After a few minor mishaps with the train my friend and I made it to the Liverpool Academy to join the queue in sub-zero temperatures. The doors soon opened and everyone streamed into the main hall, with many stopping at the merchandise stand to buy commemorative tour t-shirts/hoodies. Every sighting of a crew member on stage was met by cheers from the crowd, who were warming up their vocal chords by singing along to the Christmas classics being played from the sound desk.

A short wait later Kendall Payne took to the stage for her support slot. She played about 5 songs including a rendition of Silent Night, helped along by the modern versions of swaying lighters - lit-up mobile screens. Supermodel was popular with the crowd, and dedicated to the crew, and all the girls, and all the guys.

A brief change over on stage and it was time for the main event. The music started and Delirious walked onto the stage to a roar from the crowd. From the opening notes of Here I Am Send Me, everyone knew it was going to be a special night. Martin had some mic problems but Stu G and the crowd helped keep the song going until the gaffer tape arrived. Next up was Rain Down, followed by My Glorious which ended with Martin leading the crowd into the ‘glory, glory send your glory’ section by saying how he wanted tonight to be all about the glory of God.

The rhythm section came into its own during Solid Rock with Jon strutting around the stage looking cool and Stew doing his usual madman impression on the drums. A phone was borrowed from the crowd for the customary call to TOBYMAC®®® and then came another new song, Fires Burn. What followed was something I once heard described as ‘the first thing any young Christian bass player learns’, yes, the intro to Obsession.

After a brief exchange with Stu G about his (newly coloured in) zebra style trousers, ‘don’t get those on the streets of Liverpool do you’ Martin spoke about how Miracle Maker had come about, and the reactions they’d had from fans writing letters already.

The power of the song came across strongly as Tim accompanied Martin on keys before the band joined in, ending with a word change to seamlessly link into History Maker. This live favourite was greeted with a massive cheer from the crowd that the band seemed to enjoy.

Paint The Town Red was next, with the customary clamber into the crowd, then With You, which towards the end was played by Martin on the Rhodes. Majesty and God In Heaven (with a great Stu G guitar solo) were well known by the crowd, then followed Now is The Time, where halfway through Martin got a Bible out of its slot in his pedal board(!) and read some inspiring verses before the band left the stage.

A few minutes later they reappeared with a great new version of Love Falls Down, before Stu G’s guitar introduced Take Off My Shoes. We were then treated to a ‘Stu G arrangement classic’ of Sir Cliff’s Mistletoe And Wine with much arm waving and swaying from the crowd. Stu G in particular seemed to be enjoying himself with some windmill-esque guitar playing (you know – where the arm goes round in a circle after its played the chord), and I am sure that backing vocals usually sung by a kids choir were coming from his mic.

The crowd cheered and applauded as the band came together to take a bow - another great gig from Delirious: powerful and entertaining, challenging and glorious. I for one cannot wait until the next tour.

The morning as all the others on this tour meant at 1015am walk around the venue to get in, find the technical manager and get a tour of the venue. I
had never been to the Carling Academy in Newcastle before, it has just recently opened. It is a great venue and the staff were all very helpful.

It was myself who had suggested Newcastle as a tour stop, one reason was because of the new venue.

The venue was freezing but the dressing rooms and production office were warm, we had a wireless internet connection so the day was good so far.

Delirious have not been to Newcastle for a while, and we struggled a bit for ticket sales, but come doors time at 7pm all was normal.

The show I am not sure how it went as I got the guys to stage and then went beneath to the warmth to do some paperwork, then settlement with the venue
and then I assisted Merchy (Paul) sell some swag.

Then load out good and quick as there was a club night after our show, shower and on the bus for bed time drink.

A great day logistically, thank you Newcastle Carling Academy."

I am the above named person and a Police Constable for West Midlands Police force.

On Thursday 15th December 2005 at approximately 2000hrs I was off duty at the Birmingham Academy, City Centre, Birmingham. At this time there was a Delirious concert taking place at the venue which I
attended, Delirious are a five piece all male rock band who come from Littlehampton in West Sussex.
I was situated on the balcony level of the club in company with Mr Paul Smith, who is a good friend and who oversees the merchandise for Delirious
whilst on tour.

The ground floor of the venue was a mass with people awaiting to see the band. Then a voice announced "ALL THE WAY FROM THE U.S OF A, MISS KENDALL PAYNE". The crowd applauded as Female 1, who I now know to be Kendall Payne, walked onto the stage.

PAYNE greeted the crowd then went onto to sing a set of song's which she performed alone with just an acoustic guitar. Payne‚s selection of song's
was varied with a song with reference to her and her friends dislike of supermodels of which she sung a line saying "WELL ME, AND B WE HATE SUPERMODELS, IT'S NOT THAT WE KNOW ANYONE PERSONALLY, IT'S JUST THAT I'M TIRED OF BEING COMPARED"

Then at approximately 2045hours the stage lights went out and the crowd erupted with applause. In the darkness of the stage Male 1, who I know to be
Stu Garrard, walked across the stage to left side where he was handed an electric guitar. GARRARD was followed by Male 2, who I know to be Tim Jupp,
walked over and stood behind a keyboard which was situated behind GARRARD. Then another two males came onto the stage. Male 3, who I know to be Stew
Smith, went and sat behind a drum kit which was raised on blocks to the right side of the stage. Male 4, who I know to be Jon Thatcher, picked up a bass guitar which was on a stand in front of the drum kit and stood in position as the final male walked onto stage. Male 5, who I know to be Martin Smith, walked onto the stage with guitar in hand and stood in front
of his microphone before the screaming crowd.

Then the band came into action with a catchy guitar riff played by GARRARD which got the crowd all jumping in unison with SMITH leading them in the chorus "HERE I AM SEND ME" which the crowd were all singing along to. From this Delirious transitioned into a song called RAIN DOWN with again an anthem like chorus which had the crowd singing and jumping in unison with SMITH.

After a few songs into the set the band played a song called SOLID ROCK. In the middle of the song SMITH stretched out to a member of the crowd, who was
approximately 6ft from him, and took a mobile phone from the person which they were holding in the air. SMITH then told the crowd that it was at this point in the show that a friend, by the name of TOBY MAC would call them. SMITH then went on to hold the phone to his ear and gesture that he was on the phone to the male in question. SMITH then put the microphone against the phone and a male voice, known to be TOBY MAC, began to speak accompanying the track played.

Another song saw SMITH start the crowd singing the line "OH HERE WE COME" before the rest of the band kicked into action with the crowd jumping back
and forth in time with SMITH who was jumping about the stage. It was in this song that SMITH, when the song quietened down, climbed from the stage and walked into the crowd, at head height, as if walking on a sea of people. SMITH then instructed the band back into action with the crowd jumping around him as SMITH stood strong on the shoulders of the selected few.

Delirious gave a high energy performance with loud guitars, thumping bass and with SMITH regularly inviting the crowd to go to a more intimate place
in God which the crowd responded to with cheers, raised hands and no resistance.

After Delirious had re-entered the stage to finish the show, before singing the last song SMITH took off his shoes to sing the song "TAKE OFF MY SHOES".
The band after the last song played all stood in a line, arm in arm, and bowed in unison to the crowd all cheering and applauding.

The whole event lasted for approximately 2 hours 30 mins, all taking place at the Birmingham Academy, City Centre, Birmingham. The stage on which the
band played was approximately 40 feet from myself. The visibility was good with a well lit stage full with colour. There were no obstructions to my view.

I would describe Female 1, being Kendall Payne, as a white female, 5' 11" tall, slim build, shoulder length red hair tied back. She was wearing a light brown trouser suit with a white shirt underneath. She spoke with an American accent.

I would describe Male 1, being Stu Garrard, as a white male, 6ft tall, muscular build, shaven head, with a ginger goatee beard. He was wearing a black shirt, white/black/red design trousers and black boots.

I would describe Male 2, being Tim Jupp, as a white male, 6ft tall, muscular build, shaven head, clean shaven face, wearing Oakley glasses. He was
wearing a black jacket, red shirt, black trousers and shoes.

I would describe Male 3, being Stew Smith, as a white male, 6ft tall, muscular build, clean shaven face, with dark hair with highlighted sections.
He was wearing a white vest and checked trousers.

I would describe Male 4, being Jon Thatcher, as a white male, 6ft tall, muscular build, unshaven face, with a shaved head, wearing white sunglasses.
He was wearing a black jacket with red checked shirt underneath, black trousers and shoes.

I would describe Male 5, being Martin Smith, as a white male, 6ft tall, muscular build, with blonde styled hair, shaven face. He was wearing a black suit, black shirt with a black and red striped tie, black shoes.

This statement is to the best of my knowledge a true account of what took place. I am willing to attend court providing evidence from this statement.

I am the above named person and a Police Constable for West Midlands Police force.

On Thursday 15th December 2005 at approximately 2000hrs I was off duty at the Birmingham Academy, City Centre, Birmingham. At this time there was a Delirious concert taking place at the venue which I
attended, Delirious are a five piece all male rock band who come from Littlehampton in West Sussex.
I was situated on the balcony level of the club in company with Mr Paul Smith, who is a good friend and who oversees the merchandise for Delirious
whilst on tour.

The ground floor of the venue was a mass with people awaiting to see the band. Then a voice announced "ALL THE WAY FROM THE U.S OF A, MISS KENDALL PAYNE". The crowd applauded as Female 1, who I now know to be Kendall Payne, walked onto the stage.

PAYNE greeted the crowd then went onto to sing a set of song's which she performed alone with just an acoustic guitar. Payne‚s selection of song's
was varied with a song with reference to her and her friends dislike of supermodels of which she sung a line saying "WELL ME, AND B WE HATE SUPERMODELS, IT'S NOT THAT WE KNOW ANYONE PERSONALLY, IT'S JUST THAT I'M TIRED OF BEING COMPARED"

Then at approximately 2045hours the stage lights went out and the crowd erupted with applause. In the darkness of the stage Male 1, who I know to be
Stu Garrard, walked across the stage to left side where he was handed an electric guitar. GARRARD was followed by Male 2, who I know to be Tim Jupp,
walked over and stood behind a keyboard which was situated behind GARRARD. Then another two males came onto the stage. Male 3, who I know to be Stew
Smith, went and sat behind a drum kit which was raised on blocks to the right side of the stage. Male 4, who I know to be Jon Thatcher, picked up a bass guitar which was on a stand in front of the drum kit and stood in position as the final male walked onto stage. Male 5, who I know to be Martin Smith, walked onto the stage with guitar in hand and stood in front
of his microphone before the screaming crowd.

Then the band came into action with a catchy guitar riff played by GARRARD which got the crowd all jumping in unison with SMITH leading them in the chorus "HERE I AM SEND ME" which the crowd were all singing along to. From this Delirious transitioned into a song called RAIN DOWN with again an anthem like chorus which had the crowd singing and jumping in unison with SMITH.

After a few songs into the set the band played a song called SOLID ROCK. In the middle of the song SMITH stretched out to a member of the crowd, who was
approximately 6ft from him, and took a mobile phone from the person which they were holding in the air. SMITH then told the crowd that it was at this point in the show that a friend, by the name of TOBY MAC would call them. SMITH then went on to hold the phone to his ear and gesture that he was on the phone to the male in question. SMITH then put the microphone against the phone and a male voice, known to be TOBY MAC, began to speak accompanying the track played.

Another song saw SMITH start the crowd singing the line "OH HERE WE COME" before the rest of the band kicked into action with the crowd jumping back
and forth in time with SMITH who was jumping about the stage. It was in this song that SMITH, when the song quietened down, climbed from the stage and walked into the crowd, at head height, as if walking on a sea of people. SMITH then instructed the band back into action with the crowd jumping around him as SMITH stood strong on the shoulders of the selected few.

Delirious gave a high energy performance with loud guitars, thumping bass and with SMITH regularly inviting the crowd to go to a more intimate place
in God which the crowd responded to with cheers, raised hands and no resistance.

After Delirious had re-entered the stage to finish the show, before singing the last song SMITH took off his shoes to sing the song "TAKE OFF MY SHOES".
The band after the last song played all stood in a line, arm in arm, and bowed in unison to the crowd all cheering and applauding.

The whole event lasted for approximately 2 hours 30 mins, all taking place at the Birmingham Academy, City Centre, Birmingham. The stage on which the
band played was approximately 40 feet from myself. The visibility was good with a well lit stage full with colour. There were no obstructions to my view.

I would describe Female 1, being Kendall Payne, as a white female, 5' 11" tall, slim build, shoulder length red hair tied back. She was wearing a light brown trouser suit with a white shirt underneath. She spoke with an American accent.

I would describe Male 1, being Stu Garrard, as a white male, 6ft tall, muscular build, shaven head, with a ginger goatee beard. He was wearing a black shirt, white/black/red design trousers and black boots.

I would describe Male 2, being Tim Jupp, as a white male, 6ft tall, muscular build, shaven head, clean shaven face, wearing Oakley glasses. He was
wearing a black jacket, red shirt, black trousers and shoes.

I would describe Male 3, being Stew Smith, as a white male, 6ft tall, muscular build, clean shaven face, with dark hair with highlighted sections.
He was wearing a white vest and checked trousers.

I would describe Male 4, being Jon Thatcher, as a white male, 6ft tall, muscular build, unshaven face, with a shaved head, wearing white sunglasses.
He was wearing a black jacket with red checked shirt underneath, black trousers and shoes.

I would describe Male 5, being Martin Smith, as a white male, 6ft tall, muscular build, with blonde styled hair, shaven face. He was wearing a black suit, black shirt with a black and red striped tie, black shoes.

This statement is to the best of my knowledge a true account of what took place. I am willing to attend court providing evidence from this statement.

photograph © tom redman