Veteran Oldham rockers are back... once again

VETERAN Oldham rockers Barclay James Harvest will reunite to play for 50,000 fans at Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate.

Founder-members John Lees and Stuart Wolstenholme have recruited musicians Jez Smith, Craig Fletcher and Kevin Whitehead for Sunday’s gig which comes 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The set list will contain hits from classic BJH albums such as “Once Again”, “Everyone is Everybody Else”, “Time Honoured Ghosts”, “Octoberon”, “Gone to Earth” and “XII”.

The band formed in 1967 when John and Stuart joined forces with Les Holroyd and Mel Pritchard.

The quartet moved into a Saddleworth farmhouse to write and rehearse before releasing their first single “Early Morning” in 1968.

The band were well known for going against the usual guitar, bass, drums style opting instead for a more orchestral sound.

By the time their debut album was recorded the band had their own 48- piece orchestra.

Albums and tours followed over the years and the BJH fanbase started to swell which led the band to venture into Europe and the USA.

Stuart decided to go solo in the late 1970s and toured as Maestoso while the remaining three continued as a trio.

In August, 1980, BJH performed a free concert to 175,000 people on the steps of the Reichstag in the heart of a divided Berlin.

In 1998 the band announced they would be taking a sabbatical due to increasing disharmony in the ranks and a desire to pursue solo projects.

John immediately teamed up with Stuart for the first time in 20 years to record under the name Barclay James Harvest through the Eyes of John Lees and the pair won a Lifetime Achievement award at the Radio Regenbogen ceremony in Karlsruhe, Germany.

After Sunday’s gig, the band will embark on an extensive tour of the UK and Europe before the release of retrospective compilation “Sea of Tranquility — The Polydor Years 1974-1997”. Visit www.barclayjamesharvest.com for full tour dates.