FM return to the studio

After about 13 years - we’re not entirely sure to be truthful but who’s counting - we went back into a recording studio together to start our new album.  And what a studio, Metropolis in Chiswick, West London.  When you are talking about top recording facilities Metropolis is spoken about in the same breath as Abbey Road, enough said.

In the preceding weeks before we went in their client list included The Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce and some bloke called Michael Bolton.  We were met by the lovely Katy who is the studio manager who in turn introduced us to Matt Lawrence, engineer extraordinaire and just about the nicest guy you could ever wish to meet.  We were taken down to studio 1 and entered the control room, which incidentally is just the biggest control room, housing the biggest mixing desk any of us had ever seen.  Matt introduced us to Zav, another fine chap, who was assisting Matt on the session.  Zav took us through to the live area where our equipment would go, now this room is big enough for orchestral recording so the four of us were dwarfed, but the vibe was fantastic and we couldn’t wait to get going.  We were going to record two songs to start with "Days Gone By" and "Who’ll Stop the Rain".  Our gear was set, miked up and we were ready to go for some takes within an hour or so.

The tracks went down really smoothly and are sounding absolutely fantastic.  Steve did some guitar overdubs and then Jem was let loose on the studio grand piano.  Now this isn’t just any old piano, it’s been used by the late great Freddie Mercury on various Queen recordings and now it was Jem's turn to leave his mark.  So with the backing tracks done we moved over to a smaller, but equally well equipped, studio complex in FX Rentals Acton, again in West London, to continue with overdubbing and vocals.  Here engineering duties were handled by the very able James Ridley, another splendid fellow and fine young engineer.  So there we are folks, proof we have started the next FM studio album and it’s sounding the business.

For those of you who wish to see the Queen video that was filmed at Metropolis the song is "Headlong" and you can see it on YouTube.

FM in the Metropolis control room

See more photos from our Metropolis Studios sessions on our Diary page.

Andy Barnett calls it a day…

It is with deep regret that we have to announce Andy Barnett has left the band.  Andy has decided to call it a day as he wants to concentrate all his energies on other projects he has going and is in the process of relocating abroad.

Although saddened by his departure we fully respect Andy’s decision and wish him all the very, very best and much success in his future career, we made some fine music together and had a great time while doing it.  The Firefest DVD is a fitting and fine tribute to that chapter of the band's career.  Respect Andy.

So what of the future?  We’ll carry on with the album while we find a replacement with the more than capable Mr Overland on guitar duties and we hope to resolve the situation sooner rather than later.  We look at this as a fresh and exciting new era for the band and we are very positive for what the future holds.  We’ll be posting some shots of us hard at work in the studio shortly.  Watch this space!

New Shadowman Album Release

The new critically-acclaimed Shadowman album "Ghost in the Mirror" is released and will be available at £9.99 + P&P through the FM webshop on 22nd October.

Receiving rave reviews in Classic Rock, plus other high profile rock magazines from around the world and scoring an incredible 94% on Melodicrock.com (not to mention getting a big thumbs up from us here at FM Towers), this new Shadowman album is an absolute must for every discerning rock fan.

Featuring the talents of Mr Overland, Steve Morris and again joined by Harry and Chris from Thunder, with keyboard duties courtesy of Steve Millington, make no mistake, "Ghost in the Mirror" is surely a huge contender for best rock album for 2008.

Track Listing:
Road to Nowhere
No Man's Land
Bad For You
Colour of Your Love
Fire and Ice
Here I Am Now
I've Been Wrong Before
It's Electric
Keeper of My Heart
Outlaws
Hard Ways
Little Miss Midnight

Star Radio Interview

If anyone missed our Star Radio interview with Neil Jones, this is now available to stream on our Audio Interviews page.

Missed the ARFM or Rock Radio Interviews?

If you missed the recent interviews with Steve and Pete on ARFM or Rock Radio, visit FM Official's Audio Interviews page where these are now available to stream.

There is also a new review of 'Back in the Saddle' available to read from Room Thirteen.

Steve & Pete on 106.1 Rock Radio 30/09/08

Steve and Pete will be joining their old friend Paul Anthony on his show for a chat at 106.1 Rock Radio. 

The show is going out this Tuesday September 30th shortly after 8.00pm. Tune in at 106.1 FM in the Greater Manchester area or on the web at www.rockradiomanchester.co.uk.

Don’t miss it!

Dispatch of DVDs

As posted on the forum, all the DVDs arrived on Monday and all orders up to yesterday, Tuesday 23rd September, have been sent out.  We will continue from now on to process and dispatch future orders on a daily basis.

Thanks for your patience in this matter.

Back In The Saddle DVD Update

We’ve been trying to get more info on the DVD delivery and finally received the parcel tracking codes this morning, logged in but got no useful delivery info.  We contacted Berny (the video editor for the DVD who along with The Firefest guys is organizing the manufacturing) in Austria who sent this:

"Dachser's online tracking system does not work at the moment (they're doing some maintenance work), so I called the customer service centre.  The only information I got was that 'the parcel hasn't been delivered yet'.  So I suppose it arrived in the UK today, but I cannot tell you when it will be delivered.  Sorry, this is really getting on my nerves... Berny"

So that's where we are folks, we are really p***ed off this has happened (along with all of you we’re sure) and especially Pete who hasn't left his home since Tuesday in case they're delivered while he's out (Ealing's Starbucks Coffee Shops are fearing financial ruin because of this).  Joking aside, once again can we assure you all your orders will go out as soon as the DVDs arrive.  We'll let you know more info as and when we get it.

DVD Release - An Apology

Hi everyone,

We tried to get this on the site last night but it seems we have a rarity, a webmistress with a life.  Dawn was out partying the night away and on her return quite possibly in no fit state to turn on her computer let alone up load the following:-

As you all know "Back in the Saddle" was officially released yesterday; unfortunately the FM bad luck (excuse the pun) has struck.  You may or may not know there was a fire in the Channel Tunnel the other week and despite it being re-opened normal service is yet to be fully resumed, thus resulting in a huge backlog of freight.  The DVD was manufactured in Eastern Europe and therefore has to travel through the Tunnel or by ferry.  Because of the Tunnel fire the ferries are also very busy.  The long and short of it?  The DVD shipment is delayed and unfortunately hasn't arrived as scheduled.

People who have bought from us in the past will testify that we do, and always will endeavour to get merchandise posted out within 3 days, but normally same day, of receiving the order.  We know the DVDs are printed, pressed and in a truck en route to London.  The reason the news of this delay has gone up so late on the site is that we have been trying to find out the whereabouts of the DVDs so we can give you an informed idea of when they are due to arrive.

We can only apologise for this delay but this is out of our control, all the envelopes are addressed and ready to go.  Please be assured the DVDs will go out the same day the shipment arrives.  We will let you know via the website when they arrive and when your orders have been posted.  Once again please accept our deepest and sincerest apologies.

FM on ARfm Sunday September 14th 2008

Don't forget to tune into the Steve Price show on ARfm 18:00h- 21:00h this Sunday, September 14th.

Steve and Pete are live in the studio having a chat with Steve Price and playing some tracks from the new live DVD.

Back In The Saddle - DVD Release

No it isn’t a dream, at last the wait is over!  The boys are back... back in the saddle.

We are very proud to announce that "Back in the Saddle", the live DVD of the greatly anticipated comeback performance by one of Britain's best loved rock bands FM is now ready for release.  Filmed at a sold-out Firefest IV in October 2007, the venue - Nottingham Rock City.  This limited edition twin-pack containing DVD and Audio CD is available to pre-order now.  The DVD is released on September 17th in Pal Region Free (0) format (users outside Europe please check your system is compatible as refunds cannot be offered regarding incompatibility issues).

Pre-order now from the FM Official webshop for just £19.99 + postage & packing.

If you were lucky enough to be there, relive this magical October night, if you couldn’t make it be sure to savour the spellbinding performances of Steve Overland, Merv Goldsworthy, Pete Jupp, Andy Barnett and Jem Davis as the mighty FM return to the stage.

Full tracklisting:

Breathe Fire
Face to Face
I Belong to the Night
That Girl
Run No more
All or Nothing
Only the Strong Survive
Burning my Heart Down
Bad Luck
Closer to Heaven
Other Side of Midnight
Blood and Gasoline
Frozen Heart
I Heard it Through the Grapevine

"Back in the Saddle" - order your copy from the webshop now!

Forum Spammer Identified

We have caught the person who has been stealing peoples identities and spamming the forum.

Please see our recent forum post dated 25/06/08 for details.

FM Top the Online Chart at Rock Radio!

From the pen of Pete Jupp...

Hi everybody,
I was about to start checking my emails on Monday morning and decided to have a listen to Rock Radio on the web. I was having a look around their site when I clicked on the online chart link and the following appeared:

FM top the Rock Radio chart

A big thanks to all the Rock Radio listeners who voted for us.  I’m not sure how it works and I think it’s an ever-changing chart but what the hell, we were Top of the Pops on Monday morning and it made an ageing FM drummer smile.

Love, light and peace.

Pete

FM June 2008 News

Hi there people, it’s June already!  Where does the time go?  Firstly the shop seems to be working very well and we’d like to thank everyone who has stopped by and purchased something, we really appreciate your support of the band.  We’ll be putting up more stuff over the coming months so keep checking back.  We’ve been chatting about getting some FM T-Shirts made and after the Firefest shirt cock-up (see Pete's Firefest diary) we’re looking for a new shirt company as we speak.  If anyone has any ideas about what kind of design we should go for get on the forum and get discussing people.  We do enjoy reading all your comments so keep 'em coming.  We’ve even noted a couple of your ideas for possible future ventures, but that’s as much as we’re letting on.

The songs are coming thick and fast.  We’ve finished writing 4 more - "Who’ll Stop the Rain" pure AOR, "Drop the Bomb" a groovy rocker, "Forever and a Day" balladicious and "The Fight Goes On" an anthem of gigantic proportions.  There are more ideas that just need finishing so although we say it ourselves the writing is going really well and we’re having a blast doing it.

Guess what… you’ll never believe it… it can’t possibly be true… Yes the Firefest DVD is nearly finished!  Look out for an advert and clips on this site very soon.

A big shout goes out to all the good people at Rock Radio 106.1 especially our old pal Paul Anthony who has championed the band for years.  We are being played regularly to such an extent people are asking "Who’s this new band FM?"  Tune in and listen in the Greater Manchester area on 106.1 or on the interweb at www.rockradiomanchester.co.uk.

Also a big up goes out to our good friend Steve Price at ARfm who did a lengthy interview with Steve for his new album "Breakaway" (signed copies available now in the webshop at a very reasonable £9.50).  Of course chat soon turned to FM and poor Steve was grilled for about an hour.  More big ups go to young Malcolm Dome and Darryl Kirby at Total Rock for shamelessly plugging our online shop the day before it opened, respect guys!

That’s it folks, look out for the DVD ad over the next few weeks.

FM Web Shop News

Hi everybody,

We're delighted to announce the opening of our 'FM Online Shop'.  It will open to coincide with the release of Steve's new album "Breakaway" on May 18th.  This will be the only place to get a signed copy of this great album. We've got some more copies of "Vintage and Rare" as well as back catalogue items.  The shop will grow over the coming months so check it out regularly to see what new products we have for sale.

We've thought long and hard about our new album with regards to how it will be released, and have decided after long and careful consideration, to take the plunge and form our own label.  As we won't have a record company paying for studio/rehearsal time etc., proceeds from the shop will go towards funding the recording of our new studio album, future touring plans and of course the upkeep of the web site.  We will try to be as competitive as possible with other online shops, but buying from us will be at the forefront of enabling us to bring you future releases.

Tune in and check out on May 18th!

April 2008 News Update

From the pen of Steve Overland...

Hi everybody,

I hope you’re all keeping well and it’s nice to talk to you all again.  Sorry this month’s news is a little late but the lovely Dawn has been away the past couple of weeks.  I just wanted to take this opportunity to say a few words about the "Overland" album which is due for release on May 21st.  The album is titled "Breakaway" and I’m extremely happy with the way it’s turned out.  It was recorded in Sweden last summer at co-writer/producer Anders Rydholm's studio.  It features some great musicians - the Bissonette brothers, Anders himself, a fantastic young Swedish guitar player named Ola and a great singer Per Svenson on background vocals and of course me.  The songs are very powerful as well as melodic and although different from FM they are still in the same mould.  I think you’ll really enjoy the record and here are the titles of the 12 tracks:

This time
Alive and Kicking
Breakaway
Like a River
Look into your Eyes
After the Fire
Evangeline
Heartache Calling
Mad, Mad World
Lost in Paradise
Rescue Me
Until Forever Comes

As I said earlier all the tracks are written with Anders and I hope you enjoy the record.

======================================

Onto FM news, the website shop is nearing completion and should open in the near future, we’ll post its opening date very soon.  You’ll be able to buy an exclusive signed copy of "Breakaway" through the FM shop.

FM have been hard in rehearsals down at Papa Joe’s arranging some new songs and they’re coming along really well.  The live DVD, despite a few technical glitches, is really coming together now and looking and sounding great. Be patient with us, we’re working really hard on getting the new album and DVD together and I’m sure the wait will be worth it.  Talking of which, it’s time to get back to writing songs for the new album for me and the lads.

All the best,
Steve.

NB  Dawn has noticed some of the newsletters are going directly into spam folders.  Please ensure you add "subscriptions(at)fmofficial(dot)com" to your whitelist/trusted addresses to prevent this happening.  We don't want you missing out on anything now do we?

March 2008 news update

Hi everyone,

March already... Pete celebrated his birthday on the 1st along with Dawn our lovely webmistress who shares the same birthday (albeit a good few years later). We’re writing away and are preparing to go into rehearsals later this month to routine the songs. We thought it would be good to throw a few song titles at you and we’ll see how many make the final album.  We’ve got "Hello Tomorrow Goodbye Yesterday", "Runaway Train", "Over You", "Living for the Weekend".

It seems from the general consensus on the forum that finally releasing a studio version of “Dangerous" wouldn’t be the worst idea we’ve ever had so we’ll be dusting off the chord sheets to that at a rehearsal very soon.

We were asked by the DVD guys what music we were having over the credits at the end and in true FM style we replied "Haven’t got a clue, we’ll have a think". True to our word we had a think and decided we’d try and write and record a new song to end the DVD and that’s what we’re attempting. If we feel it’s suitable it will go on, nothing like a challenge eh?

We should finally get the shop open later this month. We’ve managed to procure a limited supply of "Vintage and Rare", so they’ll be up for sale along with other back catalogue items.

If you haven’t already subscribed on the Contact page may we suggest you try to make time to do so to get all our gig and release news straight into your Inbox. So don’t miss out, sign up now.

Okay people that’s you up to date with what’s going on in the FM camp, 'til the next time…

Jan/Feb 2008 news update

Hi everyone,

Sorry things have gone a bit quiet the past couple of months, but to be honest we've been working our butts off clearing the decks of other commitments so we can concentrate on writing and recording the new FM album.

We've noticed that a few people have been having a dig at Steve for recording a new Shadowman album so let's put that one to bed and set the record straight right away. Steve was contracted to write and record it before we had commited to do Firefest. In fact, because of Firefest rehearsals etc. the last few songs weren't even written and the project was shelved until after the gig as Steve was putting all his energy into the FM show. Be assured he is as commited as any other member of the band. As we said all along, Firefest was meant to be a one-off but because of the fantastic response plus the fact that we had such an amazing time we decided to carry on. So that's what we've been doing, tying up all the loose ends so we can give the new FM album the attention it deserves. We've been demoing songs at home and are due to go into rehearsals next month to thrash the new songs out. We have been in negotiations with a DVD company to film the making of the album so be prepared for all the highs and lows (hopefully not too many lows) as we embark on our seventh studio album.

Speaking of DVDs, the Firefest live DVD is coming along nicely although a bit slower than at first anticipated. Because of the loss of power at the show there have been a few unexpected technical hitches encountered but Berny and the folk at Transistor Pictures have been overcoming all the obstacles so far. We're hoping to put a taster from the DVD up on the site soon, we'll keep you posted.

We are delighted about the launch of our new forum and look forward to hearing from you. So a belated "Happy 2008" to you all, and once again apologies for the lull in proceedings but be assured we're raring to go.