GIGS ARCHIVE


OLD DATES

SUNDAY 15th OCTOBER 2006


Club 85, Whinbush Rd, Hitchin, Herts

FRIDAY 18th MARCH 2005


The Alma, Church Road, Crystal Palace, London, SE19

FRIDAY 4th FEBRUARY 2005


Tsunami Benefit,
The Paxton, Gipsy Road, Gipsy Hill, London SE27

SATURDAY 2nd OCTOBER 2004


Hen Heaven Basement Bedsit Benefit,
Sanctuary Cafe, W Brunswick St, Hove

SUNDAY 28th MARCH 2004


New Road Basement, Abbey Wood, London SE2

SATURDAY 1st NOVEMBER 2003


Mad Pride Basement Bedsit Benefit,
Sanctuary Cafe, W Brunswick St, Hove

TUESDAY 16th SEPTEMBER 2003


Cafe Sappho, Vijzelstraat, Amsterdam, Netherlands

MONDAY 15th SEPTEMBER 2003


De Gloppe, Poststraat 21, Leeuwarden, Netherlands

SUNDAY 14th SEPTEMBER 2003


Sound Garden, Marnixstraat, Amsterdam, Netherlands

SUNDAY 31st AUGUST 2003


New Road Basement, Abbey Wood, London SE2

THURSDAY 7th AUGUST 2003


Prince Albert, Royal Hill, Greenwich, London SE10

WEDNESDAY 16th JULY 2003


The Crown and 2 Chairmen, Dean St, London WC1


OTHER APPEARANCES


SUNDAY
20th MARCH 2005


O'Neill's,
Beckenham,
Kent


Played 2 songs:
"I want to be the one"
"Drink"




WILBERFORCE LIVE: A BRIEF HISTORY.

Fresh from watching bands playing night after night in Texas and Louisiana, USA, Mark returned from America and carefully persuaded Helen to join a scaled-down Wilberforce for their first gigs.

Rehearsals began in March 2003 in "The Basement" at Abbey Wood for their live debut at the Crown and 2 Chairmen in London's Soho. With "Madame Fruitbowl" watching over their shoulder, the band took to the stage for a 27 minute set.

Wilberforce played their next gig closer to home at the Prince Albert in Greenwich, London. Not afraid to experiment, they attempted using an ancient medievel instrument called the Crumb horn.

This was followed by an informal gig back at Basement HQ in Abbey Wood, where Wilberforce continued extensive rehearsals for their first ever tour overseas...

The Holland Mini-Tour required the band to double the length of their set, while being healthily renumerabated in cash and drinks. It was a challenging adventure that taught them much about life on the road.

Sadly the beloved keyboard that has been the centrepiece of the Wilberforce sound became a casualty of that tour when it was manhandled by baggage handlers at the airport.

However, Wilberforce soldiered on to play a benefit in aid of Mad Pride at the Brighton Basement Bedsit, combining their best numbers from 4 months of gigging.

After a quiet 2004, a return Bedsit engagement in aid of ex-battery hens (right) was widely regarded as their best performance to date, and became their last as a duo.

Wilberforce surprised even themselves when the long search for a drummer finally ended when Phil Clyde joined the band in February 2005! It was the natural progression they'd longed for, eager to expand on their stripped down shows of 2003/2004.

  
Wilberforce at Crystal Palace.
This rockier Wilberforce played 2 gigs, in Gypsy Hill and Crystal Palace respectively, followed by an impromptu appearance in a pub, drawing comparisons with The Buzzcocks, early Genesis and Captain Beefheart while also being described as "the English Flaming Lips"!

The band lay dormant for well over a year from the live scene as attention turned to the new album, during which time Phil and Wilberforce parted ways.

Finally in July 2007, the band finished a 7 month sabbatical, and are hoping to return to the stage with a reconstituted lineup!


They are well known for a tight disciplined show, that includes crowd favourites such as "This Is The Song They Tried To Ban", Wilberforce have worked hard to established themselves as an exciting dynamic live act, always keen to give a great show.


  MADAME
AMERICA

WILBERWORD  


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