Photo: © Noel Buckley/GRTR!

GRTR! Archive, Sunday 12 February, 14:00 "Life Is A Long Song" repeat
David Randall talks to Ian Anderson

Previous highlights:

Saturday 5 November 2011 16:00

Ian Anderson chats to Pete Feenstra in September 2009.

Podcast

February 2010, Featured Artist
"Heroes", Sunday February 28, 21:00 "Life Is A Long Song"
David Randall talks to Ian Anderson

"Heroes", Sunday June 12 2011, 18:00 (repeat)

Playlist

IAN ANDERSON Life Is A Long Song/My God
from Ian Anderson Plays The Orchestral Jethro Tull (2005)
JETHRO TULL Living In The Past
from Live In Montreux 2003 (2007)
IAN ANDERSON In The Grip Of Stronger Stuff
from Divinities Twelve Dances With God (1995)
JETHRO TULL Aqualung
from 25th Anniversary Special Edition (1996)
IAN ANDERSON Fly By Night
from Walk Into Light (1983)

Sunday, 28 August 2011 22:00 (Monday 29 August, Friday 2 September 22:00 repeat)

Ian Anderson chats to David Randall about his hatred of festivals and his forthcoming tour in the UK.  Plus our usual mix of new and classic rock.

Podcast

IAN ANDERSON

Elder statesmen of rock maybe, but there seems no slowing down for Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull.  Now in their forty-third year, they embark on an extensive UK tour in February 2010. 

Ian Anderson M.B.E. started out musically in the early sixties in Blackpool and formed the first line-up of the Jethro Tull band in 1967.  He has been the mainstay ever since, together with guitarist Martin Barre who replaced Mick Abrahams in 1969.  The band's album highpoint is generally perceived as "Aqualung", released in 1971.

In spite of many line-up changes through the years, the band have retained their signature sound: a mixture of English folk, rock, blues and progressive.  In the late eighties they even surfed the tide of popular taste and received a Grammy for "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" for the album ' Crest Of A Knave' (1987).

With a band famed for its longevity, inevitably there have been several key anniversary releases: in 1988 a boxed set "20 Years of Jethro Tull" included BBC sessions and outtakes whilst in 1993 the 25th Anniversary celebration came in the shape of a sumptuous cigar box.

Separately, Ian Anderson released his first solo album in 1983 'Into the Light', a collaboration with Peter-John Vitesse who at that time was also keyboard player with Tull.  In 1995 came 'Divinities: Twelve Dances with God", and later 'The Secret Language of Birds' (2000) and 'Rupi's Dance' (2003).

A multi-instrumentalist, Anderson is best-known for his flute playing and almost single-handedly brought that instrument into a rock format, allied to his very visual approach which although easily parodied remains an iconic image of 1970's rock music.

Ian Anderson tours in the UK in September 2011:

Sat 3rd Shrewsbury Theatre Severn
Sun 4th Gloucester Guildhall
Mon 5th Northampton The Deco
Tue 6th Bristol St Georges
Wed 7th Exeter Corn Exchange
Fri 9th Hayes The Beck Theatre
Sat 10th London Union Chapel
Sun 11th Camberley Camberley Theatre
Sun 18th Buxton Opera House
Mon 19th Gateshead Sage
Tue 20th York Grand Opera House
Wed 21st Grimsby Central Hall
Thurs 22nd Burnley The Mechanics

Featured Heroes

Gig review (2010)

Jethro Tull website