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Big Big Train | |
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.jpg) Big Big Train in 2024. Left to right: Claire Lindley, Alberto Bravin, Paul Mitchell, Oskar Holldorff, Rikard Sjöblom, Gregory Spawton and Nick D'Virgilio. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Bournemouth, Dorset, England |
| Genres | Progressive rock, post-rock, new prog |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Labels | English Electric, Giant Electric Pea, Inside Out Music |
| Members | Gregory Spawton Nick D'Virgilio Rikard Sjöblom Clare Lindley Alberto Bravin Oskar Holldorff |
| Past members | Andy Poole Ian Cooper Steve Hughes Martin Read Tony Müller Pete Hibbit Phil Hogg Sean Filkins David Longdon Dave Gregory Danny Manners Rachel Hall Dave Foster Carly Bryant |
| Website | bigbigtrain.com |
Big Big Train are an English progressive rock band formed in Bournemouth in 1990. The current line-up includes band founder Gregory Spawton (bass, guitars and keyboards), along with Nick D'Virgilio (drums, guitars and keyboards), Rikard Sjöblom (guitars and keyboards), Clare Lindley (violin and vocals), Alberto Bravin (vocals, guitar and keyboards) and Oskar Holldorff (keyboards and vocals). Until 2009, the band were active as a predominantly studio project led by Spawton and co-founder Andy Poole (bass, keyboards and guitars), who departed the band in 2018, with changing line-ups and guest musicians. They have released fifteen studio albums and six EPs.
After starting out as an independent band, Big Big Train were signed to Giant Electric Pea from 1993 to 1998[1] and distributed their releases through their own website. Since their sixth album, The Underfall Yard, which received critical acclaim from the progressive rock community,[2][3] a more stable line-up has been established, and the band performed their first live concerts in 17 years at Kings Place, London, in August 2015. The gigs were voted Event of the Year by the readers of Prog magazine. Stone & Steel, a Blu-ray featuring the 2014 rehearsals at Real World Studios and four of the songs performed at Kings Place, was released on 21 March 2016. Big Big Train were the winners of the Breakthrough Award at the Progressive Music Awards held at Kew Gardens, London on 3 September 2013, and have been nominated in several other categories in recent years.
The band's latest studio album,The Likes Of Us, was released in March 2024. Their previous studio album, Welcome to the Planet, was released in January 2022. Ingenious Devices, a compilation album of re-recorded material with David Longdon's original vocals and one live track with their new singer Alberto Brevin, was released on 30 June 2023.
Big Big Train embarked on their first UK tour in October 2019. Scheduled dates for the band's first ever North American and European tours in 2020 were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[4] Their first US tour finally took place in March 2024, and included two appearances at Cruise to the Edge. The band embarked on a limited tour of the UK and Europe in late September/early October 2024, predominantly featuring tracks from their latest album, The Likes Of Us.
- ^ "Band History – Going independent (1995–2002)". Bigbigtrain.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ "The Daily Vault Music Reviews". Dailyvault.com. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ "Babyblaue Prog-Reviews: Big Big Train: The Underfall Yard: Review". Babyblaue-seiten.de. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ "Big Big Train cancel North American tour dates; Dave Gregory leaves band". The Prog Report. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.