Four strings or 12 strings in rock band Big Big Train
Wessex
Joined September 2014
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To my eternal shame, I joined in with the crowd in booing Talk Talk when they played at the Genesis reunion show in 1982. Talk Talk went on to play incredible performances likes this and released a three album run that is about as good as it gets.
No matter how many times I listen to this, I cannot get over how incredible this sounds live! #TalkTalk
Here’s an update on some work we have been doing on revisiting the very early days of @bigbigtrain
open.substack.com/pub/german…
A new Substack post from me on whether the charts still matter to rock bands.
open.substack.com/pub/german…
Gregory Spawton retweeted
New podcast: Across @bigbigtrain's shifting line-ups, Greg Spawton’s songs connect the earliest records to their latest album, Woodcut. @gmspeedwell selects 8 tracks from Big Big Train’s catalogue that help tell their story @insideouteu @burningshednews thestrangebrew.co.uk/greg-sp…
Here’s a new Substack post on what happens in the time between an album being submitted to a record label and its release: open.substack.com/pub/german…
Counting Stars, which has been released today (14th January) is the final single ahead of Big Big Train’s Woodcut album and is one of my favourites of all the many songs I have written or co-written over the years.
Gregory Spawton retweeted
Big Big Train’s Gregory Spawton @gmspeedwell on record cover art: substack.com/@germanderspeed…
Gregory Spawton retweeted
We have launched a new website today to provide further information on the world of Woodcut. Follow the link to sign up and dive in:
Today, @bigbigtrain are delighted to launch The Artist’s Workshop. The Workshop is a microsite dedicated to Woodcut. To access the workshop, either pre-save the new album or subscribe to the mailing list. woodcut.bigbigtrain.com/
Gregory Spawton retweeted
Big Big Train are delighted to announce the Woodcut & Other Stories Tour, which will take place in autumn 2026. The band will play 18 shows across the UK, Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Switzerland.
Here are some thoughts from me on concept albums:
open.substack.com/pub/german…
Gregory Spawton retweeted
Big Big Train’s forthcoming album, Woodcut, was featured in the Sunday Times yesterday.
I’ve written a short blog post about the re-issue of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway:
open.substack.com/pub/german…
Here’s a new blog post which talks about finishing the mix for the forthcoming Big Big Train album, catching up on some rock books and rockumentaries and an unexpected meeting with an old prog friend.
open.substack.com/pub/german…
All the glamour of touring life can be found here:
The final part of Gregory Spawton’s @gmspeedwell 2025 Big Big Train tour diary, which features beer, bath-plugs and Bill Bruford, is now online. Link in the next Tweet.
Here is the final part of my diary for our North American tour. We’d like to thank all listeners who came out to support us or who followed the Big Big Train tour via social media. We are, as ever, hugely grateful.
germanderspeedwell.substack.…
Tony Banks offered me the wisdom of his long experience when this photo was taken: ‘never stand at the edge of the frame when the cameraman has a wide angle lens’. Sadly, I did not take his advice and so ended up looking like an overweight giant.
Tony Banks and Nick Davis pictured with @bigbigtrain at their @cadoganhall show in 2017.
📸 Michael Heller
