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January, 9th, 2012: Unfortunately, keyboard player Lars Frik, drummer Falco Kurtz and guitarist Lorenz Gelius-Laudam have all decided to leave the band for job- and/or family-related reasons. Over the last couple of months, one after the other came to the conclusion that they could no longer contribute as much to the band as they wanted. As you can imagine, this decision wasn't the easiest to make after all these years of making music together – neither for the three musicians who will leave nor for the other three who will stay in the band. Thanks for all the effort you put into FLYING CIRCUS and good luck to you, guys – we will miss your creative input and three true friends!

However, the band will continue working on new material, of course: 8 songs for the planned concept album have already been written, and at the same time we are in the middle of recording an EP comprising 5 tracks in total (three brand-new compostions, one re-interpretation of an old Flying Circus song and one cover verision). Drums, bass and most of the guitars have already been layed down on tape (well, hard disk, actually), and the rest of the instruments and vocals will follow over the next couple of weeks.

We will be able to tell you what the new FLYING CIRCUS line-up will look like rather soon, because FLYING CIRCUS Mk. VI is set to contribute two songs to the big "THIN CROW Plugged!" concert event taking place on March, 2nd – so stay tuned for the official announcement!

January, 1st, 2011: A look BACK to 2011 and FORTH to 2011

2010 was a very special year for Flying Circus. How many bands are able to celebrate their 20th anniversary, after all? So this is a time to say thank you so much to all of you, because without your support we probably would have quitted a long time ago! You have to go back a long way in time to find a year that saw you buying more of our albums than 2010 – back to the time of our debut 'Seasons' in fact (and back then, this was much easier – not just because we had the support of a label). But even more motivating is the fact that so many of you told us how meaningful and relevant you find our music – be it by coming up to us after gigs, by writing an album review or by sending us an e-mail – often from far-flung corners of the earth. That is the most important thing!

So rest assured: There will be new Flying Circus music to listen to in future as well! We are currently working on new material, and we plan to relaese a 5-track EP as soon as possible – but what's more: in the long run, there will be the first concept album by Flying Circus to look forward to. During the last couple of months, we have been throwing some musical and lyrical ideas around, and over the last couple of weeks we have come to the conclusion: yes, the whole thing is relevant enough to be stretched out over an entire album. We will keep you up to date with the process of working on this most ambitious project of ours to date!

In addition to that, the last days of 2010 saw a more than pleasant surprise for us: TSM Promotions, the British promo agency supporting us in the UK, has just voted Flying Circus best progressive rock band of the year in its internal poll – putting us on top of its charts which are also sporting none other than US legend Pavlov's Dog among others – incredible!

October 8th, 2010: Over the last few months and after loads of reviews in Germany, the internationale press has finally also caught the buzz about our latest album 'Forth'. There have been articles in Britains most renowned rock magazine 'Classic Rock' and the very influential 'Dutch Progressive Rock Page', for example. As always, we have posted all the new reviews here. Furthermore, there will be reviews in the forthcoming issues of US-magazine 'Progression' and british magazine 'Fireworks'. The latter will also publish an interview with singer Michael Dorp. There also has been some airplay from radio stations from the USA, Britain and France over the last couple of weeks, and thus CD-sales have again taken an upward turn recently. Plus: Some further magazines, websites and radio stations from Britain, Canada and Poland have ordered their 'Forth' promo packages in the last couple of days, so we do stand a fair chance that sales will remain on a decent level for the rest of the year.

June 15th, 2010: A number of magazines have published further (great) reviews regarding the latest FLYING CIRCUS album 'Forth' (including German mags and websites 'Metal Hammer', 'MUSIKER Magazin' and 'musik an sich'). As always, we have listed the reviews here.

Plus: Tomorrow (June 16th, 2010), the new edition of top class German rock mag 'Rock It!' will be at the newsagents, and it will contain a sheer fireworks display of FLYING CIRCUS: In addition to the obligatory review, there will be an interview with the band and a FLYING CIRCUS track on the mag's 'Hear It!' sampler. This time, the paper's editors chose 'Overload' for their CD.

And last but not least: Our albums 'Seasons' and 'Pomp' are available again after a short hiatus. The reissues have finally been delivered to us! So, if you would like to order a copy of one of those, just click on ORDER CDs.

April 29th, 2010: The first reviews regarding the new FLYING CIRCUS albums 'Forth' have arrived. We have assembled them for you in the 'reviews' section - happy reading!

Plus: The new edition of 'Eclipsed' magazine features an illustrated article on FLYING CIRCUS's 20th anniversary – so get hold of a copy!

March 24th, 2010: We are glad to be able to present to you another live date after January's CD release concert - here are all the details:

FLYING CIRCUS at the 'Szenario im Auflauf
Steinweg 1 • 35037 Marburg (Oberstadt), Germany
Date: April 23rd, 2010 (Friday)
Doors: 20:00 Uhr • Concert: 21:00 Uhr
Box office price: 5,- Euro
More Information: http://www.auflauf-marburg.de/kalender.php
(sorry, German site only!)

Furthermore, we would like to tell you that the distribution channels for the new FLYING CIRCUS album have improved further: In addition to being able to order directly from the band and worldwide mail-order via CD Baby 'Forth' and the 'Back & Forth Box Set' are now also available at all amazon and iTunes stores worldwide – as downloadable MP3s and in case of amazon as physical CDs as well.

Last but not least, the next edition of renowned German rock magazine 'Eclipsed' will feature a very positive review of 'Forth' and the FLYING CIRCUS track 'Pride of Creation' on the magazine's enclosed CD sampler.

February 16th, 2010: Exactly one month after the event itself we have put the best pictures of the big FLYING CIRCUS anniversary concert online for you right here!

Thanks again to all of who who have made this a very special night for us!

Moreover, our new album 'Forth' is now available worldwide trough our US-based distribution partner CD Baby – you can buy the actual CDs or download 'Forth' in its standard edition or as the box set with bonus CD in the 'ORDER CDs' section.

January 16th, 2010: At last! The new FLYING-CIRCUS-CD 'FORTH' and the 20th anniversary box set 'BACK & FORTH' have arrived! You can now order the CDs here!

The first three albums 'Seasons', 'Out of the Waste Land' and 'Pomp' have also been reissued and can now be ordered again.

You will be able to buy all CDs at our anniversary concert this evening as well of course. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

January 13th, 2010: Just three days before the 20th anniversary concert, you now have the opportunity to listen to some of the songs from the new albums in full length, as FLYING CIRCUS now has ist own Myspace-site at:

http://www.myspace.com/flyingcircusrockband

You can hear the complete versions of ‘Pride of Creation’ and ‘The Rope’ featured on ‘Forth’ and the FLYING CIRCUS classics ‘The Mover’ and ‘Magic Land’, which will appear on the anniversary bonus CD ‘Back’. Plus: You will find one song each from our first three albums.

And if you’re not yet registered at this social network, but what like to become our ‘Myspace friend’, just follow this Link:
http://www.myspace.com/reloc.cfm?c=2&id=2d8d3e28-73f0-4f08-9c63-367c8b7f25ae

January 6th, 2010: As you can see the FLYING CIRCUS website has been completely relaunched.

Most important update: You can now hear first samples from the forthcoming album 'Forth' in the 'MUSIC' section. You will of course also find some sound snippets from the bonus CD 'Back' (containing rerecordings of early FLYING CIRCUS compositions from the years 1989 to 1995 hitherto unavailable on CD) which will be part of the deluxe edition of 'Forth'.

Additonally, we added the lyrics for the albums due to be released on January 16th in the 'LYRICS' section. As usual, you will also get an impression of the new CD's artwork, as guitarist Lorenz Gelius-Laudam has once again graced the CD booklet with some great illustrations which have been combined with current photo portraits of the FLYING CIRCUS band members.

These pictures of the band and the press photos were shot by Antje Görnig who already was responsible for the photos in the 'Pomp' artwork.

So: Enjoy the website and above all: the new sound samples and pictures!

December 24th, 2009: Just a quick note just before Christmas with the latest infos regarding the new FLYING CIRCUS album:

During the last couple of days, Roger Weitz and Michael Dorp have finished mixing and mastering the main CD FORTH and the Bonus CD BACK for its special box set edition.

The CDs will be pressed right after the festive season.

Till then all the best for the Christmas holidays to you all!

October 24th, 2009: The members of FLYING CIRCUS have started rehearsing for their 20th anniversary gig/CD release party while still working on the completion of 'FORTH'.

The concert on January 16th, 2010 (8:30 pm, G.O.T., An St. Josef 4, D-41515 Grevenbroich) will last around two hours and will comprise five songs from the new album as well as a considerable amount of tracks from all other FLYING CIRCUS CDs.

Additionally, the band will perform two songs from its early days never before available on CD, which will finally be released with the deluxe edition of FORTH featuring the bonus disc 'BACK' (see below for further infos).

Furthermore, FLYING CIRCUS will re-release all its earlier albums 'Seasons' (1997), 'Out of the Waste Land' (2000) and 'Pomp' (2004), which for some time have all been sold out up to now. The re-release date will coincide with the band jubilee - thus you will able to buy all the material FLYING CIRCUS ever recorded from January 16th, 2010.

October 5th, 2009: The new FLYING CIRCUS album has now got an official release date!

FORTH will come out on January 16th, 2010, which will of course be coincide with a big CD release party/jubilee concert because of the band’s impending 20th anniversary.

The concert at the G.O.T., An St. Josef 4, 41515 Grevenbroich, Germany, will start at 8:30 pm (doors 7:30).

Tickets are at 5,- Euro and can be now obtained via e-mail order (just send an e-mail to this adress and all infos on extra charges for postage and on how to pay will be forwarded to you).

More infos on how the recordings for ‘FORTH’ (and the bonus CD ‘BACK’ with early FLYING CIRCUS songs) are going ahead will follow soon right here.

August 20th, 2009: Following a row of entries primarily concerned with FLYING CIRCUS members' activities outside the band, it is now time to talk about FLYING CIRCUS again as the band plans to release its new album called ‘Forth’ in December. The title is a play on words of course, as it is the band’s fourth album.

Preproductions for the 11 new songs were completed a couple of weeks ago, and now the final tracks are being layed down.

As the band will celebrate its 20th anniversary this autumn, there will not only be a standard edition of ‘Forth’, but also a deluxe version with a bonus CD containing more than a dozen of early FLYING CIRCUS songs which were written before the release of the band’s first album. These tracks have never been released before except on underproduced cassette demos and/or live bootlegs and will now be properly recorded for the first time and summarized under the banner ‘Back – The Rest of Flying Circus’. The cardboard slipcase package of both CDs will thus be available under the obvious title of ‘Back and Forth’.

In the meantime, band members Michael Rick, Michael Dorp and Roger Weitz have also found the time to participate in Bergheim’s open air spectacle ‘Remember Woodstock’ last weekend. This concert got a very favourable review in the ‘Kölner Stadtanzeiger’ which you can read at: http://www.rhein-erft-online.ksta.de/html/artikel/1246883785732.shtml.

Aif you are able to understand German, that is... But you can also find some photos and comments regarding the concert from a FlYING-CIRCUS-/THIN-CROW - point of view in English here.

March 9th, 2009: FLYING CIRCUS/THIN CROW musicians meet their idols!

The next weeks and months hold very special treats for three of the six FLYING CIRCUS MEMBERS: they are going to play concerts with some of their definitive idols:

Following the THIN CROW concerts on March, 13th (http://www.loftkoeln.de), and March 14th (http://www.auf-bedburg.de/termin_14.html) guitarist Michael Rick will have the extraordinary honour to take part in this year's 'Unplugged Festival' in Bedburg and thus to meet one of his big influences: legendary folk guitarist Werner Lämmerhirt will be headlining this concert and will certainly not only excite Michael Rick but the rest of the audience as well. In the 1970s Lämmerhirt was a pioneer of the German folk scene and has become the yardstick regarding picking and open tunings.

On this evening, FLYING CIRCUS/THIN CROW guitarist Michael Rick will play some songs from his 'Solo' CD in the presence of his idol, and he will partly be accompanied by his bandmates Michael Dorp and Roger Weitz. He will also collaborate on a number with 'Unplugged Festival' host Dieter Kirchenbauer who has also invited Wulf Hanses-Ketteler (Acoustic Shiver), Joachim Gohlke & Markus Vögeler Duo (Jazz/ Latin), Lajos Tar (classical guitar), Guido Lehmann (blues roots), Peter Heichele (rock guitarist from Munich) and Niño David & Sajjaa Sofian (flamenco guitar) to take part. The revenue of this evening full of musical variety will completely go to the charity organisation 'Bedburger Tafel'. This also holds true for March, 13th when, 7 additional bands (Buuredanz, Acoustic Shiver, Olaf Boles, Hard Day's Night, Angela Hübner, Fairytale and die Erft-Rebels) will join THIN CROW in rotating through four Pubs in Bedburg completely without amplification and only by candlelight. So don't let this unique opportunity of enjoying high quality music while contributing to charity pass you by!

May, 31st will then see an absoulte highlight for FLYING CIRCUS/THIN CROW musicians Michael Dorp and Roger Weitz. The two of them will play a support gig with Michael Dorp's LED ZEPPELIN tribute band MAD ZEPPELIN for none other than former DEEP PURPLE bassist/singer GLENN HUGHES! Glenn "The Voice of Rock" Hughes is going to join the excellent German DEEP PURPLE tribute band DEMON'S EYE for a one-off guest performance also for charitable purposes. He will play loads of songs from the legendary Purple albums "Burn", "Stormbringer" and "Come Taste The Band" in front of an audience of probably around 700 people. The ultimate 70s time trip at the 'Dreisbachhalle' Netphen (near Siegen) is going to be kickstarted at 8 pm by a 60 minute regular DEMON'S EYE set containing the most important classics from the DEEP PURPLE Mk.II era with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover. After that, it will be time for Mr. Hughes himself to take over bass and vocals for more than 70 minutes peppered with the best songs from the Mk.III/IV period of DEEP PURPLE. The "aftermath" leg of the concert will then belong to MAD ZEPPELIN who aregoing to be joined by Roger Weitz who for will be acting as a substitute for regular bass player Christian Ludwig. All details regarding this mega event: http://www.demonseye.de