Another newsletter, new albums, singles, and the tour dates for the southern hemisphere you have all been waiting for. But firstly I should bring you up to speed with regard to the band's antics leading up to this point.

Don and Tony completed a promotional radio and television tour of New Zealand in June. This coincided with the release of the new album "RainSteam & Speed" in New Zealand. The album was received with as much warmth and praise as it did in the UK entering the charts at No.10 and "Pulled Along By Love" has considerable airplay around the country. Five months ago Don returned home to New Zealand and despite the band living in different hemispheres we still rock!

The Australian single release date has been set for August 20th and is heralded however by the large amount of national coverage "Pulled Along By Love" is receiving on Triple J stations all across the country.
"Rain, Steam & Speed" is due for Australian release on September 13th.

The New Zealand and Australian tour dates are now confirmed so book tickets early to avoid disappointment.

The band are proud to announce that Matthew Bannister (Sneaky Feelings, The Dribbling Darts of Love) will be taking up the mantle of lead guitarist for the New Zealand and Australian tour. Increased critical acclaim for Chris Sheehan's own album and his performance commitments in London means that he is unable to join the band for this tour.

MARTINBOROUGH - These are two very special events. Saturday 20th November. 'Twilight Concert in the Vines' is a concert featuring The Mutton Birds and the NZSO. Each will perform on their own and during the show they will play four Mutton Birds songs together. Sunday 21st November. 'Toast Martinborough' This revered annual festival has 16 fine wineries coming together to stage a one day event of wine food and entertainment. The Mutton Birds will perform an acoustic show (time tbc) at the renowned Dry River Vineyard. Tickets for this event, which allow access to all the wineries, last year sold out in under an hour. During the time the band is in Australia they will be performing on Radio and TV. Hopefully we will be able these performances on the web site. There will be a newsletter prior to the band touring New Zealand which will have full details of the next UK tour. Hopefully at that point we will be able to make available to you a live "plugged in" album. Again thank you for your support we look forward to seeing you at the shows. Kind regards Susan M Glasgow

Cardwells

- Marjorie and David Cardwell in Melbourne run a forum for discussion of the Mutton Birds music, it is also a means of propagating information on their gigs and releases. To subscribe to the list, simply send an email to cardwell@connexus.net.au with the words "subscribe mutton birds" in the title. There is no charge to join. Any email that you oranyone else sends to the list is forwarded to everyone else on the list. It's that simple!

PAUL KELLY

- Many of you will already be familiar with Australian singer songwriter Paul Kelly. His vast canon of work spans more than a decade and ten albums. His greatest hits collection debuted at No.1 on the Australian charts and remained in the top 40 for nearly a year having reached triple platinum status.

Paul Kelly Tour Dates

Tues 31 Aug - Sat 4 Sept	Spiegeltent	Edinburgh
Tues 07 Sept	The Embassy Rooms	London
Sat 11 Sept	Shepherds Bush Empire	London
Mon 13 Sept	Roisin Dubh	Galway
Tues 14 Sept	Whelans	Dublin

"I am a huge admirer of Paul Kelly and his songs. I have been stopped in my tracks many a time by the deep atmosphere and warmth of his words and music"

    Neil Finn

"Paul Kelly is one of the finest songwriters in the business, and he makes it look so easy. His analysis is sharp, but never smug, unlike most political song writing. Steve tells me he is touring Britain soon. If he is playing in a town near you drop everything and go and see him"

    Don McGlashan

New Single

- "AsCloseAsThis" - To follow up the release of "Pulled Along By Love" we are releasing "AsCloseAsThis" (b-sides "Pulled Along By Love" & "The Falls", recorded acoustically by Don and Tony at Radio NZ session in May).
As it is available only through The Mutton Birds office demand will be high and cds limited. The singles will be available from August 31st.

Email Addresses

- Again we are asking you for your email addresses as we know more of you can convert. We have over 5000 names on the mailing list now but if we had a much higher proportion of your email addresses we would send out news more frequently

"If You Liked Those, You'll Love These"

Promotional Album & Single:

Media copies of "Rain Steam & Speed" and "Pulled Along By Love" are available while stocks last. The album contains an interview with Don McGlashan as well as all 11 tracks from the album. The single and album are being sold together for the one-off price of £15. These are definite collectors items and stocks really are limited. Both come in special re-cycled packaging. The single audio is the same as the released version.

The Complete BLAM BLAM BLAM:

Before The Mutton Birds there was The Front Lawn and before The Front Lawn there was Blam Blam Blam. From 1980 to 1982 seminal Auckland group, Blam Blam Blam, had a string of top 20 singles with Don McGlashan as drummer and singer.

Instrumental Soundtrack CD Sampler:

Music composed by Don McGlashan.Available free to the first 50 people who place orders of over £35. Approx 18 mins. Not available for sale separately

Rain, Steam & Speed and Pulled Along By Love:

Copies of both the album and single (released versions) are now available from us.

Chris Starling - Planet Painkiller

- Chris, The Mutton Birds lead guitarist released "Rawhide Baby" on June 21st (UK release, no NZ release currently scheduled) the first track from his forthcoming album 'Planet Painkiller'. Just in case you were under the misapprehension that this was an album of guitar instrumentals, it's not, it's songs ! You know him as Chris Sheehan.

Thrashing Marlin - Garage Sailors

- A typical New Zealand guitar gem. The group is made up of various well know New Zealanders many of whom you may recognise from their Six Volts days, including our own David Long. Well worth it!

AN EXTENSIVE UK TOUR IS PLANNED FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Newsletter and Tour Dates - Jan/Feb 99

(This is what you get if you're on our mailing list. Not with pictures or colours of course - but it would have been stuffed into an envelope by the bare hands of a near-comatose band member, and what's more (and most importantly) you'd have got it (by post or email) before anybody else! - thus enabling you to order stuff early, book tickets early, and generally be up with the play, down with the kids and away behind the bike-sheds with the Mutton Birds. Join up now! )

Tour Dates

The Mutton Birds Gig Dates Jan - Feb 99

You can now get tickets for these shows direct from this site. We are so organized, we frighten ourselves. Click here

Saturday Feb 6	London	Shepherds Bush Empire
Sunday Feb 7	Cambridge	The Junction
Friday Feb 12	York	Fibbers
Saturday Feb 13	Edinburgh	The Liquid Rooms
Sunday Feb 14	Manchester	Band On The Wall
Saturday Feb 20	Derby	The Flowerpot
Sunday Feb 21	Bristol	Fleece and Firkin

For all the above shows you can also phone the credit card Hotline (24hr): 0115 912 9000 Alan at the Power Station, Auckland, March 98

Firstly let me begin by wishing you all a happy new year. I hope you all got what you wanted for Christmas, I know some lucky people got Mutton Birds product. The band, Steve and I have all been working like crazy to bring to you the fourth Mutton Birds studio album, "Rain, Steam and Speed", available in the shops February 1st. This of course will be preceeded on January 18 by the single "Pulled Along By Love". Everyone here is really excited by it and we hope you will be too. In as much as we have asked you for your unfailing support in the past I can't urge you enough to make the effort and buy the album in it's first week of release. As chart positions are governed only by sales if you each buy it in the first & same week then you will see the album chart.

We have scheduled 11 shows for the new year (dates below) three of which are on a Sunday night. Due to most of you needing to get to work the next day and some of you having travelled some distance to get to the shows, all Sunday shows will end at 10 pm.

Below you will see mail order information and details of a £1 discount voucher for use in all Virgin Megastores Please take the opportunity to use these especially our overseas fans for whom getting Mutton Birds material is especially difficult.

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NEW SINGLE "pulled along by love" (CAT NO. SHCDS 001) RELEASED 27TH JANUARY (UK ONLY)
NEW ALBUM "rain, steam & speed" (CAT NO. SHCDA 001) RELEASED 1ST FEB (UK ONLY) AND WILL BE AVAILABLE IN ALL GOOD RECORD STORES.
BUY THE ALBUM IN THE FIRST WEEK OF RELEASE AND SEE "rain, steam & speed" CHART
IF YOU HEAR THE SINGLE "pulled along by love" ON THE RADIO PLEASE CALL THE STATION AND VOICE YOUR APPROVAL, ASK THEM TO PLAY IT AGAIN.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SOUND REPUBLIC - LONDON - WEDNESDAY JANUARY 13!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The first Mutton Birds show of 1999 will be the album launch party at Leicester Square's new Sound Republic on Wardour Street. Whilst this gig is predominantly for media and industry there are 150 tickets available to database members & website visitors only on a first come first served basis. Tickets are available on (0171) 287 2526. Please be quick to avoid disappointment.

New Single - "pulled along by love" featuring both the single mix and album mix of "pulled along by love" and "Better not find you". Available from HMV or Virgin and selected independent stores local to you on January 18. Please call us if you have any problems buying it on January 18th.

Dave at the Power Station, Auckland, March 98

Radio Tour - January 14-24th

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Don and Tony will touring the country at this time giving radio interviews and performing live acoustically on air at various stations. At this time many sessions are still to be confirmed, please keep a look out on the website for more specific details. On January 22nd they will perform two short live sets (lunch/evening) at The Lemon Tree in Aberdeen. Also on the 11th of February the full band are playing 6 songs on the Owen Money show on BBC Radio Wales. Keep listening!

Waitangi Day - Feb 6 - This year to celebrate The Mutton Birds are playing at the Shepherds Bush Empire. As one of London's most popular venues we expect to sell out in advance. This is always a great night out, don't miss it!

New Zealand- Please accept our apologies for what must seem like a long period of relative silence from us. This new album will be out in New Zealand before March 31st and there will be a tour to follow. The aforementioned show at the Shepherds Bush Empire is likely to be a live web-cast. Check www.muttonbirds.com for updates.

Sunday Times - Don McGlashan was interviewed last week by Andrew Smith of The Sunday Times. The interview should be running on Sunday January 10th. If you have the chance to pick up a copy I am sure you will enjoy it.

Tickets - Please buy your tickets in advance.We are expecting some of these shows to sell out. Advance sales will encourage the promoters to do more work in telling others about these shows.

HAVE "rain, steam & speed" SENT TO YOUR HOME ON THE DAY OF RELEASE!!

We have made special arrangements with the Virgin Megastore in Edinburgh which will allow you to pre-order your copy of "rain, steam & speed" direct from them and have it posted to you.

The Edinburgh Virgin Megastore can accept credit card payment (Acess, Visa, Mastercard, American Express) or Switch via fax or email . You must include - credit cards - your card number and expiry date - switch cards - your card number, expiry date and start date or issue number.

Payments by cheque must be in Sterling pounds only and made payable to Virgin Retail Ltd.

Postage and packaging will be charged at £1per order worldwide .

Please include your address and a day time contact number in case there is a problem with your card.

Customers will be charged in the week commencing 25th of January and every effort will be made to post as many CDs on Sunday 31st January. PLEASE NOTE : THESE SALES COUNT FOR UK CHART POSITION.

Stuart Ferguson Tel: 0131 220 2230 Virgin Megastore Fax: 0131 220 1757 124/5 Princes Street email: edinburgh.virgin@virgin.net Edinburgh EH2 4BD or s.ferguson@virgin.net All correspondence in relation to this special offer must be made directly with Stuart Ferguson.

I hope 1999 will be successful for everyone. Steve, the band and I would like to thank you, as always, for your support, attendance at the gigs and kind wishes. The success of the band so far has been in no small way due to you.

Best wishes for '99'.

Susan M Glasgow HR>

Ross Writes August 99

Summer of Sport is upon us! Yes, put your feet up, close the blinds (at 8.30am) clench the remote and gurgle a'la Homer vis donuts. First up, the All Blacks, as they begin their campaign to flay the pants off Wales in the World Cup Final, (aren't we in NZ at that time, Steve? Please check) Followed by the Young Black caps (??) as they show England that in order to play like a team, first you must have a team, not a stampeding retirement carnival on it's way to the Senior Golf rounds. And finally Soccer. What, Already? Yup, already. But why not? There's basically only about a week of truly summerish weather in the UK, thus the summery sports are woefully under-represented, cricket having already been mentioned and tennis UK relying on a Canadian and a lamb dressed as mutton (no pun etc) As for synchronised swimming... Soccer is now the all round sport all round the year. And if Harry Redknapp doesn't bring home the chrome in roundabout 11 months time, then I'm getting out my swimming trunks!

ROSS WRITES (Jan/Feb 99)

So, here we are at the onslaught of a fierce winter and the only sunlight on the horizon is the release of our new album, provisionally called Ross Sings. Most of the material was written and recorded in the latter part of this year and due to the depressants I supplied to the others plus my friendship with the engineers on the recording sessions I found myself in a position to add my own words and vocals to the almost perfect backing tracks after I replaced the guitar bits with a Casio The lyrics came naturally enough, drawing on the experiences of all the other band members after digesting the aformentioned banned substances. Our manager Steve says it's the best thing he's heard since the band signed an increased percentage rate in his favour, thinking it was a joke. So, watch out UK, the new Mutton Burge takes to the road sometime in the New Year, a fitting end to a tired old millennium of tuneful ditties.

Have a good time.

Ross

Ross Writes July/Sept 98

Newslettergetters!

Hullo and welcome to Ross writes. Ah......summer's here again and the time is right for fighting on the streets - if you're in France , that is, But I'm here in London , so the time is right for cutting lawns, cleaning windows, watching tomato plants fail and then watching it cloud over and rain. So it's a fine time to be learning new songs , finding songs to be on the new oldies album and releasing it (in the super brown box packaging!) and fire a quick note off to my sister explaining why I missed her birthday (again). Too many good times, your honour!

The new songs are starting to come together really well although there is still a fair bit to do in the drum solo department. They sound a bit quieter but full of passion Chris has been playing some really hot licks too, which inspires us to even greater heights, even when it's an unplugged session.

It was heartening to see heaps of you attending and getting into the shows out of London recently. One of the better things about touring is seeing the country and the towns that have been around for hundreds of years. One of the worst is motorway tail backs. My hot tip is always go to the centre lane - most people over here travel in the fast lane hence the tail back is longer than in the centre lane!

Cheers Ross!

Newsletter and Tour Dates - May/June 98

Dear Mutton Bird Watcher,

The band have just finished a brief tour of New Zealand. They performed in Auckland's electricity crisis at the "Powerstation", joined several other famous New Zealanders to open the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa in Wellington, and managed a couple of secret acoustic gigs in Auckland and Wellington at the Classic Theatre and Bar Bodega respectively. But now they are coming back and, as promised, plans are afoot for extensive touring in the UK in 1998.

Ross and Alan are back from jetting around Europe with New Zealand singer-songwriter Bic Runga (some of you may have caught the show at the Borderline in London) - and everyone's looking forward to the next round of U.K. shows.

UK Tour Dates

The last set of dates was met with an overwhelming response. To those who attended, thank you! Cambridge and Northampton sold out days before the show and the band played to a capacity audience in Croydon too. The London show was a huge success and the band as well as Steve and myself recognised the familiar faces of those who had

Old Pages

CONTENTS:

Newsletter Aug 99

NEW TOUR DATES - TICKETS ON SALE NOW! CLICK HERE