Join Mark Butcher & The Allusions for songs from his latest album 'Now Playing', his first album 'Songs From The Sun House' and choice R&B covers from across the decades.
Dates and ticket information
Wed 18th May 2022 - Cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
See you on Thursday 19th May 2022 - see below!
Thu 19th May 2022 - Troubadour, 263-267 Old Brompton Road, Earl's Court, London SW5 9JA
Animation by Rachel Harwood-Stamper
Words & music by Mark Butcher.
I'm With You:
Mark Butcher - Lead and Backing Vocals, 6 String & 12 String Acoustic Guitars.
Smiley - Drums. Pete Twyman - Electric Guitars, Bass Guitar, Keyboards & Percussion.
**********
Under The Skin:
Mark Butcher - Lead and Backing Vocals, Electric Guitar & Bass Guitar.
Smiley - Drums. Pete Twyman - Electric Guitar, Keyboards & Percussion.
**********
Produced and mixed by Pete Twyman. Mastered by Mike Thorne at Rimshot Studios.
Thanks to Andy Barter, Man In The Moon Records, Auden Guitars.
Help Mark celebrate his debut album's 10th Birthday by downloading the brand-new remix of
'Put Some Soul In It' - it's FREE! The LP itself is also available to order on CD for a limited period for just £5.
Follow the link for details.
 
Artwork by Andy Barter
The singles, Start Again & Little Torrents were intended for a 3rd LP, however Covid19 meant that a mini UK tour was swiftly cancelled, so Mark & producer Pete Twyman decided that the new songs would be a way to keep things going. They will be released as a digital double A side on the 12th of June.
Mark wrote and recorded Start Again some time ago, with a female vocalist in mind. In the end he asked his daughter, Alita, to track a lead vocal - Mark spliced his & hers together as a demo & the duet idea was born. Man, can she sing! The lyric itself is as personal or universal as the listener finds it and the chorus soars. Little Torrents is in similar mould to the first single from Now Playing, "Country" - a raucous piece of heavy soul with a topical lyric.
On 5 July 2019, Mark Butcher, best known for his highly successful career in cricket, will release his self-penned second album entitled 'Now Playing' via Man In The Moon Records. The thirteen-track album, available on CD, Vinyl, Download as well as all major streaming services, also features the brilliant new single 'Country' which precedes the album by a week. Mark is due to tour the album this summer with his band.
Talking about 'Now Playing', Mark Butcher explains:
"Boom Band leader, Matt Taylor, asked if I'd write lyrics for 3 songs on a new project of his. I obliged and 2 of the 3 made the cut, leaving the third without a home.
A year later, the unused lyric was still burning a hole in my songwriters' pocket, so I asked Matt Cooper, keyboard virtuoso of the band Incognito (who I'd met after a gig "you're that cricketer aren't you...?") to collaborate on a song with me. We demoed it in an afternoon and left it at that.
Another year passed before I sent the recording to Eddie Pillar of Acid Jazz Records - and that's when things started to move a little. I was introduced to bass player / songwriter / producer Andy Lewis, he brought in his partner-in-crime Pete Twyman, and the project that is 'Now Playing' was born.
The track that kicked it all off, Take Hold of This Man is the final song on the new album. The other 12 were crafted with the old-school pop ethos of 'get in, hit it hard, get out', and I reckon we stayed true to that premise." Or as producer Twyman put it, "So imagine walking into a studio and you've got a drum kit, a couple of amps, a Wurly, an old upright piano, and a Hammond. And that's it. Then let the songs kind of tell you when they're where they should be."