Door One

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Making Dyble Longdon’s acclaimed 2020 record Between A Breath And A Breath had been a step away from Big Big Train, the band that made his name. A reflection on his craft, The Singer And The Song must be at the very least partially autobiographical. The Big Big Train gig I attended in Edinburgh in 2019 will always be etched in my mind as one of the stand out concerts and performances I’ve ever been to, irrespective of how things ended up turning out – and it’s that, plus my love of the music he was a major part of creating with BBT, and the kinship that the music invokes in fans, that makes his passing a painful one. David released his first solo album, Wild River, back in 2004 but on joining Big Big Train, the band became his primary focus.

Although it only runs for 30 seconds, it’s an excellent piece which shows another side to David’s compositional ability. Sure, initially it does sound very much like BBT in their pomp, but on closer inspection the songs feel looser, more dynamic and rockier. In that same perfect world Big, Big Train - the group for which he provided vocals, lyrics and the odd snatch of flute - would have been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame years ago. He had been recording since April 2021, following the completion of Big Big Train’s Common Ground album.

Forgive (But Not Forget)” is another great one; it is something of a ballad with lots of space for David to emote and hurt. Big, Big Train, while massively successful in the prog-sphere, mean little to anyone outside their own niche. In doing so David achieved two things: getting the album across the line but sadly posthumously, aided by friends and colleagues keen to ensure the world heard what David wanted to say. Watch It Burn is rather upbeat and urgent with an almost indie sound to it, all jangly guitar lines which lead into a memorable chorus.

The album was steered to completion under the control of David's close friends Patrick Phillips and Gary Bromham and his partner Sarah Ewing.

Gregory Spawton supplies some gorgeous 12-string guitar parts, but he’s very much a guest on a David Longdon record. It opens with Into The Icehouse, an instrumental, ambient piece of birdsong and minimal piano tones playing almost a lament. But here he lives on: Door One is the culmination of years of planning, writing, rehearsing and writing for the right time to release a debut solo album.

It didn’t take me long to realise that David,’s voice was similar to Peter Gabriel’s but was certainly his own. There’s No Ghost Like An Old Ghost” is next, kicking off with Jeremy Stacey’s drums, a highlight of many tracks on this album. However, David’s partner Sarah and all the key protagonists involved in its creation agreed that David would want the world to hear the album. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. When David died, the challenging task of doing the final recording and mixing the record fell to David’s co-producer, Patrick Phillips.It won’t change the face of music or knock the world off its axis, but Hell, Fire And Damnation is yet another damned fine addition. David had also finally, after many years, begun to gain both widespread acclaim and respect, furthermore he had found satisfaction in his life with partner Sarah Ewing.