A little Christmas present from FM...

23 years ago today, on 21st December 1986 we wished you all a Merry Christmas at the Marquee in London.  Words can't describe how chuffed we are to be able to say the same to you all again 23 years later! xxx

Click for a little pressie

FM METROPOLIS Meet & Greet Draw Details

Yes, it's that time of year folks! Time to plan the FM METROPOLIS launch party Meet & Greet...

The Meet & Greet will take place at the Roadhouse, Covent Garden at 6.30pm, shortly before doors open for the launch party. Unfortunately places are limited but we will do our very best to accommodate as many ticketholders as possible.

If you are attending the album launch party and would like to be included in the draw for the Meet & Greet, please email your names and addresses to meetandgreet [at] fmofficial [dot] com.

The only rules are:-
1. Places are limited to 2 people per email application. Please list both names if applying for 2 people
2. Please send your emails to meetandgreet [at] fmofficial [dot] com by Monday 4th January 2010.  Winners will be notified soon after that date.

Good luck and we look forward to seeing you there!

METROPOLIS - European Album Release

We are extremely happy to announce that our new album METROPOLIS will be released throughout Europe (excluding UK) via the AOR HEAVEN label on 26 February 2010.

Lyrics added to Discography page

Lyrics for INDISCREET and TOUGH IT OUT have been added to the Discography page.  More to follow soon . . .

The FM METROPOLIS Album Launch Party

The Roadhouse, Covent Garden, London
Sunday 7th February 2010

• Meet and Greet
  
• Full playback of the METROPOLIS album
  
• Your ticket enters you into a free prize draw for a signed Peavey guitar used by Steve and Jim on METROPOLIS
  
• Plus a wealth of other goodies
  
• Aftershow party with Juppy on the decks
  
• FM on stage 9pm

It's been a long time coming, so make sure you're there to witness this monumental event, when the boys in the band reclaim their crown as Britain's favourite AOR act with the release of their first studio album in over 15 years. 

Tickets are available at £12.00 including postage - in advance only - from www.fmofficial.com

Tickets go on sale Sunday 22nd November at 7pm.

Please note tickets will be posted out during the first week of January 2010.

What have FM been up to?

It's become quite apparent that anybody looking at this page would think we haven't been up to anything this year, but we all know different don't we?  Thank you to each and every one of you for helping to make 2009 an amazing year for us.

What have we been up to?

Well for starters we have done our best to embrace t'interweb wholeheartedly and have to say a big thanks to everyone who has joined us whether it be on the website forum, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, last.fm or Youtube.  Your contributions have made us laugh, cry, sometimes even cry with laughter and we really do respect your views and comments.

We've also been doing a lot of writing and recording.  Right now we are just putting the final touches to the album up in the very rural Vale Studios which is close to Worcester.  We're over the moon with the reaction to Wildside, our first new release in so many years.  All we could do was hope that you would all like it as much as we did, and it seems that you did!  Roll on February 2010 and the new album METROPOLIS.  Hope to see you all down at the Roadhouse in Covent Garden for the launch party on February 7th.  It's going to be a raucous night!  More details about what we have planned and ticket information will be posted here very soon.....

Somewhere along the way we even found the time to do a couple of gigs, Winstanley College in March and Firefest VI in October.  It was great to see so many of you and all in fine voice too!  Our Firefest diary will be up on these pages shortly.

The website will be getting a bit of a tidy-up.  We've been working on some new features for the site and are pleased to see from various posts on the forum and facebook etc. that we are heading in the right direction.  We hope you will like the additions when you see them.  Let us know what you think.

2010 promises to be another great year in FM-land.  It's all systems go and we want all of you right there with us to join in the fun.

Steve, Merv, Pete, Jem and Jim

GTFM Radio Interview now available to stream

Our recent GTFM radio interview with Andy Fox is now available to stream from the Audio Interviews page.

FM Vintage and Rare album now in stock

Due to huge demand the 34-track double CD 'Vintage and Rare' has been remastered and repackaged by Naughty Records.

Visit the FM webshop to buy your copy!

Live interview with Paul Anthony at Rock Radio

I'll be live on Rock Radio tonight with Paul Anthony sometime after 8pm. Listen online at Rock Radio.

Pete

Interview with Andy Fox at GTFM

The interview we did with Andy Fox last weekend will be broadcast on GTFM tomorrow (Wednesday). The show is on 10pm-12pm.

Listen online at GTFM.

Black Diamond Classic Rock Show podcast and Firefest competition

Mad Dan McCafferty's show from Friday is now available to listen to via podcast.

As well as an airing for "Wildside" the show features lots of rocking tunes, an interview with Don Airey, and a Firefest competition!

Up for grabs in the comp are a pair of Saturday tickets for Firefest and 3 runners-up prizes of copies of the FM "Back In The Saddle" DVD.   The competition runs through to next Friday's show so get your entries in!

Check out Dan's Myspace blog to get all the details and link to podcast:
Black Diamond Classic Rock show Myspace blog

Radio airplay exclusives this weekend

Paul Anthony will be giving "Wildside" its first airing tonight (Friday) on his show on Rock Radio - www.rockradio.co.uk

Steve Price will follow this with another EXCLUSIVE (seriously, don't miss it people!) tomorrow (Saturday) on his show at ARfm - www.arfm.co.uk

Both shows start at 18.00h (that's 6pm in the UK!)

FM Meet & Greet at Firefest VI

Following the hugely successful, not to mention enjoyable time had by all at the FM meet and greet at Firefest 4, it has been decided to run a similar event at Firefest 6 this year.

The meet and greet will take place on Saturday October 24th a few hours before FM take the stage.  In order to make this as fair as possible we shall be dividing the meet and greet into two sections.  Section one will be for subscribers to fmofficial.com and section two will be for FIREFEST attendees who are not affiliated with FM in any way.

In order to be considered for the FM meet and greet, we would ask that you simply send your name and address via email to the following address meetandgreet [at] fmofficial [dot] com.  Those wishing to apply through FIREFEST can do so via email to Firefest [at] hotmail [dot] com stating 'FM meet and greet' in the subject heading.  There are a limited number of places available due to the time constraints involved, so it will be limited to 20 people from FM official and also 20 people attending FIREFEST not affiliated to fmofficial.com.  The boys will pick the winners from a hat (it's the fairest way) and the winners will be notified by fmofficial.com as to when and where the meet and greet will be taking place.  FIREFEST will in turn notify the meet and greet winners from their side with time and place.

Please note the following:

1. The maximum per application is two people
2. Please do not send multiple applications. (i.e. do not apply to FM Official and Firefest... or you will not be considered at all.)
3. The closing date for ALL applications is Monday 5th October, and the winners will be notified soon after that date.
4. Feel free to bring along your CD covers, albums, photos and your camera as the boys will be only to delighted to sign your stuff and have photos taken.

"Wildside" and new EP News

The return of the mighty FM shifts up a gear with the release of lead track "Wildside" available as a download in October through iTunes (the exact date will be published on these pages shortly).  Taken from the blistering forthcoming album METROPOLIS, "Wildside" is a piece of pure classic 'in your face' rock and will also be available as part of an 8-track EP.   The EP will include a much anticipated studio version of "Dangerous", the very popular song only previously available as a live B-side track.  The EP also features 6 tracks recorded live at FM's intimate Winstanley College show on 19th March 2009.   All recordings showcase new recruit Jim Kirkpatrick on guitar.

WILDSIDE EP will go on sale October 24th 2009 through the FM webshop and at Firefest VI.

Ttrack listing:
Wildside / Dangerous / The Dream That Died (Live) / Hard Day In Hell (Live) / American Girls (Live) / I Belong To The Night (Live) / Other Side Of Midnight (Live) / Bad Luck (Live)

FM Official now on Facebook!

Having mastered the intricacies of t'interweb, our grasp of new(ish) technology knows no limits!   First off we brought you the website, and then Myspace.  We even keep you updated on the weather on Twitter.

Now we bring you FM on Facebook!   Join us there and help us make it your page. Use the discussion boards.   Let us know what you would like to see/hear.

The page can be found by typing 'FM official' into the search box or the link is -

www.facebook.com/FMofficial

Thank you all for your support - it really does make a difference.

FM Webshop now open!

Hi Everyone,

Just to let you know that the shop has been launched a little ahead of schedule and can be accessed now on the main webshop link.

It will be mentioned within the next few hours on Malcolm Dome's show on Total Rock if anyone would like to listen in - It's the 'Rock and Roll Round Table' between 18:00 - 21:00 http://www.totalrock.com (17/05/09).  Just click the "listen live" link at the top of the page.

FM to headline Firefest VI

Firefest are extremely pleased to announce FM as the headline act for the forthcoming FIREFEST 6 show at Nottingham Rock City on Saturday October 24th 2009.  As you know, the last time the boys played Firefest was the reunion show back at FF4 in 2007 and a suitably great time was had by all.  The Live DVD "Back in the Saddle" was recorded (and incidentally is still available in the shop) on that now legendary evening.  The reunion of 5 great friends who just happened to be in a band together couldn’t have gone better.

Moving on to 2009 and the forthcoming Firefest show, FM will once again reclaim their rightful spot as headliners and darlings of the melodic hard rock genre when they hit the stage at Firefest 6.  FM’s performance will be the band's ONLY UK HEADLINE performance of 2009, and as usual the boys are trying to make it a special event.  Firstly the BRAND NEW FM album will be released at Firefest and initially it will be the ONLY place that it can be purchased... that’s right, the merchandise booth at Firefest... the first album of original music released by the boys since "Dead Man’s Shoes" in 1995... (let’s discount  "Paraphenalia"  because it was a Japanese only release).

Also, in another little twist of fate, on the Firefest 6 bill is ROMEO’S DAUGHTER sporting the full original line-up that toured with the FM boys back in 1989.  And the little twist of fate... it will be 20 years to the day that FM and the Romeo’s first shared the stage and bassist Merv Goldsworthy first laid eyes on the delectable Leigh Matty, whom he somehow later persuaded to become Mrs Goldsworthy!!

Just for the record, we did consider changing this to FM–FEST as the Firefest line-up also features Drive She Said and White Sister, another two bands that supported FM on those memorable tours of the UK in the late eighties and early nineties.  So in a nutshell, you can actually re-live every one of those tours once again by attending FIREFEST 6 .

Full details of Firefest 6 will be available on www.thefirefest.com.

Firefest and FMOfficial.com would like to offer the band's loyal and patient supporters an opportunity to grab what will be one of the hottest tickets in the live calendar for 2009 at a specially reduced rate available only to fmofficial.com subscribers.  The FM Official discount will be issued to all subscribers to FM Official via the mailing list newsletter on Tuesday 24th February.   Please also remember Firefest 4 which was headlined by FM in 2007 sold out well in advance and this year will be no different with a reduced capacity of only 1250 tickets being sold for the main day.  The reduced price offer is good until March 31st when the main day ticket price reverts to the standard price.

So there you have it, the ONLY UK headline show for 2009, the brand new album being released on the day of Firefest and a supporting cast including 3 bands that previously toured with the boys back in the day... Change the date... Christmas for FM fans is now October 24th.

Tickets can only be purchased directly from FIREFEST using Paypal.  Paypal payment address is : fireworks.mag@ntlworld.com

Alternatively by post using cash (at senders own risk), postal order, personal cheque or International bank draft in £ sterling .

Cheques and drafts payable to : Mr Bruce Mee
C/O Fireworks Magazine
10 Dunnock Close
Offerton
Stockport
SK2 5 XD
England

Please allow 21 days for delivery.  A list of further retail outlets will be announced at a later date.

PLEASE NOTE:  To obtain your FM Official subscribers' discount, you must use the subscriber codes which will be issued in the FM Official newsletter tomorrow.   Thank you.

FM announce new guitarist!

We have the greatest pleasure in introducing Jim Kirkpatrick to you, the new FM guitarist.

Jim Kirkpatrick

Jim lives near Steve in Cheshire and they’ve worked together on numerous occasions.  On hearing of Andy’s departure Jim called Steve to ask if he could come down and try out for the gig, a rehearsal was booked and Jim blew us away with his guitar playing.  We went through oldies and threw him in the deep end with some of the new tracks we’d written which he’d obviously never heard before.  Although apparently being seriously nervous, “absolutely sh***ing myself” were Jim's actual words, we were totally impressed with his tasteful, melodic guitar playing, he stamped his mark on the old and new songs alike.  It was clearly apparent there was no need to look any further, Jim fitted the bill perfectly and he was promptly offered the job before the gear was even packed away.

To read the full story, please visit the FM Official Diary page.

Jim Kirkpatrick and Steve Overland

FM Live at Caldicott Castle May 30th 2009

After the overwhelming response to the Winstanley College show, promoters HMP are delighted to announce FM's only other confirmed show for 2009 plus details of this year's Castle Park Rock Festival.

The outdoor festival on Saturday 30th May is to be held in the stunning grounds of Caldicot Castle, South Wales (20 minutes from Bristol/Cardiff).  Joining FM on the bill will be Terrorvision, Gun and It Bites plus more supporting acts to be announced shortly.

Tickets are attractively priced and on sale now at just £27 with a free 'EP' download available, courtesy of the bands & Townsend Records if you book on-line (please follow the link below).  For telephone sales call 01254 885995

The promoter has also secured limited on-site camping, available for Friday and Saturday night at only £6 per tent and £10 per caravan per night.  For camping call 01291 627122.

The festival has gained a healthy reputation over the years as a friendly, relaxed event with no age restrictions in place.  We also believe that with gates opening at midday & bands playing until 11:00pm this offers a great day's entertainment and of course another chance to see to see the mighty FM live!

Further details of the festival can be found at www.castleparkrock.co.uk

 

FM Live in 2009 *** TICKET SALES UPDATE ***

Please note that tickets for our show at Winstanley College on 19th March will now go on sale at 19:00h GMT on Sunday 11th January.

Please follow the ticket link from the FM Official home page.

Please be sure to purchase your tickets promptly - only a limited number will be available for this small and intimate gig.

FM Live in 2009!

We are pleased to announce FM will be playing live on Thursday 19th March at Winstanley College in Wigan, Lancs.

Doors will open at 19:00, FM are onstage at 20:30.

This show will be recorded and filmed for possible future release.

Tickets will be available from Monday 12th January at fmofficial.com

To purchase tickets, just follow the ticket link on our home page, which will be available from Monday onwards.