Well now that all the Manifestos are out, we thought we would add a few 'campaign songs' of our own to the proceedings - though they should not be taken as an endorsement for any particular political party, of course.
We therefore present (the full version of) 'The Parliament of Fools'; accompanied by 'Ten Little Kingdoms' and 'The Song of No-involvement'  - because they also seem rather appropriate.

Skyclad, 20 years old this year, is often called the first folk metal-act. Their blend of thrash metal and Celtic folk music made them one of the genuinely unique bands of the early 90s. Many were also impressed with the exceptionally witty lyrics by then singer Martin Walkyier (ex-Sabbat). After ten albums, including classics like "Jonah's Ark" (1993) and "Prince of the Poverty Line" (1994), Walkyier left the band in 2001. Skyclad then promoted guitarist Kevin Ridley frontman, and restored the fans' confidence with the impressive "A Semblance of Normality" (2004). Skyclad's most recent release is "In the All... Together" (2009), a marked step towards their early, earthbound roots. If you like folk metal but have not yet discovered Skyclad, don't miss their SRF debut - this is the band that inspired all of your idols.

After a fantastic album launch at the Performance Academy in Newcastle (and a very drunken ‘aftershow party’), it was time for Skyclad to join in with the festival season. We have just headlined our first ever UK folk festival at Spratton.

This happened on Friday June 10th and got a great reception – even though we might be a bit ‘heavier’ than the bands that normally play there, so thanks to the organisers for taking a chance and making this happen. Hopefully there will be more events like this for Skyclad in the UK – we are ready and waiting.

Skyclad has also just paid another return visit to the Dong Open Air festival in Germany (we have now played in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009). This has got to be one of our favourite festivals (and probably a favourite of many others as it sold out in just four hours) partly because of its unique location (on top of the ‘Dongberg’) but also because of its ‘small but perfectly formed’ philosophy. They could move this festival and make it bigger etc but they have created a nice ‘niche’ for themselves and long may it continue. We are planning to return next year (we know it breaks the sequence but…) for the DOA tenth anniversary and Skyclad twentieth anniversary. ‘A fistful of cows’ indeed.

Apart from the festivals, Skyclad have also now confirmed all the dates for a tour of Eastern Europe in October (see tour dates) and there will be more news about this, and any other shows added, in the coming weeks.

A while ago we were asked to play at Newcastle College as part of their 'Summer Festival' programme. This is part of two weeks of events including themed music nights (based on the 'Monsters of Rock') and a 'battle of the bands' competition and the winners of this get to support Skyclad. So we are playing at the Performance Academy of Newcastle College on Friday June 26th (which is right in the middle of town).

This is an 'all ages gig' (as it is for the 16-18 year old students) but hopefully there will still be a bar and the venue itself is great. So, if you want to come along the ticket price is only £2.00 (just to cover costs) and we will sort out ticketing etc. Also, as it's an early finish we'll make sure that there is some sort of 'aftershow party' where we can do a bit of a 'Meet & Greet' and we'll have some merchandise and CDs of the new album.

The address is:
Performance Academy
Rye Hill Campus
Scotswood Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE4 7SA

For more information you can contact us at:
skyclad.info@btinternet.com
http://www.myspace.com/officialskyclad
http://officialskycladmessageboard.yuku.com/
 
‘In The…Polish Bar All Together’

Skyclad have booked ‘The Globe’ (aka ‘the Polish bar) for the ‘Aftershow Party’ for the launch of ‘In The…All Together. This will happen after the show at Newcastle College’s Performance Academy.

This bar is a very convenient ‘watering hole’, as most of the Academy staff will tell you, because it is just two minutes walk from Newcastle College. They also do some good ‘pub grub’, if you want to visit before the gig (but stay off the 7% lager till later). It also has a small stage, so we might be persuaded to do a few ‘unplugged songs’ and a terrace (weather permitting) but most importantly, it’s open until 3am!

For all you trendy people on ‘Facebook’ check out – Pub The Globe, for all internet geeks there’s www.stolowka.co.uk (in English AND Polish, with maps and everything) and for other mere mortals the address etc is:
Telephone: 0191 2984000
The Globe
Railway Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE4 7AD
E-mail us at info@polskipubtheglobe.co.uk