Well we are almost at the close of 2020 - Can't Wait! we hear you exclaim!

2020 certainly has been a year to re-assess things, and we have done just that.

Although we weren't really planning it, here we are 13 tracks in (lucky for some!) to a concept album. It is called Kartoon World and through the eyes of The Korgis charts the evolution of humanity from it's very beginning (around 1980!) all the way through to 2030. There are high points and low points, but it begins and ends with love! The opening track 'Bringing Back the Spirit of Love' is already out there as a single and sets the tone admirably. In case you think it will be a one trick pony, check out the other single 'The Ghost of You' to be reassured. The album is as varied as the roots of it's members and some of the songs are very reminiscent of Stackgridge... did we hear a few Hooray's going off in the distance there?
 

We are also having to figure out what to leave off the vinyl version!... because YES!... THERE WILL BE A VINYL VERSION!
We didn't just want to take our pop mixes and put them on the black stuff though - we wanted a return to a much more open sound, so the record version (can we use that term?) will be a different mix. Also because the track list will be different, not all of the songs will link together in the same way.

We also took the opportunity to look at the boring business side. In an effort to 'get down with the kids' we started to research the streaming sites and were flabbergasted to find that we have an enormous following on Spotify and Apple Music. On Spotify alone we have over 10,000 followers and around 400,000 listens per month! Some other mouth-watering statistics include, back in April last year, more than 18,000 people were listening to Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime at the same moment in 92 countries! The other real surprise is that worldwide our second most popular song is 'Don't Look Back' having been a massive hit in South America. There wasn't even a video made for this song - maybe that is a project for the new year - a new version and a new video!

The bottom line here is that we are mighty encouraged that there is still a lot of interest. Of course the people who signed up here knew it all along, and we thank you for that!

James, John and Al have been hard at work mixing and mastering the new songs and we can't wait for you to hear them! The plan is to bring out another few singles and hopefully spring the album on you March or April time. Perhaps the world will be a better place for that and many other reasons at that time!

When all this is over we are going to come round and hug you all personally! 
It just remains to wish you all a happy and safe Christmas.

James, John, Al, Paul, Ava, Jay, Emmy, Dave and Nigel.

Hi guys, and thank you for being so patient in these trying times!

We have had many people asking which gigs are on and which are off. Obviously our lovely little tour of The Netherlands went by the wayside as did The 100 Club gig. The 100 Club is tentatively scheduled for September 3rd - but we are possibly being a bit hopeful there.

Sadly our dates at The Cavern and Black Dyke Mills are being postponed. We will be looking for dates as early as we safely can, but no point in making predictions on that as yet.

James and Al have also had to postpone the James Warren and his Mighty Miniature Orchestra gig, as even if The Rondo were to miraculously reopen by July 3rd, we would not be able to physically rehearse this rather complex show. When it happens it will be spectacular though!

We reckon our gigs have been getting better and better, so it has been very frustrating to be cut off in our prime - if you can talk about people of our age being in our prime!

Something we are crucially aware of, is how precarious the future for all venues is, when we eventually come through this pandemic. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that a venue cannot survive on half full houses if there were to be enforced social distancing. We are rather hoping that it will be left at the discretion of each person to judge how safe they feel and not legislated, as that will be the death knell for many venues. Maybe a good way to look at it is, when there is more chance of being run over by a bus, than of catching Corona Virus, then perhaps that is the time to go out again - and those stats will be with us probably sooner than the press would suggest.

In the meantime we have been going through a bit of a creative spurt with two new songs released - albeit with a few more Korgis to add to the final versions! There are also a good few new songs peeking over the horizon. John Baker and James Warren got together last week for the first writing session, and James & Al have begun regular writing/recording slots. Other members of the band will be brought in when it becomes more feasible to do so. In case you missed it here is the 2nd release - the 1st one being covered in a previous blog. As there are such a lot of conspiracy theorists raising their heads at the mo, we thought the video could reflect that. Rarely has there been such paranoia coming from all directions!
This Is A New Low

Our resident creative art genius Leah Darknell - she animated the video of Colours - has been coming up with a series of cartoons called Keeping Up With The Korgis. This is a somewhat fictitious account of what we have all been up to during lockdown. Here are the first two... and if you want a to see them unfold then head over to Keeping Up With The Korgis. She says there are also Easter Eggs, but it is way past Easter so no idea about that one!!!
We will post them there slightly earlier than on Facebook and Twitter.

We really hope to be able to catch up with you all in person before too long, and before we all go STIR CRAZY!
Meanwhile stay safe - only you can know what safe feels like for you. We will continue to listen to your thoughts and try to base our return to gigging on when the time is right for the majority. A great gig is not really a great gig without an audience!
Thanks for being patient with us during this time.
James, John, Al, Paul, Nigel, Emmy, Jay, Ava and Dave.