To celebrate the re-opening of the Footlights club, West Chiltington, Sussex, Steve Knightley will be playing a solo show on Saturday 20th March. Tickets available online from www.footlightsmusic.com or by phoning 01798 812661.

Steve & Phil plus friends will be doing a fundraising concert for CLIC at the Barnfield Theatre, Exeter on Sunday 21 March. Concert starts at 7.30pm and the phone number for tickets is 01626 832176.

» Read the full story

Tickets for the 13th Abbotsbury Summer Family Concert are now on sale from Abbotsbury Tourism on 01305 871130:£22 adults/£11 children//£50 family (2 adults and up to 3 children).

» Read the full story

Steve and Phil were featured on BBC-1’s BREAKFAST show on Thursday 18th. For those of you who missed it, here’s a link to the interview:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/8522064.stm

This year Show of Hands have won two awards!
Best Original Song – Arrogance Ignorance and Greed
and Best Duo – Show of Hands
Live performances and other highlights are available to watch at bbc.co.uk from 7pm on Wednesday 3rd February.

Watch the brand new final version of the video on YouTube.

Plus there’s some new interview footage with the band talking about two tracks on the album: the title track and ‘IED-Science or Nature’

Just confirmed: Show of Hands & Guests, Thursday 21 Jan at Exeter Phoenix. Doors 8pm. Tickets now SOLD OUT

AIG running neck and neck with Jon Boden for Best Album.

The Spiral Earth Awards 2010 are up and running. Show Of Hands are shortlisted for Best Trad Track, Best Album and Best Group: “You can now vote in fifteen categories that celebrate the rich diversity of the current folk, roots and acoustic scene. What makes our awards a bit more involving for you is that you get to decide them.”

Both the Electric Ghost e-zine and FATEA website have named AIG as their album of the year 2009.

“Some of the best songs Steve Knightley has ever written – a stellar album of shattering magnificence destined to be our Album of the Year” – Electric Ghost

“Political, passionate, life affirming – this is folk of true Olympian proportions. If there’s a better written, produced and performed album released this year I’m going to have to commission someone to invent new superlatives” – FATEA Magazine

Thanks to you all for your wonderful support this year.
Have a good Christmas and see you in 2010.
Steve, Phil, and all the gang.

Show of Hands play a special London gig at The 100 Club on Tuesday 02 February, the day after the Folk Awards. Tickets at £16 plus booking fee are on sale online only from WeGotTickets: Click Here

The Spiral Earth Awards 2010 are up and running. Show Of Hands are shortlisted for Best Trad Track, Best Album and Best Group: “You can now vote in fifteen categories that celebrate the rich diversity of the current folk, roots and acoustic scene. What makes our awards a bit more involving for you is that you get to decide them.”

The tour comes to a close with tonight’s concert at the Hall For Cornwall, Truro. As well as Flossie Malavialle we will have those rowdy boys from Port Isaac, Fishermen’s Friends, joining us on stage.

The show is almost sold out but if you fancy joining us at this excellent venue there are just a few tickets left: Box Office 01872 262466

We’ve been advised that the car parks directly outside and opposite the Great Hall are closed due to renovation work taking place on campus. There is still plenty of parking available on campus. Customers park in Car Park A near the Innovation Centre where there will be a shuttle bus running between the car park and the Great Hall for the Show of Hands performance. Alternatively it is a 10 minute walk from the car park to the Great Hall.

The show has sold over 1,000 tickets so we advise people to get there earlier than planned.

SOH nominated for Best Duo and Best Original Song for ‘Arrogance Ignorance and Greed’ in the 2010 BBC R2 Folk Awards. You can listen to the nominations show here on BBC iPlayer: The Mike Harding Show

Hear the guys playng live on Judi Spiers Show BBC R Devon Tuesday 1st December just after 11am. Steve and Phil will be talking about the new album AIG and the upcoming Exeter concert on Thursday at the Great Hall Exeter Uni which is fast selling out.

Jon Richardson played ‘Senor’ from AIG – “this album is just amazing”. Available on BBC iPlayer about 1hr 13mins in.

This weeks sees the guys with sold out gigs at Winchester, Gloucester, Worcester and Nottingham. Tickets still available for the Derby Assembly Rooms concert on Saturday (21st Nov) which also features the Karine Polwart Trio but they are selling fast.

There also some tickets left for the rearranged Hereford gig on Wednesday 25th Nov at the Freedom Centre. Available from Shellie Byatt on 01432 761914 / soh_tickets@shelliebyatt.co.uk

Check out the new performance video of ‘Arrogance Ignorance and Greed’ on YouTube.

Steve & Phil’s interview with Mike Harding about the new album AIG will be broadcast this coming Wednesday 18th Nov from 7pm. The Mike Harding Show BBC R2. Now available to listen again on BBC iPlayer.

Could be worth tuning in to BBC Radio 2 ‘s Good Morning Sunday after 8am this weekend.

AIG selected as Album of the Week and Show of Hands tour in the Top Ten gigs in today’s Independent.

This additional show is now sold out.
Ticket holders from the original event (11th Oct) who have not confirmed attendance with Dorchester Arts Centre prior to Sunday’s show will not gain entrance and should ring the Arts Centre on 01305 266926.

The Guardian F & M Playlist. “Our music team pick the songs or albums they just can’t turn off”

Robin Denselow re Arrogance Ignorance and Greed title track:
“There have been surprisingly few angry songs about bankers and bonuses but this stomping and furious piece from Show of Hands is the best track of their new album.”

Steve & Phil will be playing live in the studio on the Tom Robinson Show BBC 6 Music this Friday 6th Nov from 7pm. Tom will interview the guys and play tracks from the new album.
Now available on Listen Again.

Jenna will be special guest and open the Dorchester show on Sunday 8th Nov, starts 7.30pm. Ticket holders from the original event at the Corn Exchange on 11th October should contact Dorchester Arts Centre on 01305 266926 for information on the ticket procedure for the new event. This additional show will be at the Herrison Hall Ballroom, Charlton Down.

The hotly anticipated new studio album Arrogance Ignorance and Greed , featuring eight new Steve Knightley songs, will be on sale from records shop, online retailers and download providers including iTunes from this coming Monday 26 October.

The album has had great reviews and airplay with Johnnie Walker playing the title track on BBC Radio 2 which saw it climb the Amazon Music charts yesterday.

The new album Arrogance Ignorance and Greed due for release on Monday stood in the various Amazon Charts (they change hourly) as follows:
Music Bestsellers (All) No:49
Music Bestsellers (World & Folk genre) No:3 up 150% :
Hot Future Releases (All) No:12
Hot Future Releases (World & Folk) No:1
Movers & Shakers In Music No: 9 up 157%

Johnnie Walker, sitting in for Terry Wogan, played Arrogance Ignorance and Greed today. Available just before the 8.30 news on Listen Again.

As a result of the airplay AIG has gone up to 86 in the overall Amazon Music Chart.

Johnnie Walker, sitting in for Wogan this week, indicated in today’s show that he might play a track from the new Show of Hands CD tomorrow Friday 23 Oct.

Fiona Talkington will be playing tracks from the new album on BBC R3’s Late Junction programme on both Wed 21 and Thurs 22 October .

Steve talks to BBC R Lancashire’s John Barnes from 11pm tonight Weds 21 October.

Hear Steve interviewed on the Paul Franks Show BBC WM betwen 6pm and 7pm Thurs 22 October.

Show of Hands will be doing an instore performance at HMV Exeter Princesshay 5pm on Tuesday 10 November. The guys plus Miranda Sykes will be playing live for 30 minutes or so and then available to meet fans and sign copies of the new studio album Arrogance Ignorance and Greed. The event is free so come along to listen to the band and enjoy a glass of bubbly on us.

As promised an additional Dorchester concert has been scheduled for Sunday 8th November. Ticket holders from the original event at the Corn Exchange on 11th October should contact Dorchester Arts Centre on 01305 266926 for information on the ticket procedure for the new event. Due to the unavailability of the Corn Exchange the new event will be at the Herrison Hall Ballroom, Charlton Down.

Read Colin Irwin’s great review of AIG for BBC Music.

There’s an interview with Phil on BBC R Wilts over the weekend. The first part will be broadcast between 10.30 and 11am on Saturday followed by two more sections early on Sunday morning.

Phil also has an interview with Ian Pearce which will be broadcast on his Melting Pot show on Sunday on BBC Three Counties at about 8:00am.

Read Phil Hewitt’s excellent review of the Festival Theatre show in the Chichester Observer

Steve & Phil go into the studio on Friday to record an interview with Mike Harding for a future show.

Recent airplay on the Iain Anderson Show BBC R Scotland and on the Late Show with Cherrie McIlwaine. Both available to listen to on iPlayer here and here

To allay any concerns, the concert at Chichester Festival Theatre on 14th Oct will be going ahead as planned. A few tickets are still available, click here

Unfortunately, the gig tomorrow night in the Electric Theatre, Guildford has had to be cancelled. We tried to rearrange a date later in the tour but that has not been possible, so the venue will be contacting all ticket holders to issue refunds.

UPDATE: We have now rearranged the concert for Tuesday May 4th 2010.

After two cancellations the gig tonight at Queen’s Theatre, Taunton will definitely go ahead.

We have managed to rearrange the postponed Hereford gig to Wednesday 25th November. This will now be at a new venue, the modern 350 seat Freedom Centre,. Tickets for the Shirehall concert will be valid for this new date but if you would prefer a full refund please contact Shellie Byatt on 01432 761914.

Our apologies for any inconvenience caused by the postponement.

We regret that the gig at Shirehall Hereford has had to be postponed. We are trying to rearrange a Hereford show for later in the tour – more information will follow soon.

See Steve’s message on the Guestbook page

We regret that the gig at Guildhall Chester had to be cancelled.
Everyone with tickets should send them back to Mick Green, the promoter, at 8 The Anchorage, Waverton, CHESTER CH3 7PL, and he will issue refunds.

See also Steve’s message on the Guestbook page

Steve is due to be interviewed on independent West Sussex radio station Spirit FM around 2.30pm today Thursday 8th Oct on the Ian Crouch show – talking about upcoming Chichester gig and new album. Those outside the area can listen live here.

To celebrate the forthcoming release of Arrogance Ignorance And Greed, Play.com are giving just 25 lucky fans the chance to win a pair of tickets to see Show Of Hands premiere their new album at an exclusive gig on October 28th! The show takes place early evening at the intimate Gibson Guitar Rooms in Central London, it’s the perfect place to hear the duo’s incredible new album performed live! To stand a chance of winning tickets to this exclusive event, simply answer the question here on Play.com fill in your details and click Go! Competition closes – 18th October 2009

Mike Harding will be playing a track from the new album on his show tomorrow Wed 07 October 7pm BBC Radio 2. Click here The Mike Harding Show

There are still some tickets left for the show at the Shirehall, Hereford this coming Friday 09 Oct but all the other shows this week are sold out. For Hereford tickets click here

E-magazine Spiral Earth give Arrogance Ignorance and Greed a 4* rating. Read the review here.

Bob Harris gave first mainstream radio play last Saturday night to ‘Evolution’ taken from the new album ‘Arrogance Ignorance and Greed’. Available here on BBC iPlayer about 46mins in.

Hear Steve & Phil interviewed by John Rockley BBC R Gloucester today. In two parts about 13mins and 1hr 06mins in after the 9am and 10am news bulletins. Available here on Listen Again

We now have samples of the new album to listen to on the discog page, click here.

We’ve just received the first stock and it looks great. All the orders placed so far will be despatched today and tomorrow. You can order online from here.

Steve and Phil played live on BBC Radio Lincolnshire’s Melvyn Prior show today Tuesday 22 Sept around 2.30pm
BBC Radio Lincolnshire and on Listen Again at about 1hr 55mins into the show.

The venue have issued a statement which says:
‘Despite recent concerns regarding the future of the Morwellham Quay, and the decision by Devon County Council to refuse further funding for the site, the Show of Hands concert this Thurs 24th Sept will still go ahead.
Unfortunately the Ship Inn will be closed but guests are invited to ‘Bring Your Own’ drinks and snacks to the intimate evening in the Manganese barn. Doors will open at 7.30 with music starting at 8pm. It is a seated event although it would be wise to bring a cushion / blanket for comfort.’

The Show of Hands concert at St Ives Festival on Wednesday 23rd September is now sold out

The new studio-recorded CD can now be ordered from the online shop
Eight original Steve Knightley songs are included plus two covers, Secret World and Senor (Tales of Yankee Power), and two traditional songs, Lowlands and The Keys of Canterbury.
You can order it now, or buy one at the CD stand on the County Towns Tour and get your copy signed. To listen to samples on the discography page, click here.

Shrewsbury Festival is now sold out, but if you want to see the Show of Hands performance on Sun 30th Aug, the festival are running a live main stage webcast.
A schedule of each day’s transmissions will be available on the festival website from approximately 11am each day.

Each month you get the chance to pick your favourite from 5 live tracks recorded by the BBC for the Mike Harding Show. This month’s selection includes Country Life recorded at Cambridge Folk Festival in 2007. Follow this link to see all the 5 tracks and place your vote: The Folk Vault

Show of Hands with Miranda Sykes will now be playing at The Acorn Theatre in Worksop on Saturday 19th September. LAST FEW TICKETS REMAINING. Box Office: 01909 501817 Website: Acorn Theatre

Cropredy gig Sat 29 August is now sold out.

At Sidmouth Folk Week on Friday 7th Aug, the line-up for the launch of Folk Against Fascism included Steve, Eliza Carthy, Spiers & Boden, & Jim Moray.

Steve was interviewed by Paul Moss for The World Tonight about the event. A short part of the interview was broadcast last night, and is available on Listen Now (about 36 mins into the programme) and News Online

It could be worth tuning in at 10pm tonight when the programme is due to cover the Folk Against Facism launch at Sidmouth Festival today. Steve was interviewed earlier in the day for possible inclusion in the programme.

As part of Sidmouth Folk Week, at 12 noon on Friday 7th there is a special concert to launch Folk against Fascism in the Ham Marquee. Steve will be there along with Paul Sartin, Eliza Carthy, Jon Boden and others.

Concerts on the upcoming County Towns tour are selling quickly. Those already sold out include Abingdon (1st Oct), Aylesbury (2nd Oct), Warwick (7th Oct), Guildford (13th Oct), Winchester (18th Nov) and Worcester (20th Nov).

Phil’s first gig on his return from the high seas will be a local event at The Quay Brasserie in Topsham on Wed 26th August, a special evening which features a concert and 3-course dinner combined.
News update (7th Aug) – NOW SOLD OUT

Show of Hands with Miranda Sykes will be back at Morwellham Quay nr Tavistock on Thursday 24 September, along with special guest Flossie Malavialle. The concert will be held in the atmospheric ‘Manganese Barn’ and space is limited.
News update (7th Aug) – NOW SOLD OUT.

The 12th  Abbotsbury Summer Concert was blessed by fine weather and another full house. No Phil this year but an eclectic lineup put together and presented by Steve, with Martyn Joseph,  Miranda Sykes with Miles Russell, Fishermen’s Friends, Jenna and Mawkin:Causley. Our thanks go to them, our great production crew, all the folks at Abbotsbury Tourism for the loan of their back garden to play in and you, the audience, for supporting the event in such numbers again.

Details are included for the ‘County Towns’ tour in Autumn 09 which runs from Wed 30th Sept to Fri 4th Dec.

Show of Hands with Miranda Sykes playing in every county town in England. All of the concerts will include special guest Flossie Malavialle.

Show of Hands get a 5* star review from the Independent for their recent concert at UCL Bloomsbury Theatre in London. To see the review online follow this link.

» Read the full story

A decade on, Show of Hands’ inspired frontman revamps his mainstream-nudging debut solo album, emphatically demonstrating the sheer diversity of his acclaimed songwriting.

13 tracks make up his most emotionally literate collection of songs to date with bonus track

“Rock You To Sleep” co-written with Seth Lakeman

Steve’s new CD can now be ordered from our online store.

» Read the full story

Andrew Warnes ran this year’s London Marathon in 4hrs 44mins and raised about £500 for the Bramble Ward, Exeter. The aim is to raise £1,000 or more to provide TV’s and Wii for the kids in the ward. To donate follow this link.

For the second instalment of Steve blog at BBC Radio 2 click here.

Part 1 of Steve’s guest blog can be viewed here.

Show Of Hands is a musical collaboration between Steve Knightley and Phil Beer, and they have been performing together since 1991, even having a tenth birthday celebration in 2001 at the Royal Albert Hall, which was filmed by Carlton Television and later released by the band in 2004 on DVD. During their Spires & Beams tour I went to see them at a little local venue just twenty minutes walk from my house…the venue? Ely Cathedral! The show was held in the Lady Chapel and ended up being one of my favourite concerts of 2008. Steve and Phil were joined by vocalist and double-bass player Miranda Sykes. The amazing acoustics of this absolutely wonderful chapel turned out to be perfect for this talented trio of performers.

» Read the full story

Last March, in part as a warmup for their prestigious Royal Albert Hall gig, Steve and Phil performed a series of five concerts in small venues within the Devon village of Topsham (“very much “home territory” for the lads), aimed at a purely local audience (even so, they were sold out despite almost no advance publicity!). The intimate and convivial spirit of the gigs was captured “fly-on-the-wall” style by hand-held cameras, and this 90-minute DVD presents a sequence of highlights. What comes across big-time, complementing their consummate professionalism and musicianship, is the tremendous rapport the lads have with their audiences and the unequivocal support they command from all quarters (fans through to technicians, management and venues).

» Read the full story

Steve Knightley and Phil Beer, better known as the acoustic duo Show of Hands, have succeeded the hard way. For the past 16 years they have played hundreds of concerts, often in tiny venues, slowly building up such a devoted cult following that they have packed the Albert Hall three times. Their current tour concentrates on churches and historic buildings, making London’s Union Chapel an ideal showcase for one of the most successful live bands on the folk scene.

» Read the full story

Longdogs is proud to announce the release of the above CD, the proceeds from which will be divided equally between the national childhood cancer charity CLIC Sargent and the ‘Paediatric Oncology’ fund at Bramble ward in the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.

» Read the full story