Grant Moon … (Burning Shed ..hardback, £49.99)
Some bands explode onto the scene and make an immediate impact, while others take an eternity to reach public awareness and achieve mass acceptance. Big Big Train most definitely fall into the latter category.
Written by Grant Moon, a scribe on Prog Mag, the publication which was instrumental in promoting Big Big Train’s name into the public consciousness, Between The Lines charts the gradual rise to prominence of one of prog’s biggest cult bands Big Big Train, starting from their Bournemouth origins in 1990, through their litany of personnel changes along the way, the albums released and some of the stories behind their being recorded, right up to the tragic death of singer and multi-instrumentalist David Longdon in a household accident at his Nottingham home in November 2021. As the author states rhetorically, what better way to honour the memory of David Longdon, the man many associate with Big Big Train, than to celebrate the band he made his name with and tell Big Big Train’s story?
Between The Lines really is a labour of love. The detail concerning the interlinkage between the various musicians moving into and out of the band in their early days is quite remarkable. Large sections of the book revolve around the many interviews conducted by Moon, as every member of the band agreed to contribute to this book and share their memories of the journey, which includes several revelations having previously not been shared before, as well as offering their view of what the band is now and what they want it to become.
Probably more than anything, though, Big Big Train’s story is one of perseverance against all the odds, and how denying belief in the music you’re making, despite the challenges faced down the years, such as different musical styles evolving and running out of funding to finish recording their 1997 album English Boy Wonder. Having to release the record despite it being in an incomplete state, which resulted in their label, GEP, dropping them, how all this adversity can ultimately pay off because this hardship led to the band building their own studio, continuing as an independent entity and piloting their own ship.
For this writer, however, one of the most intriguing sections of this book is the story of David Longdon’s audition to replace the departed Phil Collins in Genesis in 1996. For a couple of reasons (no spoilers!) Longdon didn’t get the gig (it went to Ray Wilson, singer with Stiltskin who’d had a no:1 single previously) but it’s fascinating to consider. Had he done so, we might have been spared Calling All Stations, the damp squib album which prompted Genesis to call it a day, but also what would have become of Big Big Train had Longdon’s name not been mentioned soon after this to Greg Spawton, Big Big Train’s only ever-present member, which led to Longdon collaborating with, and then joining the band, setting them on the path to the wider public acceptance they now enjoy?
Between The Lines is published as a coffee-table style hardback, with 180 pictures of the band in the studio and on stage, and individual members, many never published before. It’s packed with detail and a book for the committed fan who wants to know it all. However, at £49.99 a pop, which is a hefty chunk of cash, it’ll be a book only for the dedicated fans, who’re known as ‘passengers,’ so clearly won’t be something picked up by the casual rock reader. Maybe at some future point, Between The Lines will be released in a paperback format to attract a broader readership. But, this aside, if you want to know virtually the story and all the minutiae about how Big Big Train came to the prominence they currently enjoy, Between The Lines is the perfect starting point.
