Big Big Train v. "The Likes Of Us" OUT NOW; European Tour Sept/Oct 2024!

[Zydar]

What a lovely song, and Alberto has a fine voice.

[majo]

amazing song 

[Zydar]

Gregory posted the lyrics and the back story at the official BBT Facebook group:

"I have had a few requests for the lyrics to the new BBT song and they can be found below. The song is about the feeling that many people have (certainly I did) of not fitting in very well or of being an outsider. This feeling was particularly prevalent for me when I went to secondary school (a big scary grammar school in the Midlands.) The school was very focused on sports and, in order to fully fit in, it seemed like the kids needed to be successful on the rugby or cricket fields. Those who were less sporty were consigned to make-up-the-numbers teams (the teams were literally called 'Extras'). The funny thing was, some of us in Extras were actually quite good at some aspects of sport (never judge a book by its cover...) so we would sometimes get one over on the cool kids. At the centre of the narrative of the song is a real-life duel I had during one cricket match. I felt quite lost at the school for some time, but eventually found a group of people who had shared interests of rock music and fantasy role playing games. These people became my friends (some of them still to this day). I realised that there was a place for almost everyone and this is the core theme of Last Eleven, that even when you sometimes feel left behind there will always be people who are similarly lost and are waiting to be found or who will be there to find others in a similar situation".

There we were standing in line
Late to bloom, slow to shine
We wait for our turn to come around
Shadows lengthen on the ground

Then we are found
Together we are stronger
We can take wing and scale the heights
Hang out in the long grass if we like
Or build ourselves a home
With towers that reach the sky

So, here we stand
He wants to knock me out the park
I send a full-pelter through
Warming up, getting in the groove
It's not who they think you are
But what you choose to be

We were the last eleven
Those left behind
The oversights, the extras
The make-up-the-numbers
The footnotes in other stories
Low-deckers, slow starters
Don't-give-them-a-second-glancers
Shallow enders

This time I had the length just right
Fast paced I sent his wicket flying
Sometimes the quiet ones can roar
Those at the back come to the fore
There's hope enough for us all
And light left in the day

We were the last eleven
Those left behind
The oversights, the extras
The make-up-the-numbers
The footnotes in other stories
Low-deckers, slow starters
Don't-give-them-a-second-glancers
Shallow enders

We stepped out from the shadows
Headed for the light
Blinking and stumbling
Hoping it will all be alright
We came up from the darkness
Turned our faces to the sun
Together we were stronger
We were not the only ones

Shallow enders, last eleven
Are we nearly there yet?
Can the likes of us
Find a place to call our own?

Shallow enders, last eleven
Are we nearly there yet?
Can the likes of us
Find a place to call our own?

[HOF]

Wonderful songwriting as always by Mr. Spawton!

[Kram]

This is an incredible song.  I’ve listed to it 4 or 5 times now and the melodies are totally stuck in my head.  I CANNOT wait to get a whole new album with Alberto now. Very excited for the bands future.

[HOF]

Fun video of NDV geeking out over his new symbols for the BBT tour. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bNlQH8jwBk

You may not want want to watch him unboxing and assembling them, but he starts demoing everything around 18 minutes, or just skip to 26 minutes to watch him playing a few minutes of Apollo.

[The Curious Orange]

Fun video of NDV geeking out over his new symbols for the BBT tour. 

I'd watch that, but I'd rather wait to see him geeking out over his new cymbals.

[/pedantry]

[HOF]

Fun video of NDV geeking out over his new symbols for the BBT tour. 

I'd watch that, but I'd rather wait to see him geeking out over his new cymbals.

[/pedantry]

Ah, late night posting. 

[The Letter M]

https://youtu.be/WG9NgDcOI3k

Rehearsal snippet for their upcoming shows! Happy to see them playing one of my favorite songs! (Not saying the title so I don't spoil it for anyone going to the shows next month).

-Marc.

[HOF]

https://youtu.be/WG9NgDcOI3k

Rehearsal snippet for their upcoming shows! Happy to see them playing one of my favorite songs! (Not saying the title so I don't spoil it for anyone going to the shows next month).

-Marc.

Agreed. [Redacted] is sounding great with the new lineup!

[Kram]

https://youtu.be/WG9NgDcOI3k

Rehearsal snippet for their upcoming shows! Happy to see them playing one of my favorite songs! (Not saying the title so I don't spoil it for anyone going to the shows next month).

-Marc.

Sounds incredible.  Man, I hope they can figure out a way to do some US shows next year.

[Zydar]

First show of the tour today, and also Alberto's first show with BBT. Thornden Hall with Dim Gray as support act.

[HOF]

First show of the tour today, and also Alberto's first show with BBT. Thornden Hall with Dim Gray as support act.

Bet this will be an amazing experience for those who can attends. Looks like the hall seats fewer than 500. Dim Gray apparently went down very well at one of the recent Marillion weekends. Planning to order a copy of the new album based on what I’ve heard so far (it’s out tomorrow).

[Kram]

First show of the tour today, and also Alberto's first show with BBT. Thornden Hall with Dim Gray as support act.

Bet this will be an amazing experience for those who can attends. Looks like the hall seats fewer than 500. Dim Gray apparently went down very well at one of the recent Marillion weekends. Planning to order a copy of the new album based on what I’ve heard so far (it’s out tomorrow).

Can't wait to see the setlist and hopefully some YouTube clips.

[The Letter M]

First show of the tour today, and also Alberto's first show with BBT. Thornden Hall with Dim Gray as support act.

Bet this will be an amazing experience for those who can attends. Looks like the hall seats fewer than 500. Dim Gray apparently went down very well at one of the recent Marillion weekends. Planning to order a copy of the new album based on what I’ve heard so far (it’s out tomorrow).

Can't wait to see the setlist and hopefully some YouTube clips.

Here it is, for anyone who wants to see it! No spoilers here though, at least not until these current run of shows are done!

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/big-big-train/2022/thornden-hall-eastleigh-england-23b0a893.html

First impressions - it's a REALLY banger setlist. A really good mix of material across their catalog! I'm really excited to (eventually) get this set on CD/BD at some point. If it was stated before, I have forgotten, but has it been said which of these shows will be recorded for future release?

-Marc.

[HOF]

Nice! Without spoiling too much, the majority of those have never been played live before. Greg did mention in one of his tour diaries I think that they may change up the set a bit from show to show as well.

Also, it’s the Zoetermere show on 9/5 that is being filmed (the last of the three they are playing).

[The Letter M]

Nice! Without spoiling too much, the majority of those have never been played live before. Greg did mention in one of his tour diaries I think that they may change up the set a bit from show to show as well.

Also, it’s the Zoetermere show on 9/5 that is being filmed (the last of the three they are playing).

Ah okay, the Boerderij in Zoetermeer is a good venue, I think, if it's the same one that I've seen other bands record at before. If they are switching up some songs on the set between the three shows, I hope they at least have audio recordings for today's Southampton and Aylesbury shows to give us the non-Zoetermeer songs as bonus tracks on the CDs. I would love to have a documentation of every song played during this 3-show stint!

Doesn't seem like there are any clips of the warm-up show on YouTube just yet. Cannot wait to see some pop up!

-Marc.

[HOF]

Nice! Without spoiling too much, the majority of those have never been played live before. Greg did mention in one of his tour diaries I think that they may change up the set a bit from show to show as well.

Also, it’s the Zoetermere show on 9/5 that is being filmed (the last of the three they are playing).

Ah okay, the Boerderij in Zoetermeer is a good venue, I think, if it's the same one that I've seen other bands record at before. If they are switching up some songs on the set between the three shows, I hope they at least have audio recordings for today's Southampton and Aylesbury shows to give us the non-Zoetermeer songs as bonus tracks on the CDs. I would love to have a documentation of every song played during this 3-show stint!

Doesn't seem like there are any clips of the warm-up show on YouTube just yet. Cannot wait to see some pop up!

-Marc.

Wouldn’t be surprised if they get some footage of the first two shows that they put out for Passengers Club members at least.

[Kram]

First show of the tour today, and also Alberto's first show with BBT. Thornden Hall with Dim Gray as support act.

Bet this will be an amazing experience for those who can attends. Looks like the hall seats fewer than 500. Dim Gray apparently went down very well at one of the recent Marillion weekends. Planning to order a copy of the new album based on what I’ve heard so far (it’s out tomorrow).

Can't wait to see the setlist and hopefully some YouTube clips.

Here it is, for anyone who wants to see it! No spoilers here though, at least not until these current run of shows are done!

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/big-big-train/2022/thornden-hall-eastleigh-england-23b0a893.html

First impressions - it's a REALLY banger setlist. A really good mix of material across their catalog! I'm really excited to (eventually) get this set on CD/BD at some point. If it was stated before, I have forgotten, but has it been said which of these shows will be recorded for future release?

-Marc.

Yes, awesome setlist.  A few songs I would not of expected - and a few songs are missing that I would have expected - but overall a great setlist.  Will be interesting to see if it changes at all tonight.

[The Letter M]

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/big-big-train/2022/aylesbury-waterside-theatre-aylesbury-england-2bb0a88e.html

Set for Aylesbury is up.

-Marc.

[HOF]

Nice to see that past BBT guest bassist Pete Trewavas attended the Ayelsbury show.

[Kram]

I’ve been trying to find some YouTube clips but coming up empty.

[Pebsie]

I’ve been trying to find some YouTube clips but coming up empty.

They were very strict on no phones during the gig, so you won’t be finding any. I’m exceptionally grateful for that rule, having to watch the concert through someone’s phone is always such a distraction.

[Kram]

I’ve been trying to find some YouTube clips but coming up empty.

They were very strict on no phones during the gig, so you won’t be finding any. I’m exceptionally grateful for that rule, having to watch the concert through someone’s phone is always such a distraction.

I figured that and respect that. I’m just dying to see a clip of the new lineup with Alberto.  Hopefully they’ll release an official live clip for us fans who could not attend.

[HOF]

Nice review of the Ayelsburry show here (setlist spoilers) with some great pictures. I like how they went with a simpler light show and backdrop in lieu of the animations and video clips approach.

https://atthebarrier.com/2022/09/04/big-big-train-dim-gray-waterside-theatre-aylesbury-live-review/?fbclid=IwAR3jFqGc6SRCsoedWQi7KiEq5i_MW9u4PngTY00Fdp4tAZHeE1AH2KxBy7U

[The Letter M]

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/big-big-train/2022/de-boerderij-zoetermeer-netherlands-4bb08f5e.html

Setlist for the show in Zoetermeer is up, for those who are curious!

-Marc.

[HOF]

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/big-big-train/2022/de-boerderij-zoetermeer-netherlands-4bb08f5e.html

Setlist for the show in Zoetermeer is up, for those who are curious!

-Marc.

That’s the one that will supposedly be filmed/released. Sad that Proper Jack Forster didn’t make it into this one (it was played only at the warm up gig).

[The Letter M]

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/big-big-train/2022/de-boerderij-zoetermeer-netherlands-4bb08f5e.html

Setlist for the show in Zoetermeer is up, for those who are curious!

-Marc.

That’s the one that will supposedly be filmed/released. Sad that Proper Jack Forster didn’t make it into this one (it was played only at the warm up gig).

Several songs didn't make it to Zoetermeer, which got "East Coast Racer" the only time among these 3 shows. The songs they didn't play at Zoetermeer include "Summer's Lease", "Snowfalls", "Proper Jack Froster".

Overall they played 16 different songs between the three shows, and hopefully the three they didn't play at Zoetermeer make it as bonus tracks on the CD and/or BD, or at least show up on YouTube or The Passengers Club.

-Marc.

[HOF]

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/big-big-train/2022/de-boerderij-zoetermeer-netherlands-4bb08f5e.html

Setlist for the show in Zoetermeer is up, for those who are curious!

-Marc.

That’s the one that will supposedly be filmed/released. Sad that Proper Jack Forster didn’t make it into this one (it was played only at the warm up gig).

Several songs didn't make it to Zoetermeer, which got "East Coast Racer" the only time among these 3 shows. The songs they didn't play at Zoetermeer include "Summer's Lease", "Snowfalls", "Proper Jack Froster".

Overall they played 16 different songs between the three shows, and hopefully the three they didn't play at Zoetermeer make it as bonus tracks on the CD and/or BD, or at least show up on YouTube or The Passengers Club.

-Marc.

Yeah, it’s kind of a shame because the Thornden Hall setlist was the most interesting of the three to me, and the Zoetermeer show contains mostly material previously played live.

[The Letter M]

https://thebandwagonusa.com/collections/big-big-train

The 2022/2023 tour t-shirt and program are now available for US fans to purchase! Just ordered one of each for myself! I'm especially excited for the program since I am in it!

-Marc.

[Kram]

https://thebandwagonusa.com/collections/big-big-train

The 2022/2023 tour t-shirt and program are now available for US fans to purchase! Just ordered one of each for myself! I'm especially excited for the program since I am in it!

-Marc.

How are you in the tour program?

[The Letter M]

https://thebandwagonusa.com/collections/big-big-train

The 2022/2023 tour t-shirt and program are now available for US fans to purchase! Just ordered one of each for myself! I'm especially excited for the program since I am in it!

-Marc.

How are you in the tour program?

Pasengers were asked to submit small blurbs about "Songs that make you sing" and many of us had our blurb and photo inserted into the program! It was originally supposed to be for earlier this year but because of the canceled NA shows and all that, they all got pushed into this fall program.

-Marc.

[Kram]

https://thebandwagonusa.com/collections/big-big-train

The 2022/2023 tour t-shirt and program are now available for US fans to purchase! Just ordered one of each for myself! I'm especially excited for the program since I am in it!

-Marc.

How are you in the tour program?

Pasengers were asked to submit small blurbs about "Songs that make you sing" and many of us had our blurb and photo inserted into the program! It was originally supposed to be for earlier this year but because of the canceled NA shows and all that, they all got pushed into this fall program.

-Marc.

Very cool. Which song did you comment on?

[The Letter M]

https://thebandwagonusa.com/collections/big-big-train

The 2022/2023 tour t-shirt and program are now available for US fans to purchase! Just ordered one of each for myself! I'm especially excited for the program since I am in it!

-Marc.

How are you in the tour program?

Pasengers were asked to submit small blurbs about "Songs that make you sing" and many of us had our blurb and photo inserted into the program! It was originally supposed to be for earlier this year but because of the canceled NA shows and all that, they all got pushed into this fall program.

-Marc.

Very cool. Which song did you comment on?

My submission was for "Kingmaker", which was one of the first BBT songs I'd ever heard. I've definitely made it known before how much I love that song, and I actually listened to it first on one of the PROG Magazine sampler CDs! Definitely one of my all-time favorite BBT pieces, and if I ever get the chance to see them live here in the US, I hope they play it.

-Marc.

[Kram]

https://thebandwagonusa.com/collections/big-big-train

The 2022/2023 tour t-shirt and program are now available for US fans to purchase! Just ordered one of each for myself! I'm especially excited for the program since I am in it!

-Marc.

How are you in the tour program?

Pasengers were asked to submit small blurbs about "Songs that make you sing" and many of us had our blurb and photo inserted into the program! It was originally supposed to be for earlier this year but because of the canceled NA shows and all that, they all got pushed into this fall program.

-Marc.

Very cool. Which song did you comment on?

My submission was for "Kingmaker", which was one of the first BBT songs I'd ever heard. I've definitely made it known before how much I love that song, and I actually listened to it first on one of the PROG Magazine sampler CDs! Definitely one of my all-time favorite BBT pieces, and if I ever get the chance to see them live here in the US, I hope they play it.

-Marc.

Great song, and man I hope they get to play some shows in the US next year.  I will definitely travel to go see them if they do. Probably multiple shows for that matter.