I was down in London yesterday so I could be at Delirious’ last ever gig at the Hammersmith Apollo. I saw them in Liverpool just over a year ago, and I thought then that that would be the last time I’d see them, but obviously they announced this final goodbye tour, and so I decided I wanted to be at the very last one.
Anyway, I made it into the venue at about 6.30pm and got my position about 10 rows from the front. First up, they all appeared on stage as ‘The Cutting Edge Band’ – which is how they started back in 1993. Everything about it was amazing.
I first saw them back at the start of 1995 at Spring Harvest, and then many times in the next few years in school halls and often other smallish venues, and the whole of this ‘support act’ set brought all those great memories back.
And at the end of this, they did the whole ‘There is a light’ section that they used to do to end their gigs, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
It was all just so beautiful – I really can’t think of another word to describe it, it really did feel special.
Then after the short break, they continued with the best show I’ve ever seen them do. It sounded fantastic, and I’ve been to d:gigs in the past where there have been issues with the sound mix, but it was pretty much spot on last night.
You could tell it was a really emotional night for them, and quite a few times their kids appeared on stage to join them – at one point, Martin had his daughter hanging round his neck whilst he was singing!
Also, for ‘Investigate’, a 2nd drum kit was brought onto the stage, and original drummer Stew Smith came on to join with them for one last time – and it was great!
Then we were onto the first encore, which gave us a few more songs, followed by some video messages from the band, and then their final song – ‘My Soul Sings’.
After this, they were then joined by all their families on stage.
There are some photos I took on my phone here.
It was definitely worth the trip down from Manchester… when I got back to the Travelodge I was staying in last night, I tried to work out how many times I’ve seen them over the last 14 years, and I think it’s 18! (those are the ones I can remember!)
I’ve seen them play in school halls, on Littlehampton beach, in HMV (where I was amongst them filming them!), at Alton Towers, in churches, and various gig venues around the UK… and I’m so glad they’ve been part of my life for a decade and a half, and that I’ve followed them over their journey as a band.
They left everyone with the phrase “Fabula Est Vestri” – which translated means ‘the story is yours’.
I found your blog when I googled “fabula est vestri.” I am an American, a midwesterner who caught wind of the D:boys back in ’98, and instantly they became one of my faves {and eventually, my all time favorite}. Over the years I traveled over a 5-state region to see them whenever they were near. Estimate that I saw them around 12 times, including in Chicago last September. I would have given anything to have been at the Apollo last November, if it were possible. I am grateful that they have filmed it for the masses.
I leave you with this: over the years I have seen many of the greats perform in rock, blues, and Christian music — Clapton, U2, Yes, EL&P, Jeff Beck, and yes, even Led Zeppelin on their final tour (that dates me a bit, yes?) — and of the hundreds of performances I have attended, the Delirous shows were the most moving and memorable of them all. The Holy Spirit was truly with them. I doubt that anyone will ever be able to fill the void. Thanks for your blog and pics.