January to March the now regular Break Cover line-up knock out some more gigs including sell outs in Qudos, the Queens Arms and a terrific goodbye for the current landlords at The Rainbow on the Lake.
(Honestly you can’t make this stuff up)
April and May. Terry is once again called upon to travel the world and Neil B steps back into the hot seat for a handful of gigs including our first gigs at both the Cosy Club and the (Bishops) Mill; a birthday party as well as Claire’s surprise (ends with a nought) birthday party in Tisbury.
(There may or may not be a typo in the line above)
June saw a flat spot for the band: three gigs that were just not well attended at new venues which won’t be mentioned here and won’t be revisited. Move on.
July and back at Figglefest. This time we get promoted to the truck stage and we play last so it’s in the dark and everyone is nicely warmed up. Still a lovely event with a great atmosphere. Also, a fun gig outside at Wellington Academy. Both gigs with Dave Hitchins.
August and our first ever slot at Firsfest. It turns out that we really like these outdoor bashes and we were exceptionally lucky with the weather. Even if Terry has gone away again. But we are OK as Neil has the reins. However, it’s another sad moment as, once again at Qudos, we (almost) say goodbye to our long serving (and long suffering) bass player Ray who is off to spend more time on other projects and with his family.
September another road trip. This time we take the band that has been in the current format since June 2015 to a wedding in St Ives in Cornwall (which is Ray’s real last gig). What a fantastic weekend with the whole band sharing a single room at a very nice hostel in the centre of St Ives and fully enjoying the Cornish lifestyle. We also play in Salisbury Market Square which is our first gig with Ray’s replacement Steve Rance who famously was once in John Lee Hooker’s UK touring band.
October and November see Break Cover bed in with the new sound with Steve for a few gigs before another one of those massive gigs that stick in the mind forever.
John Coghlan’s Quo . During the late nineties original Status Quo drummer John Coghlan formed his own band and has enjoyed regular gigs all over the UK and Europe. We got to support this formidable band at The Barrington Theatre in Ferndown and it’s safe to say this was an incredibly special gig indeed. The audience were hugely receptive to our music and even just introducing the songs got a great reception. Helped by a couple of band members being huge Quo fans: having John watch us do such a massive job was a huge thrill.
December sees a few gigs with a highlight being another tremendous Hootenanny. This time at The Mill with another great selection of Salisbury’s finest musicians. We also play New Year’s Eve at the Royal Oak in Salisbury and say goodbye to our lovely singer Claire who leaves us to work on her own band playing more of the sort of music she loves. The band go into 2017 deciding to be the Break Cover Boys Club for a while.
