.
Clive: "I am very happy to hear that the 'Fire and the Quest' event is now sold out! With three and a half months to go, we can now concentrate our energies on the actual shows. I must admit I am curious to see the new production of 'She', complete with a new character and new material. We also have some great guests for Saturday afternoon as well. Right... lots to do!"
We are also happy to invite you to visit our brand new website devoted to Clive's first musical, 'She'. You can now view the new updated website HERE.
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.