wembley stadium

“Where the hell are my lemon-scented towels…?!”

We supported the Mystery Jets a few years ago, and I remember being struck by their quirky backstage rider. As I documented in my tour diary of the experience, the Jets memorably demanded that a clutch of hot roast chickens be delivered to their dressing room before the performance, along with assorted crudités and of course the customary crate of Moet & Chandon.

This actually led me to imagine what our own fantasy rider would be when we eventually got to play Wembley Stadium, and it looked something like this:

– 2 eggcups of freshly distilled Peruvian mountain spring water faintly infused with the tears of a virgin
– A copy of 80s robot-comedy Short Circuit on VHS
– Clippings from Des Lynam’s beard
– A bag of eels
– 1 metric ton of paprika Snack-A-Jacks
– A 10-foot high decorative tapestry depicting the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169 made from Faberge Eggs and snowflakes
– A box of damp otters
– Chesney Hawkes
– A speedboat

As turns out, we actually did play Wembley the following year – four times – but, true to form for The Lightyears, instead of acting like proper rockstars and demanding a wheelbarrow full of live squid (or similar), we were actually just really polite and said ‘a few sandwiches might be nice, but please don’t trouble yourselves’. Classic.

While we’re on this subject, NME recently published a list of the 40 strangest rockstar rider requests. Here are some of my favourites:

– Marilyn Manson: a bald, toothless hooker and a bag of gummi bears
– Eminem: a wooden pond for his koi carp
– J-Lo: demanded that her coffee was to be stirred anticlockwise
– Led Zeppelin: an iron and an ironing board
– Lily Allen: 12 packets of Monster Munch
– Motley Crue: a submachine gun and a 12-foot boa constrictor

What a bunch of mentalists.

ps. Here’s our behind-the-scenes video from the Mystery Jets gig:

“Nothing really matters…”

Today we awake to the news that Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody has been voted the nation’s favourite Number 1 single as part of an ITV series called, um… well, called The Nation’s Favourite Number 1 Single.

First off, let’s spare a thought for all those fans of The Ketchup Song, Shaddap You Face and most importantly Blazin’ Squad’s early Noughties smash-hit Crossroads who were let down by the decision. I’m sorry Flava, Frenzie, Tommy-B, Freek & the gang – you may rap like Reebok-clad angels but I’m afraid your falsetto skills fall woefully short of Freddie’s.

Secondly, this constant opinion polling is pretty bizarre. We all know how it’ll pan out – Del Boy falling through the bar is the funniest thing that’s ever happened, Star Wars is the greatest film of all time etc. So quite what the point is of yet another vote to decide that Clearly The Greatest Song Of All Time is indeed officially still The Greatest Song Of All Time does seem to have been lost somewhere in the haze. Still… people love countdowns, don’t they?

Anyhow, all that nonsense aside, Queen – we salute you. There will never be another band like Freddie, Brian, Roger and John.

Also, here in The Lightyears, we’re proud to be able to say that (along with Queen, obviously) we’re one of the few acts ever to have performed Bohemian Rhapsody at Wembley Stadium.

Mind you, we also once performed La Bamba at a jumble sale, so it’s swing and roundabouts.

Lightyears to support Eliza Doolittle at Wembley Stadium

We’ve been invited back to Wembley Stadium for the fourth time on Sunday 26 December to support Eliza Doolittle as part of the pre-match entertainment for the Saracens Vs Wasps rugby match.

Eliza Doolittle is best known for her Top 5 single ‘Pack Up‘, from her eponymous album which debuted at Number 3 in the UK charts last summer.

For those of you who have seen us play at Wembley for Saracens before, you’ll know it’s a great day out – fifty thousand people, lashings of entertainment and top flight rugby at one of the world’s greatest venues, all for the modest sum of £10 for adults and £5 for U16s.

Click here to book your tickets.

Click here to read my Wembley tour diary from our first ever performance there.

Click here to view our LYs @ Wembley Stadium photo gallery.

Happy 10th Birthday LYs…!

As we were walking out onstage at Wembley Stadium a couple of weeks ago, Tony reminded me that we played our first gig together almost exactly ten years previously, on 29 April 2000, in a tiny venue in Oxford called The Jam Factory. I can’t be certain how many people were there but it definitely wasn’t 50,000. Probably more like 20.

Either way, this makes today The Lightyears’ official 10th birthday.

Although The Lightyears per se didn’t officially come into existence until 2004, this date marked the first time George, Tony and I ever gigged together in public. As far as I’m aware, no photos exist of this momentous occasion. However, we have managed to dig out this priceless pic of the LYs (or “Satellite” as we were known at the time) busking on the Royal Mile at the Edinburgh Festival, circa 2003. Note the presence (far-right) of the only man ever to have left the band, Mr Tom Mansfield, looking (like the rest of us) rather fresh-faced.

And so… Happy Birthday to us. Here’s to the next ten years!

I think I’ve got some party poppers in the back of a cupboard somewhere…

LYs to support Right Said Fred at Wembley Stadium

That’s right – our next performance at Wembley will be in support to pop legends Right Said Fred on Saturday 17 April.

Our previous Wembley gigs have seen us performing to crowds of over 45,000 and a similarly epic attendance is anticipated for the 17th. We will be playing on the pitch from 4.30pm (surrounded by a carnival entourage of firebreathers, cheerleaders, knights on horseback, acrobats, stilt walkers and jugglers) and Right Said Fred will be onstage at 5pm. The live music will be followed by a rugby match between Saracens RFC and Harlequins. Tickets are available here at the extraordinarily reasonable price of £10 (or £5 for under-16s).

So… if you happen to be into The Lightyears, Right Said Fred, medieval circus entertainment and premiership rugby, then by Jove you’re in for a fine day.

Hope to see you there!

Our Top 20 Moments Of 2009

Christmas Time is here again and there’s enormous excitement in the air. There’s an outside chance that Rage Against The Machine will beat the X Factor to Number One on Sunday and the weather-man says that snow’s a-coming. Things literally couldn’t be any better.

We thought we’d add to the general feeling of goodwill and festivity by recounting our favourite and most memorable experiences from the past year. Most of them – whether in London, Cape Town or the USA – involved the support of our fans and we’d like to personally thank everyone who has helped us make 2009 one of our best years yet. You guys rule.

So here, in no particular order, are The Lightyears’ Top 20 Moments Of 2009:

1. Stepping out onstage at Wembley Stadium for the first time in front of 45,000 people

2. Winning over an audience of leather-clad Norwegian bikers at the Speedway Cafe in Cape Town

3. Performing a barbershop medley of British seaside tunes in front of the British Ambassador in Seoul

4. Writing a song for a national ad campaign (“Come With Me” is released on Universal Records in January)

5. Spotting our faces in train stations and on the side of buses

6. Performing for a full-house of fans, friends and family at The Lightyears’ Christmas Party

7. Playing to a crowd of thousands on a hot summer’s evening in Union Square, Manhattan

8. Working with top producers Bacon & Quarmby (David Bowie, Finley Quaye, Sugababes) on the studio release of “Come With Me”

9. Watching South Africa’s foremost FHM model Roxy Louw stage-dive into a crowd of boogying revelers at our Cape Town Tens gig

10. Being invited back to Wembley Stadium

11. Drinking Pina Coladas by the pool at the Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town

12. Seeing ourselves on TV (click here)

13. Touring the country with Josh’s Band

14. Finding out we’ve been immortalised on canvas!

15. Spotting The Lightyears in the New York Post

16. Dressing up as intergalactic space rockstars for a Forbidden Planet tribute gig

17. Selling out our latest album London, England on the US Tour

18. Celebrating the end of the Korean Tour with a Lightyears night on the tiles

19. Appearing on the same bill as Diversity, winners of Britain’s Got Talent

20. Partying with the LYs American Fan Club in Riverton, New Jersey!

Thank you Wembley… and hello Bristol!

Last night we played to 46,000 people at Wembley Stadium and who should turn up to join the crowd but that bloke off the telly, Josh Ward!

Seriously though, we had an awesome night and it was great to see so many LYs fans there. We took the opportunity to do a little onstage camera piece with Josh ahead of our trip to Bristol tonight – the next stop on Josh’s Band’s T-Mobile tour.

I studied at Bristol University so I have a special affection for the place… no idea where in the city we’re going to be or what we’re going to be doing but, if Birmingham was anything to go by, it should be cracking! Check out this quick clip from the first gig of the tour in Brum.

Expect more of the same from the rest of the tour dates – Bristol, London, Edinburgh and Manchester. Visit Josh’s Myspace page for details.

Click here to learn the lyrics and chords for our tour song, “Come With Me” (written by Chris and George Lightyear especially for Josh’s Band). Click here for the video tutorial.

Josh’s Band hits the road…

Well… Birmingham was awesome. Nobody knew quite what to expect from the first date on Josh’s Band’s tour but what we got was a mass singalong in the Bullring, just enough decent weather to perform outside and about 200 screaming fans! Josh, it seems, has become a minor celebrity overnight and his mere presence now sparks mass hysteria amongst his devoted groupies.

Our song, “Come With Me“, went down really well and a large proportion of the crowd had done their homework and learnt the lyrics, tune and chords (check out the video tutorial here). People were turning up with guitars, miniature drumkits, saxophones, kazoos and ukuleles and, despite the rain, British spirit endured and everybody had a whale of a time.

Next stop, Bristol – this Thursday 19 November. Details coming soon!

Now, if you’ll forgive me, I must return to Lightyears duties and go and prepare for tomorrow’s gig. Which is at Wembley Stadium. In front of 60,000 people.

Gulp.

Lightyears to play second gig at Wembley Stadium

We’re rather excited to announce that we’ve just been invited back to play Wembley Stadium again on Tuesday 17 November.

Following our performance in September in front of a crowd of nearly 45,000 people, we will be returning to the UK’s most iconic venue to play before the greatly anticipated match between Guinness Premiership leaders Saracens and world-champions South Africa.

As before, the tickets will be super-cheap – just £10 for adults and £5 for under-16s. Click here to buy yours.

The Lightyears join a superband

A couple of weeks ago, a curly-haired musician named Josh Ward (who we’ve played with a few times in the past and who has been known to wake up on our kitchen floor after Lightyears parties in a sticky puddle of champagne dressed like a sheep) was stopped in the street and asked by a camera crew what he would do if he was given free text messages for life.

Josh’s reply was simple: “I’d text all my musician friends and form a superband”.

Today, readers, The Lightyears joined that superband.

Earlier this evening we took part in an enormous jamming session in a warehouse in East London with around 40 other musicians. It was filmed by T-Mobile as part of their new ad campaign and will soon be appearing on television screens across the country.

As I happened to be the person who wrote the jam that was filmed for the final advert, I’m likely to feature in the advert quite a lot. Just as well I dressed up for the occasion eh?! You’ll probably recognise me if you see the ad because I’ll be wearing the same outfit I donned for our recent performance at Wembley Stadium (the one Danny quipped made me look like I was “out of My Chemical Romance”).

Nobody really seems to know which direction this whole “superband” idea is heading in, but I have a feeling it’s going to keep on getting bigger…. stay tuned for more!

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