18th December 2006:
Provocateur Records are holding a Christmas competition at the moment. If you're quick enough, you have the chance to win a signed copy of the CD Frank Zappa's Hot Licks And Funny Smells by Colin Towns & the NDR Bigband. All you need to do is answer a simple Zappa-related question - so what are you waiting for, get over to www.provocateurrecords.co.uk straight away. It's only open until 21st December 2006! Good luck........
Another new CD has hit the shelves in Germany, and will get a UK release some time in 2007. It's called Billy Cobham / Colin Towns / HR Bigband: Meeting Of The Stars - A Celebration Of The Madhavishnu Orchestra, and was recorded live in January 2006, featuring Billy Cobham on the drums. Two full tracks from the album can be heard here. For further details check out the Discography section of this site
The first gig featuring music from Colin's recent Lend Me Your Ears album is scheduled for 8PM on 24th March 2007 at the BAZ Halle, Neubrandenburg Festival, Germany. The NDR Big Band will be doing the honours!
So here's how the schedules look this Christmas:
First some new stuff! Colin has just finished the Christmas special for Doc Martin, which will be broadcast on Christmas evening on ITV1 at 21.00. He'll then start work shortly on the new (third) series of Doc Martin which will be broadcast some time in 2007Talking of Doc Martin, Colin's very recently had to quickly record some new pieces of music for the German version of the programme. It's an entirely German effort, not just overdubbed voices over the UK version. If anyone watches it let's know how different it is to the UK one!
Films:
- March In Windy City - on ITV3 in the early hours of Tuesday 19th December at 01.15
- Rawhead Rex - on Zone Horror in the early hours of Tuesday 19th December, repeated again on Saturday 27th January 2007 at 21.00
- Not Only But Always - on Channel 4 on Thursday 28th December at 22.00
- Agatha Christie's Pale Horse - on ITV3 on Monday 1st January 2007 at 10.25
- The Wolves Of Willoughby Chase - on Thursday 11th January 2007 at 10.00 on Channel 4
- Daughter Of Darkness - on Monday 22nd January 2007 at 21.00 on Zone Horror
Animations:
- The Tale Of Jack Frost - on Tuesday 19th December at 14.00 on CBBC, repeated again on Sunday 24th December at 17.00, and again on Friday 5th January 2007 at 14.00. It will also be shown on BBC2 on Sunday 31st December at 07.00
- Angelina Ballerina - The Show Must Go On - on Nick Junior on Christmas Day at 10.00
Catherine Cookson:
- The Girl - on UKTV Drama: on Sunday 24th December at 21.00, repeated again in the early hours of Monday 25th December (Christmas Morning!) at at 02.00. On UKTV Drama Plus 1: on Sunday 24th December at 22.00
- The Dwelling Place - on UKTV Drama: on Thursday 28th December at 21.00, repeated again the the early hours of Friday 29th December at 02.05. On UKTV Drama Plus 1: on Thursday 28th December at 22.00
- The Rag Nymph - on UKTV Drama: on Friday 29th December at 21.00; repeated again in the early hours of Saturday 30th December at 02.05. Friday 29th December at 22.00 on UKTV Drama Plus 1
- A Dinner Of Herbs - on UKTV Drama on: Saturday 30th December at 21.00; in the early hours of Sunday 31st December at 02.00; later the same evening at 21.00; and again in the early hours of Monday 1st January 2007 at 02.00. On UKTV Drama Plus 1: on Saturday 30th December at 22.00; and again on Sunday 31st December at 22.00
- The Wingless Bird - on UKTV Drama: on Sunday 14th January 2007 at 21.00. On UKTV Drama Plus 1: on Sunday 14th January 2007 at 22.00
- The Tide Of Life - on UKTV Drama: on Sunday 21st January 2007 at 21.00, repeated later in the early hours of Monday 22nd January at 01.45. On UKTV Drama Plus 1: on Sunday 21st January 2007 at 22.00
- The Secret - on UKTV Drama: on Sunday 28th January 2007 at 21.00, repeated later in the early hours of Monday 29th January at 01.45. On UKTV Drama Plus 1: on Sunday 28th January 2007 at 22.00
Mini-series:
- Pie In The Sky - Devils On Horseback (Part 1) - on ITV3: on Thursday 21st December at 19.50, repeated on ITV3 Plus 1 an hour later
- Pie In The Sky - Devils On Horseback (Part 2) - on ITV3: on Thursday 21st December at 20.55, repeated on ITV3 Plus 1 an hour later
- Pie In The Sky - Chinese Whispers - on ITV3: on Thursday 4th January 2007 at 20.00, repeated on ITV3 Plus 1 an hour later
- Pie In The Sky - New Leaf - on ITV3: on Thursday 11th January 2007 at 20.00, repeated on ITV3 Plus 1 an hour later
- Noah's Ark - Killing Time - on ITV3: in the early hours of Saturday 23rd December at 01.35, repeated on ITV3 Plus 1 an hour later
- Noah's Ark - Deep Waters - on ITV3: in the early hours of Sunday 24th December at 04.05, repeated on ITV3 Plus 1 an hour later
Well, that's it! Happy Christmas & have a great 2007.............
15th October 2006:
Scans and credits for the albums It's Later Than You Think and Lend Me Your Ears have now been added to the Guest Appearances and Discography sections of the site respectively
Colin has also written the music to Terry Hands' interpretation of Shakespeare's Hamlet, which is now running at the Courtyard Theatre, Chicago. This info has now been added to the Theatre section of the site
Bye.............
14th September 2006:
Here are some past works that are due on TV in the coming weeks:
Noah's Ark (series 1) has recently started a re-run on ITV3, and can be seen as follows:
- Paying The Price - on Sunday 17th September at 06.00, immediately followed by
- Healing Touch - at 06.55
- Live And Learn - on Sunday 24th September at 07.55, immediately followed by
- Family Matters - at 08.55
Pie In The Sky (series 2) continues to be shown on ITV3:
- The One That Got Away - on Thursday 21st September at 20.00, repeated the following night at 23.10
- Dead Right - on Thursday 28th September at 20.00, repeated the following night at 23.10
The 90 minute episode of Home Truths of the classic Dalziel And Pascoe police drama can be seen on UKTV Drama on Thursday 26th October at 21.00, repeated later in the early hours of Friday 27th October at 00.55. UKTV Drama Plus 1 will also be showing this episode on the same date, just an hour later!
Catherine Cookson fans can get their fair share of North East drama when the following gets an airing:
- A Dinner Of Herbs (first 3 episodes) - on Sunday 17th September at 21.00, repeated later in the early hours of Monday 18th September at 02.05
- A Dinner Of Herbs (second 3 episodes) - on Sunday 24th September at 21.00, repeated later in the early hours of Monday 25th September at 03.15
- The Fifteen Streets - on Sunday 1st October at 21.00, repeated later in the early hours of Monday 2nd October at 03.40
The Dark Room will be shown on UKTV Drama in the early hours of Friday 15th September at 02.10, and a hour later on UKTV Drama Plus 1
Now for some films:
- March In Windy City - on Thursday 21st September at 22.00 early hours of Monday 18th September at 02.05
- Vampire's Kiss - in the early hours of Saturday 30th September at 00.55
- Daughter Of Darkness - on Monday 9th October at 21.05
- Rawhead Rex - in the early hours of Monday 30th October at 02.45
Lastly, the recently shown 2-parter Ghostboat has now been released on DVD, a scan of which can be seen via Mini-series - 2000s
See ya soon.............
5th September 2006:
I forgot to say that Monday also saw the release of NDR Big Band's Frank Zappa's Hot Licks (And Funny Smells), produced, arranged and conducted by Colin. The album was released late last year in Germany, and has now got an official UK release. As with It's Later Than You Think and Lend Me Your Ears, there are audio samples available of some of the tracks at the Provocateur site, where you can also buy the album
Cheers............
4th September 2006:
Today sees the release of two Provocateur Records CDs. The first is the 9-tracker It's Later Than You Think featuring Norma Winstone with the NDR Big Band, produced and directed by Colin. The second is a CD of 17 new Towns compositions, entitled Lend Me Your Ears. For a taster of both albums, pop over to www.provocateurrecords.co.uk and have a listen to some of the audio samples. You can also purchase the albums there too!
To support the album It's Later Than You Think, a smallish tour has been planned in the UK in November, taking in 8 venues up and down the country (see flyer below for more details, or check out the 'tours' section of the Provocateur site):
As can be seen, the show is split into two sections, one featuring Frank Zappa's Hot Licks (And Funny Smells) and the other It's Later Than You Think, with Norma Winstone. The music in both halves will be played by the German NDR Big Band
Talking of shows, Colin will also be at the Berlin Jazz Festival on 4th November conducting the Hessicher Rundfunk Big Band for 'Birds Of Fire' - the music of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Special guests will be Jerry Goodman on violin and Billy Cobham on drums. Details can be found at www.berlinerfestspiele.de
As if that wasn't enough, Colin will also be in Germany on 2nd and 3rd November playing electronics for Alan Skidmore's Ubizo (in Hamburg at the NDR Big Band Studio)
Back soon.............
4th July 2006:
Here's some news that may be of interest to those in Belgium (or those who can receive Belgian TV). Belgian's national TV channel TV1 have started screening Doc Martin. It started last Sunday at 23.00 (UK time) which is, I think, midnight local time. They will be aired every Sunday evening until the series is complete. Many thanks to Carl Vanempten for this timely info
See ya soon........
29th June 2006:
In March I mentioned that Colin had written the music to an Angelina Balerina special called Angelina Sets Sail. I can now report that this will now be shown in Odeon Cimemas in the UK every Sunday between 9th July and 6th August inclusive. Check your local Odeon cinema for times. Sorry to those of you outside the UK.........!
News of (at least!) 2 new DVDs has caught my attention. The first is the release of series 2 of Doc Martin and the very, very long-awaited release of series 1 of Capital City from 1989. Images to both have now been added to the Mini-series section of the site. If there are any other DVDs I've missed, please let me know!
Fortunately, I've now been able to add the images of the Full Circle 7" picture sleeve (showing the French cover) as well as the CD cover to Classical Hollywood III; both can be found in the Discography section. Many, many thanks to Carl Vanempten for supplying scans of the artwork - it's greatly appreciated
A feature-length version of Catherine Cookson's The Girl can be seen on UKTV Drama on Sunday 30th July at 12.00 (noon), repeated later the same day at 21.00 and again in the early hours of Monday 31st July at 02.10
ITV3 are currently running Pie In The Sky. They've started at series 1 and are due to show episode 3 (An Innocent Man) tonight (Thursday 29th June) at 20.00, repeated on Friday 30th June at 13.45. Episode 4 (Once A Copper) will then be shown the following Thursday 6th July at 20.00, repeated on Friday 7th July at 12.45; and episode 5 (A Shot In The Dark) on Thursday 13th July at 20.00, repeated on Friday 14th July at 13.45
The film Daughter Of Darkness will be shown tonight on Zone Horror at 22.55, repeated on Sunday 16th July at 22.55 and again on Friday 4th August at 21.00
Finally, Zone Horror will also be showing the film Rawhead Rex in the early hours of Thursday 10th August at 00.50
Well, that's it for now, see ya soon..............
5th April 2006:
Ghostboat will be shown on Sunday 9th and Monday 10th April on ITV1, starting at 21.00 (both nights)Bye.........
29th March 2006:
As is now customary, I'll start with info on some new stuff - all of it new material!
Last April Colin wrote the music to Red Mercury, a film starring Stockard Channing and Pete Postlethwaite. It deals with terrorism and bombings in London, but didn't get released due to the real bombings on 7th July last year. It now looks as though the film will be released around July this year. More info when I get it.....
Colin also recorded music for two Angelina Balerina specials last year, one of which was released early this year (Angelina Princess Dance). The other (Angelina Sets Sail) has yet to be released
In the coming weeks, ITV1 will be showing a two-part drama called Ghostboat. The music was written and recorded by Colin within the last few weeks and is scheduled for broadcast on 9th and 10th April. Details are a bit sketchy, but I'll post further details when I get them.....
Lastly, Gillan fans will be glad to hear that Bernie Tormé and John McCoy have written and recorded and album together. It's a three-piece band, which also includes Robin Guy, the drummer, and goes under the name of GMT. There doesn't seem to be any title for it yet nor any release date, but as Bernie and John were on radio this week promoting it, I suppose it won't be too far away. There is a website for the band, found here. Their old stalwart Colin was drafted in to add keys, in all doing 5 songs all told. The site also features a video of Cannonball from their forthcoming album - and pretty good the track is too! Check it out......
Talking of Gillan, a new DVD of the classic Gillan / Towns / McCoy / Tormé / Underwood line-up was released last week. Called Live In Edinburgh, it includes (amongst other things): concert footage of Gillan's TV appearance on STV from 1980; 3 bonus archive tracks (pretty poor quality, lifted from a video by the looks of it - but worth seeing anyway!) and bonus features including the video of GMT's Cannonball and lengthy, recently-taken interviews with all the band members but not Ian Gillan! I must say I quite enjoyed the DVD. For me, it brought back everything that was good about the band, and took me back instantly to my care-free youth! I'm not a big fan of the record label (Angel Air), as some of their products haven't lived up to expectations, but this DVD gets the thumbs-up from me!
Check out Billy Cobham's site for some photos of the recently undertaken Mahavishnu Project in Germany, featuring Colin, Billy and the HR Big Band
Now for some repeats / re-runs:
Daughter Of Darkness will be shown on The Horror Channel on Tuesday 2nd May at 21.30, and again on Sunday 14th May at 21.30
You can catch the gangster film Essex Boys on ITV4 on Thursday 30th March at 22.00, repeated a little later in the early hours of Friday 31st March at 00.55
Nick Junior continue to let us be entertained by our favourite dancing mouse Angelina Ballerina. She's on every day at 11.30 and 17.00, but from 10th April she can be seen at 11.00 and 17.00
Cheerio.............
11th March 2006:
First, we'll start with info on a new production!
ITV1 will be showing a new two-parter at 21.00 on Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th March called A Good Murder. It stars Juliet Aubrey, Anna Massey and Mirek Simunek and is about a lady Living in London with her overbearing disabled mother and she has no life of her own - until she meets a handsome Albanian man. Little does she realise that he's an illegal immigrant and on the run from a Russian gangster. Ooooeeer, missus!
Just a reminder that on 23rd March Colin will be performing in Germany at the Jazz Ahead Festival with Norma Winstone and the NDR Big Band (the first half being Frank Zappa's Hot Licks (And Funny Smells) and the second half with Norma on their It's Later Than You Think project)
Now for some repeats / re-runs:
Although not new, I haven't seen this one on TV before! Nasty Rawhead Rex turns up on The Horror Channel on Friday 21st April at 23.25 to frighten the b'Jesus out of a small Irish community. You have been warned......
BBC4 are about to wind up the remaining episodes of Our Friends In The North, as follows:
- 1984 - on Wednesday 15th March at 22.00
- 1987 - on Wednesday 22nd March at 22.00
- 1995 - on Wednesday 29th March at 22.00
You can catch Catherine Cookson's Tilly Trotter on UKTV Drama as follows:
- parts 1 & 2: on Saturday 11th March at 21.00, repeated a little later in the early hours of Sunday 12th March at 03.00
- parts 3 & 4: on Saturday 18th March at 21.00, repeated a little later in the early hours of Sunday 19th March at 00.35
And yes, Nick Junior are still letting the famous mouse-dancer Angelina Ballerina cavort across the stage every day of the week at 10.30 and 16.00
Bye for now..............
12th February 2006:
Let's start the New Year off with info on some new stuff!
To begin with, Colin has arranged and produced a new album for vocalist Norma Winstone for UK release Autumn 2006. The album was recorded with the NDR Big Band from Hamburg and is entitled It's Later Than You Think, and they have already played a few dates in Germany in support of the album
Colin has been commissioned by the Hessischer Rundfunk Big Band in Frankfurt, Germany to arrange, record and perform a Mahavishnu Orchestra project, which will feature drummer-extraordinaire Billy Cobham. Three gigs have already taken place in January 2006, with the possibility of more in the pipeline
Not content with that, Colin then went on the road for a seven date tour in February with his Frank Zappa's Hot Licks (And Funny Smells) project, complete with Hamburg's NDR Big Band
Tying in nicely with the first item above(!), on 23rd March Colin will be performing at the Jazz Ahead Festival with Norma Winstone and the NDR Big Band. They will be performing their critically acclaimed Frank Zappa's Hot Licks (And Funny Smells) as well as Norma's It's Later Than You Think project, and are on stage between 8.00 - 10.30PM. For further details visit ww.jazzahead.de
ITV3 are currently re-running Chiller, as follows:
- Here Comes The Mirror Man - on Sunday 19th February at 23.20
- episode 3: Number Six - Sunday 26th February at 23.45
BBC4 are showing the epic Our Friends In The North, as follows:
- 1966 - on Wednesday 15th February at 22.30
- 1967 - on Wednesday 22nd February at 22.00
- 1970 - on Wednesday 29th February at 23.10
The film Man Dancin' will be shown on BBC3 on Friday 3rd March at 23.00
Catherine Cookson fans will be glad to hear that the following adaptations will soon be shown on UKTV Drama:
- The Girl on Saturday 4th March at 21.00, repeated a little later in the early hours of Sunday 5th March at 01.00
- Tilly Trotter - parts 1 & 2 on Saturday 11th March at 21.00, repeated a little later in the early hours of Sunday 12th March at 03.00
- Tilly Trotter - parts 3 & 4 on Saturday 18th March at 21.00, repeated a little later in the early hours of Sunday 19th March at 00.35
Nick Junior are still running Angelina Ballerina every day of the week at 10.30 and 16.00
Back soon..............