The singer officially begins his solo career this Monday, playing a string of dates -- just him and his acoustic guitar.
He wrote:
Monday, Monday, Monday. If someone had told me when I was 12 that at some point in the future I would be relishing the prospect of a Monday, I would have thrown my cheese and chutney sandwiches at them. But those sweet yet savoury days of cheese and chutney sandwiches and wasps chasing me for said sandwiches are long gone.
Monday= first performance for the humans since December 2005! Uh-oh.
I have played marathon sets for the cats in the front garden on many a drunken night since then. But people are not cats and cats are not people....as far as we know.
I have been revisiting songs on my music map that I have not played for five years. Five years! Wow, time has become fitter, it has increased muscle mass, and has switched disciplines- no longer a mid-distance runner- it is now a sprinter. The bastard.
The point of this is.......I am really looking forward to playing my simple songs in an extremely simple way (just me and a guitar). I have played gigs on my own in the past, the most memorable of which is probably when I opened for Muse in Dublin as all of the JJ gear was left in Heathrow due to a snow storm. Yes, that is correct, it was because of snow. How we laughed. There was also a solo Paris show (Hilary tonsilitis), a solo Glasgow show (Fergal broken ankle) and Tokyo, I think, (general drunkenitis).
Embarking on a solo career after being in a band for so long must be frightening and exciting at the same time... but I know if there is anyone on earth who can pull this off, it's Mark. If you're in the UK, check out one of these shows: you will not be disappointed.
