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31st DECEMBER 2005
"THEME FOR A HOLIDAY"

Once again Wilbeforce embark on yet another end-of-year dash with the last minute 2005 online release of "Theme for a Holiday".

The track is actually an old song dusted down as part of an intended anniversary EP to celebrate 10 years of Wilberforce!! The rest of the EP will appear early next year.

Meantime the still-unnamed album continues to be written, recorded and mixed and will now appear in April.

In the meantime Wilberforce wish you a very happy, healthy, and successful New Year!!




BLOG UPDATE: 5th OCTOBER 2005
RECORDING

"Recording of the new album is finally gaining momentum with a new 70 track plus studio setup.

"Naturally with such liberating technology, we've got somewhat carried away! The latest song spiralled into almost Phil Spector proportions with numerous guitar and drum overdubs, while another features 14 backing vocals! As a result, we've put off decisions, leaving a pile of multiple takes to clear up! It's all a far cry from the last album when we were squeezing songs onto 4 track tapes.

But we've stripped things back to basics, and decided that instead of hopping from one song to another as we do normally, we're going to focus on a song a week, leaving room for additional overdubs at the end of the album. Hopefully this will give ourselves a deadline to inject some much needed focus.

"We're currently using a new Epiphone SG electric guitar, new microphones, and different keyboard samples. Plus Phil's drumming has made a big difference to the backing tracks, currently being recorded in the backroom of a social club.

"Meanwhile there's still no album title, with at least 15 suggestions coming and going. If you have any ideas, please, let us know!! This is a completely different album to "Fruitbowl" which was a very English, psychedelic affair. This one is heavier with more hooks while retaining a spontaniety.

"We'll be posting some more early mixes and demos. Check out "Frinton Bassett Blues" if you haven't already!"

Peace,

Mark




5th SEPTEMBER 2005
DEMO PREVIEW!

To whetten your appetite for the new album, you can play the demo for "Frinton Bassett Blues", which is temporarily being made available on wilberweb.

This was written as a tribute to Dave Goodman earlier this year and the demo was laid down as a guide. A polished-up "Frinton" will appear on the forthcoming album later this year! Tell us what you think!

WILBERFORCE MEETS WILBERFORCE!

Melanie (and) Wilberforce

Melanie Wilberforce became the 7th person to add vocals to the new album, on the track "Big Pressure" at Manorside Studios in London! Melanie got in contact with the band out of curiousity because of her name, a consequence of being the great-great-great-great grandaughter of Lord Wilberforce who abolished slavery in 1833. The band was named after the cat that was probably named after her ancestor!

Melanie was so impressive she also kindly contributed vocals to the dark gothic nursery rhyme "Play a Game". Thanks Mel! Helen has since added recorders and the album is now gaining momentum.

Recording has also shifted to Footscray Rugby Club where Phil and his drums are being recorded. Footscray kindly stepped in after the loss of the Bickley rehearsal space back in March. Plans are currently underway for Newlove Studios, which will eventually house all recording and rehearsal activity.

EXTRA EXTRA!

Wilberforce will be filming their first video promo in 8 years for an undisclosed track from the new album. Anyone interested please contact the band using the details at the top of this page!



8th AUGUST 2005
FAR AWAY THE WINNER!

Wilberforce have won 2 "Most Original Song" awards in consecutive weeks!!

The first award was announced on 1st August for "Drink". And today came the news that "Far Away" had also won "Most Original Song" in "Alternative Pop" on Garageband.com.

On top of the award, "Far Away" has outstripped expectations by soaring to 102 out of 323, beating "Drink"'s chart performance of 135 and Picture of You"'s 131, largely thanks to it's American appeal.

ALBUM NEWS!

The Marv takes the pressure!.

Simpletons legend Nigel Marvin became the 6th person to add vocals to the new album, on the track "Big Pressure" at sessions held at Marvellous Studios in London! The album release date has now been put back to November as the running order is once again revised, and backing tracks continue to be recorded. The new CD promises an enigmatic change of direction.

Currently most songs on the album are being recorded on 2 separate machines in Abbey Wood. Most vocals, drums and location recordings are being put into Otto the 8 track, while surplus tracks are copied into Clipper the computer for editing, mixing and MIDI overdubbing.

The Otto tracks are always synced up with the other Clipper tracks, compiling (as in the case of "Big Pressure") recordings of up to 30 tracks! That's how the album is being created at the moment.

Any questions? Just fill in the form above.



20th JULY 2005
RUBBER BRA HITS THE CHARTS!

Wilberforce made their first stab at the charts.

For the first time ever, Wilberforce have made a bid for the charts! In an effort to repromote Wilberforce's back catalogue in the run up to the new album, RUBBER BRA was selected for the Garageband song contest, where musicians and fans from all over the world get to vote on new artists and their material.

"Rubber Bra" was selected for the "Pop Rock" category where it peaked at 357 out of 529. It currently stands at 13,010 out of 18,040 in the all-time pop rock list. But it failed to get into the second round...

Here is what jeteye from Milwaukee, Wisconsin had to say...

"Ha haaa I thought this was a real cool song and very original. I got to say, yeah we definitely need a band like this around. Too cool."

While "Rubber Bra" received rave reviews in some quarters, Garageband's mainly American listeners may have misunderstood it's message and novelty status. An edited version for the Alternative pop charts would have been a much safer bet.

Undettered, Wilberforce will enter "Picture of you" for it's next chart assault later this week!

WILBERFORCE WIN FIRST AWARD!

However it wasn't all bad news! Wilberforce won their first ever award, for "Stupidest Song" category for the week of July 18th!!! It was a dubious honour, but recognition nonetheless!

BIG PRESSURE VOCALS RECORDED!

Steve Lake feels the pressure!.

Zounds legend Steve Lake became the latest to add his vocals to the new album, on the track "Big Pressure"! More guest stars will be added in the coming weeks as sessions intensify for it's anticipated late September release. Keep watching this space. Already Peter the K has recorded his contribution before jetting back to New Zealand!

As recording continues on the album, audience testing on the demos has received rave reviews. We will be posting some works-in-progress over the coming weeks. Keep checking back for regular updates!!

OTHER WILBERFORCE SITES!

Wilberforce now have 2 further sites to visit, the Garageband home page, and My Space.com, where you can listen to exclusive edited versions of tracks. More sites will follow.

TED HEATH 1916-2005

Former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath died on Sunday 17th July 2005.

Ted Heath, pictured in Downing Street, was also Mark's local MP for 25 years.

He was in office when Wilberforce the cat first came to Downing Street, and was the first of four Prime Ministers to serve under Wilberforce! Earlier this year, another former Wilberforce owner Jim Callaghan also died, leaving Heath's bete noir Margaret Thatcher (who once bought a tin of cat food for Wilberforce in a Moscow supermarket) as the last owner left.

4th JULY 2005
WILBER MAN TO THE RESCUE!

Can Wilber man save the day?

Is it a bass? Is it a drum? Holy Fruitbowl it's Wilber Man !! After a few setbacks in which the band took a brief break, Wilber Man has come to the aid of Wilberforce to save them from imminent disaster! With his mighty super powers, his first duty has been to restore order to wilberweb! Technical hitches have been overcome, recording facilities relocated, new equipment installed, and total destruction averted! 14 songs have now been chosen by Wilber Man for the new album, with lyrics and arrangements still being wrestled with.

Wilber Man has also been scouring the Earth looking for a new bass player for live dates later in the year. And he's promising to whip the album into shape by the next update, by defeating his arch nemesis Delay Man!

Meantime, rumours that Wilber Man's secret identity is none other than a member of Wilberforce have been strongly denied!

Good luck Wilber Man!!

WILBERWORD 2001-2003

WILBERWORD 2004

WILBERWORD 2005 January-May

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