Thursday 12th August 2010 - Line Up Announcement
Hi all,
It is with the fondest of farewells that we announce today that David Booth and Simon Edgoose will both be leaving The Floe this month to move on to pastures new. All the team here at The Floe HQ wish them the very best for the future and thank them wholeheartedly for their involvement in bringing the band to where it is today.
Sarah and Liz will be continuing to perform, write and record as The Floe and are as determined and passionate as ever to maintain, and even exceed the quality of work and reputation the band have achieved to date. We know that you'll continue to join us on this exciting next step of the journey!
Tomorrow's sold out gig, 'Live @ The Institute' in Kelvedon, will be Sarah, Liz, Simon and Andy presenting all The Floe classics with a new twist! It should be a unique experience for those of you lucky enough to get tickets. We'll see you there!
Regarding the '1st Birthday Giveaway' Prize Draw - these limited edition gift packages are already under construction and have been signed by all 4 original band members (Sarah, David, Simon and Liz) so we hope that the 12 lucky winners will appreciate the increased rarity value of what they're about to receive! These special packages are due for delivery next week so keep an eye out for the postman from the 17th August if you entered the draw!
Many thanks for your continued support and commitment to the band and we look forward to seeing you all again soon to start writing the history for The Floe - Year Two!
Very best wishes,
Sarah, Liz, David, Simon and team @ The Floe HQ.
Monday 26th July 2010 - Thanks Bob! Floe's first play on Radio 2!
This news story has been a long time coming but as Moloko would say - the time is now!
Legendary radio presenter Bob Harris played 'I Hope You Know' on his Radio 2 show in the early hours of Sunday morning. Thanks Bob!
If it was past your bedtime or you were busy partying elsewhere then you can 'listen again' online at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006wqtf
(We're on towards the end of the show, after the Beach Boys track, so fast forward to about 2.35 on the iPlayer if you're short on time!)
Those of you who have followed the band for a while now will know that airplay on Radio 2 is the Holy Grail for the likes of us and something which has eluded us until now.
The wait is over people!!!!
Let's all keep our fingers crossed that this will be the start of a beautiful relationship! ;-)
So log on, listen and enjoy!
Monday 12th July 2010 - Caffe Nero Tour Diary - Day Ten - Manchester & Liverpool - 05.07.10
So here we go....Let's go out with a bang! 2 Neros in one day...bring it on!
We decided to move our Manchester session forwards to the lunchtime of the Monday (originally planned for Wednesday evening) so as not to clash with the World Cup Semi Finals! (Bloomin' footie, live music's nemesis, tsk!)
A rather calmer affair than we were expecting, we sort of imagined a scramble of Mancunian business men rushing in and out grabbing their lunch hour espressos, but it was actually all a little more sedate. Some great feedback from those present though so glad to have livened up their lunches! Thanks too to Kirsty & Co for making us feel so welcome in your store.
Back into the van then for the final gig of the trip - Liverpool. We were determined to squeeze a visit to Liverpool in to this tour - having spent so many happy times there recording the Sketch album, we really wanted to show Liz the sights and take a trip down memory lane. We'd been recommended visiting the store in the newly developed Liverpool ONE precinct which was under construction on our last trip. WOW!!!!!! What a fantastic place!!! Everything you could ever want or need, in one pristine and beautifully designed shopper's paradise. Sarah will definitely be back for some retail therapy when she gets her pocket money! ;-)
Even better to meet up with our lovely Liverpuddlian fans who never fail to make the effort to come out and play when we're in town. Thanks guys, what a special group of people.
Extra thanks to Ean too for taking some lovely shots whilst we performed:
And so.....with one last blast of 'Not What Knocks You Down' it was done!
Is that it?! What are we supposed do we do now?! How will we cope without our daily dose of Nero?!!
(you may find us curled up in the corner of your local Caffe Nero over the coming months, rocking disturbingly back and forth, cursing that our coffees weren't free and muttering expletives along the lines of 'Dont they know who we are!?!')
For now though, we're happy to pack up shop, fill our bellies with Wagamas and return to our old haunt Alma De Cuba for celebratory Mojitos &a bevvy of other rum based beverages.
Bottoms up Floe fans! Here's to the next adventure!
Over & out.
Sarah, Liz & David
PS - To see this diary entry WITH PHOTOS, check out the blog @ http://www.myspace.com/thefloe
Monday 12th July 2010 - Caffe Nero Tour Diary - Day Nine - Ipswich Music Day & Bad Shepherds @ The Lowry - 04.07.10
(OK, so technically we didn't play at a Caffe Nero this day but it was hard to leave it out when it was so securely sandwiched in amongst it all!)
Off we go to the first engagement of the day then - Ipswich Music Day. Time to let loose and rock out after all these acoustic coffee shop moments! We wheeled out the long lost Drummer and Bass Player to give it some welly! (Luckily no wellies required at this out door event, once again we were bathed in sunshine! Sweltering in fact!!)
Immediately after our set it was back in the bus to fly oop north to Salford for our Bad Shepherd's support that evening. We left Ipswich at 2pm and were soundchecking at The Lowry by 6.30pm - not bad! (must remember to book the Helicopter next time!)
Beautiful venue, 300+ in the audience, 30+ albums sold, wonderful group of volunteers on duty.......cracking night all round! Thanks Mr Edmondson & Co - the ironically very good Bad Shepherds!
Off to sleep at Mummy Booths house in Derbyshire then to rest our tour-weary voices ahead of the final day tomorrow (slightly sad, slightly happy, pretty delirious, totally knackered!)
Night night all!
Sarah & Floe Co.
PS - To see this diary entry WITH PHOTOS, check out the blog @ http://www.myspace.com/thefloe
Monday 12th July 2010 - Caffe Nero Tour Diary - Day Eight - Cornbury Festival - 03.07.10
Caffe Nero - coming to a field near you!
Just when you think you've seen all that Caffe Nero has to offer, it throws you a curve ball! "Dya fancy playing the Caffe Nero Stage at Cornbury Music Festival?" they say..."Dya fancy getting the chance to perform at one of the UK's finest live music events, shortly before David Gray headlines??" they say...."You bet!!!!" we reply!
So there we find ourselves, trundling on a V.I.P golf buggy towards the Nero Tent, nestled neatly between the Pimms Bus & The 2nd Stage with the sound of the Noisettes playing live carrying on the balmy summer's evening breeze. Ah, this is the life!!
Here's what one Festival go-er said of our set (brings tears to our eyes!)
"I caught the set at Cornbury. I used to run acoustic clubs in Manchester in the 80s/90s and saw a lot of really good acts. But I have to say The Floe were absolutely incredible, one of the best I’ve seen and heard. The combination of songs and that beautiful, powerful, completely committed singer’s voice and spot on harmonies is sublime. This band hit all the spots in one go. I bought the album straight away and it captures what they do wonderfully. But to experience their intense and expansive energy live is a series of goosebump-driven moments. They leave me ecstatic and emotional. Whatever they’ve got, it’s real and rare. Love ‘em. Thanks guys. "
Wow! 'Thank you' doesn't really do that message justice but...thank you! Thanks also must go the Pablo and all the team at Caffe Nero for being so incredibly supportive of new music and taking such care over what their customers get to listen to whilst sipping their cuppas each day. Not only their customers I suppose - the Baristas who served our post-show Frappes seemed rather chuffed to meet us in the flesh having been playing our music in store all month too! What a pleasant surprise to know they actually listened to and appreciated the music that was wafting through their stores on a daily basis. This is a good time to credit all the Caffe Nero employees we've met along this tour - what a fantastic team, they're doing you proud out there Nero bosses!
Not sure Liz's ride on the 'Extreme' fairground ride was such a good idea after downing a humungous Nero Strawberry Milkshake but she managed to keep it down surprisingly and was beaming ear to ear! (this is the girl who screams at spiders but seems perfectly happy to be thrown upside down and inside out in the name of 'fun'!)
Watching paper lanterns flicker across the sunset as David Gray belted out classic like 'Babylon' & 'This Year's Love' truly made the day. What a blissful treat, and what a welcome moment of serenity before it all kicks off again a pace tomorrow morning!
4 gigs in 48 hours here we come!
To Be Continued....
Sarah & Team.
PS - To see this diary entry WITH PHOTOS, check out the blog @ http://www.myspace.com/thefloe
Monday 12th July 2010 - Caffe Nero Tour Diary - Day Seven - Cambridge 01.07.10 -
Wow, a rare treat, waking up for a day of touring in one's own bed!
Hmmm...it's nice to be home n'all, but at least out on the road there's someone to make the bed (ooh, fresh sheets!) empty the bins and there's no pile of washing staring at you when you wake up! Ho hum, it's not all rock'n'roll! ;-)
A few hours to catch up with the household chores then before heading across the Cambridge for our 7th Nero. A sense of complacency about this venue being closer and in a more familiar town set us up for a fall! Cambridge's one way system scuppered all plans of arriving early and having a leisurely set up as Sarah & David frantically chew their nails to the quick whilst inching their way through the sluggish stream of rush hour traffic in every direction OTHER than where they needed to be! Grrrr!
Sarah eventually jumps out of the tour bus and dashes 'Anneka Rice' stylee towards the cafe where a waiting Liz and her entourage race to the 'roadie' rescue! Dave then goes off to find a parking space within walkable distance!
Once inside, gasping for breath and dripping with sweat, the day is vastly improved by the sea of familiar faces waiting at each table! Such a great turn out Floe fans - thank you! A pleasure to play for you.
Not such a pleasure however to return to the van to find that Mr Traffic Warden had paid us a little visit and left his autograph on the windscreen! Oh. (Where did you park it exactly Dave???!?!!)
Anyhow, the gig was worth it and we can't wait to return to Cambridge. Thanks to everyone who joined us for one of our favourite (and certainly most memorable!) dates of the tour.
Back home tonight to hang out the washing! More to come for the busiest weekend EVER ahead!
To be continued....
Sarah & Co.
PS - To see this diary entry WITH PHOTOS, check out the blog @ http://www.myspace.com/thefloe
Monday 12th July 2010 - Caffe Nero Tour Diary - Day Six - Bath - 30.06.10
There may not have been any alarm clocks set but Liz's Blackberry ringtone sure shook the walls and got us out of bed at just gone 9 this morning!!
Boothy decided to treat the ladies to room service, so he popped over to the services for some take away brekkie courtesy of M&S! Bananas.....we actually finally ate some fruit....miracle!! (maybe we shouldn't mention the croissants?!)
So where to spend the day before we hit Bath? Dave quite fancied a jaunt back to his old stomping ground of Tewkesbury so we found ourselves weaving through an army of the elderly and infirm (it was market day - nuff said!) towards The Olde Black Bear for a shandy beside the river where Dave phoned his Mum for a misty eyed trip down memory lane!
Back aboard the Floe-Mobile we realised we were struggling to see the road for the menagerie of insects who'd met their maker on the windscreen during the course of the tour so far. It was car wash o'clock! Only one problem....we managed to break the car wash and ended up momentarily trapped in said Floe Mobile whilst a petrol station attendant barked orders at Liz through the soggy drivers side window ("Turn your wheel! No not that way, the other way!") We escaped unharmed. Even the aerial didn't snap off and both wing mirrors survived....we'd made it!!
Next stop, with the now gleaming tour bus whistling the tune of "Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...." - Weston Super Mare!
We thought we'd embrace that good old english tradition of bucket and spade, amusement arcades, 99s and fish and chips. We weren't disappointed - donkey rides, candy floss - the lot - Weston Super Mare ticked all the boxes for shabby chic British Beach resort! It's undergoing some serious regeneration work though since the pier burnt down not so long ago - pneumatic drills and workmen drowned out even the seagulls...imagine if you will a scene from Fraggle Rock featuring the Doozers!
Didn't put us off our chish & fips though!
Enough of all this galavanting around the countryside - time to do some work! We drove on to Bath. We drove round Bath. We drove round Bath again. A few times in fact. We discovered 2 Caffe Neros, neither of which was ours but, finally, we pulled up alongside our home for the evening!
2 depressingly young and good looking blonde Nero employees were on hand to greet us and our local fans did us proud on Roadie duties!
Tough choice between playing the large and perfectly formed downstairs bar, or the small but visible-to-passing-music-lovers upstairs 'corridor' shaped space. Hmmm. We plumped for upstairs and Liz perched herself on a sofa whilst playing piano so that we could all squeeze in! Did the trick though, a nice crowd seemed to form on the benches outside and the tables filled up inside. Nice to see some children enjoying tonight's show - they were particularly good at the 'Start Again' coffee cup percussion!
Drinks - Sarah & Liz -waterwaterwater, Dave - lattelattelatte!
Another set done and dusted then and the van was re-loaded for the trip back to Essex tonight. Standing in the road outside about to embark, one of the Nero employees ran out with another basket of free pastries! "Forgot to offer you them - do you want one"?!...........we look at each other....OH GO ON THEN!! A lovely spontaneous moment with some of our best friends and most loyal fans devouring yet more naughty-but-niceness in the streets of Bath! This is what we'll remember this tour for.
Thanks everyone! Back to Essex then and see you in Cambridge tomorrow!
Sarah & Floe Co.
PS - To see this diary entry WITH PHOTOS, check out the blog @ http://www.myspace.com/thefloe
Monday 12th July 2010 - Caffe Nero Tour Diary - Day Five - Birmingham 29.06.10
Off we trot to Birmingham then! Harborne to be exact.
We arrive to find a parking space right outside the Caffe Nero store, a Pizza Express next door one side and a Loungers Bar the other....it doesn't get much better than that for us Floes! (...other coffee chains, pizza restaurants & drinking holes are available!) Even better, greeting us were two more contenders for Caffe Nero Employee Of The Month - Jon & Julie!
Traditional band drinks tally then: Sarah - still glugging that mineral water! Liz went for a San Pellegrino Limonata and Dave's sure drinking a lotta latte! Free pastries all round too - we're definitely going to be renamed The Flab not The Floe after this tour!!! Ah well, when in Rome....! ;-)
Set went well, Sarah refuses to be defeated by her lingering cold! Lovely to meet some new people from this neck of the woods too - welcome new followers!
Pizza Express followed and some cheeky drinks in that bar next door, then an early night back at the Travelodge with no alarm clocks set!! Wahoo - what a treat!
Next stop Bath.
To be continued...
Sarah & fellow Flabs!
PS - To see this diary entry WITH PHOTOS, check out the blog @ http://www.myspace.com/thefloe
Thursday 24th June 2010 - Caffe Nero Tour Diary - Day Four - Buxton - 23.6.10
Little Chef followed by biiiiiiiig drive!
After yesterday's gorgeous de-tour to the beach we did the same today, stopping at Pooley Bridge in the Lake District on our way from Edinburgh down to Buxton (Not many times we travel 'south' to Derbyshire!)
We bought sandwiches from a perfect little village tea room and settled on the rocks on the waters edge of Ullswater for one pretty spectacular lunchtime upgrade from the motorway services!!
So kind of the fighter jet pilot to organise a spectacular fly-past for us too shortly after this photo was taken! It did momentarily interrupt the peace and quiet but we didn't mind one bit and stared open mouthed like young boys as it wooshed Top Gun stylee over our heads - Wooooah! Coooool!
Back in the van in the nick of time to listen to the England vs. Slovenia match on 5 Live! Liz managed to sleep through it all whilst Sarah & Dave whooped and gasped beside her!
Great to see Boothy's friends and family turn out at Buxton Caffe Nero - thanks everyone! Lots of encouragement to play the Buxton Fringe Festival as soon as possible - we'll make sure we get that one in the diary a.s.a.p.
Floe drink tally: Caffeine top up needed for the long drive home tonight. Dave had 2 Lattes, Sarah - 1, & Liz was back on the tea, 2 of 'em. Oh & we threw in a bar of Nero Hazelnut Chocolate for good measure too!
So...back on the road to Essex then, arriving back on home soil in the wee small hours. Few days to wash our undies, see the missus/misters, teach some kids to pay the bills and catch up on emails before getting back out there on the Caffe Nero Tour next Tuesday. Phew!
Oh, but, hang on, didn't we book in a BBC Cambridge session with Sue Marchant for Thursday night? Yup!! Meet back at the van in a few hours then Floes - back on the road in 15 hours time - no rest for the wicked! Cambridge here we come!
Sarah & Floe Co!
PS - To see this diary entry WITH PHOTOS, check out the blog @ http://www.myspace.com/thefloe
Thursday 24th June 2010 - Caffe Nero Tour Diary - Day Three - Edinburgh - 22.6.10
Sarah was woken from her slumber by The Floe dawn chorus - Liz & Dave both tapping away on their Blackberrys!
"Today we shall wake up in England & go to bed in Scotland" - that's proper touring!
A quick wash & brush up (& a Veggie Fry Up for Dave at Gateshead Asda!) and we were off on the road again.
We decided to split the journey with a pit stop at Low Newton by The Sea. Boy! - did we make the right decision!! We may as well have de-toured to the Bahamas.....the sun was blazing in the sky and the beach was incredible! What a treat, we felt guilty for at least, ooh, a few minutes!
Made it to Edinburgh in time for a late al fresco lunch - really didn't expect my first trip to Scotland to result in slapping on the Factor 50! - shame all the shops are crammed with tartan wooly scarves and cashmere sweaters - where's a tartan bikini when you want one?!
Nero audience was small but perfectly formed and included people from all over the world - America, Germany, Spain... & of course some local Scots!
Floe beverages for Day 3 - Iced drinks were the order of the day all round with Liz & Sarah both celebrating with a Chocolate Frappe & Dave losing his Fruit Booster virginity!
A glass of Pimms on The Royal Mile, watching the Ghost Tours (Liz is still traumatised from one years ago!!) and street entertainers juggling fire could not have been a more perfect end to Day Three. Sarah has been truly spoilt for her first time in Scotland and can't wait to return!
Tomorrow...Buxton!
Sarah & Floe Co!
PS - To see this diary entry WITH PHOTOS, check out the blog @ http://www.myspace.com/thefloe