Hello from the Racket Club.

We have just put the finishing touches to the rehearsals for our up and coming acoustic shows this week (tickets still available for the Acoustic Festival at www.acousticfestival.co.uk) - all is sounding very nice.

We are now having a coffee and strawberry tart break, then it's back to work with Mike Hunter. First up we will be listening to a track called "Essence". This has recently been changed as Mark's sample in the middle 8 reminded Mike too much of a lavatory dripping constantly!

Ian was at the Roger Waters gig last Sunday and said hello to quite a few Marillion fans - he hopes you enjoyed the show as much as he did.

We hope to see some of you at the weekend and that the sun comes out.

Ian and Mark

Just got back from the studio, where we were busy rehearsing for the upcoming gigs at the Hard Rock Cafe and Acoustic Festival. We have some really good versions of some of the less-played songs from the last few years ready for you to hear later this week!

Mike also sat us down to listen to "Essence" to see how it has evolved since we last heard it; Steve H and I have added some backing vocals, Steve Rothery has added more noodley guitar, and Mark's added a few more keyboard melodies in one section (and as I write this Mr H is singing the final lead vocal track). It is sounding very good and is probably a contender to be a "favourite track" from the album.

Hope to see at one or more of the shows we're doing over the summer, and more news from the studio soon.

Pete

Wishing Tree Performance Cancelled

Due to unexpected personal circumstances, the scheduled Wishing Tree performance at the Acoustic Festival of Britain has unfortunately been cancelled. This will not affect any Marillion performances.