Two bits of news today. The first is Rick Wakeman (keyboardist of various band fames, including Yes) is to perform his rock opera The Myths and Legends of King Arthur for the first time in more than 35 years. The original score went missing after a performance in London at the Empire Pool (now Wembley Arena).

The show will be performed at Gloucester’s Kingsholm Stadium as part of the Medieval Mystery Play Festival in 2013. Mr Wakeman said he was “really looking forward to playing it” next June. Wakeman said, “We’ve been extending the whole thing, re-orchestrating it, keeping the original orchestrations and adding loads more stuff to it.

Secondly, Blur’s live performance from Hyde Park for the Closing Celebrations of the Olympics is to be released on DVD. The Park Live collection could be the swan song for the band, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Blur are also putting together a deluxe Parklive box set which is to include the three CDs, a live DVD, an additional CD of songs from Blur’s 100 Club Concert in early August and a 60-page hardback book with photographs from the mini-tour.

I’ll have a review of the Blur show I saw up soon, I promise. A little teaser for now…

and then blur played…

You’ll have to wait for the rest.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-19319470

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/9478071/Blur-to-release-Hyde-Park-live-album.html

(Image from NME.com)