Lightyears hit Cape Town!

The day is finally here - we've landed in South Africa! We arrived in Cape Town only a few hours ago but I'm already hooked on the place. It's just incredible here - stunning weather, breathtaking surroundings and really welcoming people. Danny and I are still a bit groggy from the flight having engaged in something of an alcoholic face-off last night (Danny on JD & Coke, me on London Pride) in front of a film called "The Rocker" which, well, let's just say you needn't bother watching. Entertaining enough ...

“He Ain’t Heavy” – The Story Behind Johannesburg

At the tail end of last year, I wrote a song called "Johannesburg". Typically, the songs I write are based on my own life experiences, but this one was an exception. There was a news story on the BBC, last September I think, in which a British correspondent interviewed two brothers - neither of them any older than 15 years old - arriving in Johannesburg after a harrowing journey on foot from Zimbabwe. Their parents had been murdered by government militia. Left on their own at such a young age, at first they had ...

Download new LYs song “Johannesburg” – for free

Ahead of our upcoming tour to South Africa, we've just recorded a new song entitled "Johannesburg" - and it can be yours, right now, for free.  All you need to do is sign up to The Lightyears mailing list and we'll give you a copy of the song for nothing. Free music! It's crazy-bonkers! You can get your free copy by adding your email address to the box on the right. You know us, we like to make a fuss when we visit a new country and we're particularly ...

LYs to play to thousands in Cape Town

We've just got the finer details through about our upcoming gigs in Cape Town, South Africa - and it looks like we'll be playing to a crowd of thousands! We're headlining at the after-parties for the Cape Town Tens Rugby Tournament and the organisers expect 2000+ people to turn up for the festivities. The events are taking place at Hamilton RFC, South Africa's oldest rugby club - situated, fittingly, in the shadow of ...

Things I Know About Rugby

So, here's the news - we're forsaking Blighty next week for eleven days in South Africa, where we'll be headlining at the after-parties for the Cape Town Tens Rugby Tournament. "But how," I hear you cry, "have The Lightyears ended up performing at a rugby tournament?". Well, evidently the good word is spreading and in fact we've been scheming about getting out to SA for some time now. Thing is, of course, that I know very little about rugby. Next to nothing, if ...

Lightyears to tour to South Africa

Get ready for the latest instalment in our grand plan to conquer the world - next week we are leaving British soil for Cape Town, South Africa. We've been booked to headline at the Cape Town Tens Rugby Tournament on 7 and 8 February and we're mighty excited about it. Click here to read the Cape Town Tens' article on the band.  This is our first trip to SA and also represents the fourth continent ticked off our To-Do list - Europe, ...

The Lightyears’ Family Tree

Today, to mark the release of our new album London, England, I thought I'd attempt the impossible - to figure out where the heck it is that The Lightyears come from.  People always ask musicians "Who are your influences?", and musicians tend to answer with long, protracted diatribes about rare Frank Zappa B-sides and unreleased Captain Beefheart LPs that leave normal people reeling. From now on then, when people ask me that question, I can simply refer them to this article. Essentially I'm talking about a musical family tree. Who ...

First reviews of “London, England”

The first reviews of the new album are beginning to trickle in from various sources. Irish national music magazine State gave it four out of five stars, proclaiming that "in a world of passing fashion, fake credibility and media hype, The Lightyears are able to stand out for all the right reasons". Click here to read State's review of London, England. Following the publicity in State, the Dublin-based radio station Phantom FM reviewed the album ...

LYs offer fans free money! No catch!

Our new album London, England is now available to buy from our online shop, priced £5 (click here to visit the shop page and buy your copy) - but for those craving the digital option, the album will become available to download from iTunes, Napster, eMusic and various other online outlets in the coming weeks. In the meantime, outside of www.TheLightyears.com the album will be available exclusively from independent download store and social networking site Amie Street.  If ...

New Lightyears album out now

Morning pop fans! Welcome to Monday 19 January - a day that shall hereafter be remembered for unleashing the furious might of our new album London, England upon the world. The album is now available from our online shop, priced £5. Click here to buy your copy! For those craving the digital option, London, England will become available to download from iTunes, Napster, eMusic and various other online outlets in the coming weeks. In the meantime, ...

New album reviewed live on Irish radio

Our new album's being reviewed today on Phantom 105.2 FM in Dublin. State Magazine's Phil Udell will being discussing his thoughts on London, England live in the studio with "Front Row" presenter Sinead Ni Mhordha at around 1pm. Listeners outside Ireland can tune in at Phantom's website - click here to visit www.Phantom.ie.

“London, England” photoshoot online in Gallery

Head on over to the LYs gallery to check out a set of previously unseen photos taken last year in the studio during the recording of our new album London, England. The photos were taken of the band, by the band, at the Voyager School in Peterborough during March and April 2008. The Voyager boasts a fully kitted out, state-of-the-art recording studio and we became the first professional band to use its facilities since the school's launch in late 2007. You'll notice me doing my best impression of a World War Two ...

The Sound Of 2009…?

Whilst perusing the BBC website recently I came across a story on the BBC's search for the "Sound Of 2009". A winner had been crowned - Little Boots, proclaimed the pundits, will be the sound of 2009. She is apparently being hailed by some as the saviour of pop music. To be frank I hadn't spotted that pop music needed saving (Gwen Stefani aside) but I followed the link nonetheless and diligently sat through the video of ...

Chris Lightyear launches new blog “Six Foot Pianist”

This year, in addition to my usual tour diaries, I'll be publishing a blog every few days and inflicting my innermost hopes, thoughts and yearnings upon an unsuspecting world. I shall be grouping these weighty tomes together underneath the deadly moniker "Six Foot Pianist", for that is what I am.  Today's instalment tackles the sticky issues of Simon Cowell, Leonard Cohen and the future growth of your good self, The Music Consumer. Check it out ...

Power To The People

I read somewhere on the internet the other day that 2009 is being hailed as "The Year Of The Musician". I'd like to add, as a corollary, that by definition this also makes 2009 "The Year Of The Fan" - for what are we, tinkering away in our bedrooms on Garageband, earnestly pouring out our hearts and trying to perfect chord sequences, without you, the music consumer, who brings meaning to our desperate, rudderless existence? Y'see, I reckon there's a fairly seismic power shift happening in music at the moment. For ...

“You’re ‘avin a giraffe mate!”

WEDNESDAY 17 SEPTEMBER, 1.30pm (Time Square, New York, USA): "I'm driving a van! Through Time Square! I'm James Bond!" Tony is driving a van. Through Time Square. In doing so he is fulfilling a lifelong ambition and is having an absolute ball in the process. A cab driver tries cutting us up and soon regrets it. Within seconds Tony's head is out of the window unleashing a patter of mockney road-rage. "Oi! Watchit mate! [pause] Nah mate, I ain't moving. C'mon, you could get a bus through there! [another pause] Wot?! You're ...

New Lightyears album out on 19 January

Happy New Year folks! We're very excited to kick off 2009 by announcing the official release of our new album London, England on Monday 19 January. It's been a long time in the making and we're really proud of the results. Here's the track-listing - a mixture of familiar LYs tracks and a couple of wild-cards... 1. Firefly 2. She's The One 3. Sleepless 4. Emily 5. This House Will Burn 6. I'm Not 7. Filmstar 8. In Black Eyes 9. That Was Us 10. England Tracks 3 and 4 were produced by the legendary Hugh ...