Jethro Tull & Roger Chapman at the Summer Pops, Liverpool

Gill had, rightly, reproached me a couple of times when I'd said to people that I wanted to go to see Jethro Tull while they were still alive, and I was worried that we may be disappointed by a pale version of the mighty Tull that I only know from vinyl records of yore.

Roger Chapman

It was a bit of a shock then, that my first glimpse of support man Roger Chapman was a ghostly looking figure in pale clothes, lit by white light, but as soon as he opened his mouth it was clear that Roger Chapman was very much alive and well. Gill was far more familiar with his work than I, but the whole audience was treated to a varied set of covers and originals, ending up with a couple of Family favourites. Highlight for me was Dylan's "Ballad of Blind..." but the whole set was full of energy and those who sat it out missed out on a good one.

For the three of us (Andy was along too), a bonus appeared when we were asked if we would like to vacate our (cheap) restricted view seats for a better view and were led willingly to the front row! This gave us a grandstand view for the last few songs from Roger Chapman, and as the rest of the band slunk off at the end, he launched into a solo version of another song for a few bars before turning away with a muttered comment, something about "... enough ... " Roger Chapman, despite my initial shock, still very much alive!

Jethro Tull

A few minutes to wait before the lights dimmed again and the unmistakable flute and vocals of one I Anderson emerged from the speakers and the piratatic leader immediately set about proving that fears of his demise are very much exaggerated. Anderson led a brilliant and powerful set, rightly recognising that 99% of this middle aged audience had come to hear their old favourites, and he gave us what we wanted, so much so that I recognised many of the songs despite not having listened to a Tull recording since, well not long after CDs came out. "Thick as a Brick, Jack in the Green", "Aqualung". "Locomotive Breath" were all in there, as were the quirky little introductions and the slightly embarassed retort to the roar that greeted the end of "Thick as Brick", "careful now, at your age you shouldn't get so excited!"

It was great to be able to see Martin Barre in action on guitar from right under his nose, and you could see the concentration that went into making the sounds, my only minor complaint of the whole set was that when he had finished his instrumental solo, Anderson was back on so fast that he had barely time to wave his thanks for the applause before the rest of the band were off into the next song. Otherwise all I can say is what a great set, and I wish I had made the effort earlier in their career.

A final word for Jonathon Noyce the bassist whose demeanor is rather laid back anyway (as I have since learnt by watching films of other performances), who managed to look like he had just left his job in a bank and come on stage still wearing his suit and tie and rather trendy specs - too cool for comment really.