There are days in your life that you just know somehow your going to Remember for a long time.

This week began in London at our big Christmas show at Shepherds Bush, we then got straight on our sleeper coach and headed across the channel on our adventure into eastern Europe.  First Poland, then Prague (Czech Republic), then Hungary and now tonight Bucharest in Romania.

This is the very first and possibly the last time that Delirious? will play in this beautiful country and so you have to make these moments count. It's like doing a speech at a wedding, you only get one chance and this was our moment to bring our manifesto to the people of Bucharest. Actually the crowd was made up of many people who had driven for days from neighbouring countries too giving up 3 or 4 days of their life for 2 hours of our music. Someone in a press conference this week asked us how we kept 'humble' after so many years, well I'm not claiming any more points on the 'humble' ladder than anyone else but I'll tell you a few things that can keep you in that place.

When you meet kids that have waited 12 years for you to come to their country, who sing along to every word, who spend the little they have on a ticket, who say their life changed when they heard 'Historymaker', whose faces radiate with the love of God, people who have fought through the hardest of economical and spiritual times, who have fasted food for 21 days prior to this concert because they are desperate for God to visit their nation. That can keep a man humble. That can keep a man soft.

I have had the amazing priviledge of having my daughter Elle on the road with me this week. She is only 11 and has been hanging out with her dad, sightseeing, drinking hot chocolate and helping Lee our guitar tech! We also had the priviledge today of hanging out with the Mihais, a beautiful Romanian family whose daughter Flory is our au-peur at home. She is one of 9 children and we went laden with boxes of Christmas gifts from England. So we have a little bit of Romania in our home and that made tonight extra special for me, the tenderness of these people leaves you feeling refreshed and even after 5 shows in a row they brought sunshine in what can be a dark place to live. Somehow when people have had to fight for what they believe, it makes them sharper and more focused and being with them reminded me of the important stuff.

So, Chistmas holidays have arrived once more, I am confident that the child who was born in a manger 2000 years ago really is what he claimed to be, the saviour of the world. I saw this saviour on the faces of 3000 people tonight, and across the stage where my Elle sat wide eyed with a smile as wide as Romania.


Good times everyone, even in the struggle.

Peace to you all this Christmas.

Martin

Nekem, ez egy különleges koncert volt!

Voltam olyan szerencsés, hogy korábban Martin családjával dolgozhattam, így már sokszor hallottam őket a világ különböző pontjain. De az teljesen más,mikor a saját városodat, gyülekezetedet, barátaidat látod, énekelni, ugrálni és őrülten dicsőíteni egy d? koncerten!
Nagyon élveztem!

Bár nem csak nekem volt különleges ez a koncert. Martin először vitte magával turnézni legidősebb lányát, Elle-t (11) , aki egy nagyon szép, kedves, barátságos lány. Mindenki szereti!

A buszuk 10 korül érkezett a PECSA -ba, késÅ‘ reggeli, gyors beállás, aztán már mentünk is egy rövid városnézésre. Hatalmas ebéd egy magyar  étteremben, aztán nyomás vissza a  sajtókonferenciára.
Ezen a ponton, férjemmel, ’elraboltuk’ Elle-t és kicsit körbevezettük a városban. Vörösmarty tér, Duna korzó, Lánchíd. Eléggé hideg idő volt, így a Bazilikát már csak futólag néztük meg.
Feljöttünk hozzánk egy forró teára,és a következő félórában díszed kis társaság jött össze, hogy ráhangolódjunk az esti koncertre. Barátok, család, tea...Aztán, vissza a PECSA –ba.

Elle egyből fel a színpadra, apuval átadtak egy pár cipős dobozt rászoruló gyerekeknek, aztán kezdődött is a koncert. (Köszi, Elle! Jó volt együtt lógni!)

Martin  ül a színpadon, hatalmas koronával a fején, és ezt énekli :’save me from the kingdom of comfort where I am king’ – Ments meg a kényelem királyságából, ahol én vagyok a király!
Milyen erős üzenet, épp most Karácsony előtt, mikor másra sem tudunk gondolni mint, vásárlás, pénz és minél több ’dolgok’.
Erőteljes este volt, amit újból segített szemeinket a Lényegre fordítani!
Köszönjük, hogy itt voltatok,és felszabadítottatok bennünk valami nagyon jót.
Köszönjük, fiúk, hogy valóban megélitek, amit énekeltek és játszotok, és hogy alázatosak és hűek maradtatok ahhoz, amire Isten elhívott benneteket!
Fussatok tovább azért, Aki Nagyobb!
Szeretettel,
e.


For me, it was a special gig!

I used to work  for Martin and his family so, I was lucky enough to travel  most of the globe with them and see them play many times. But, its very  different to see your own city, church, friends you grew up with, jump and shout and go crazy in worship on a d? gig. I loved it!

It was a special gig not only for me. For the first time, Martin took only his eldest, Elle (11) on tour with him. She is such a beautiful, friendly young lady. Everyone loves her.

Their  bus arrived  to the venue 10 am, late breakfast, quick sound check, than off we went to the town for a little look around. Huge lunch in a Hungarian restaurant, than  back for the press.
At this point me and my husband took Elle around the town. Sweet  Xmas  market  ont Vörösmaty tér, than to see the famous Danube and the symbol of Budapest, the Chain Bridge. Was pretty cold so, we quickly passed by Basilica and came up to our apartment for a hot cup of  tea. In the next half hour a bunch of  friends and family came up to ours to warm up before the gig. Than we went back to the venue.

Elle was straight up on stage with daddy giving out shoe boxes to some children and soon after that the concert started. (Thnaks, Elle! I loved hangin’ out!) Martin was sitting on stage with a big  crown on his head  singing ’save me from the kingdom of comfort where I am king’.
 
A powerful message just before Christmas when we can hardly think of anything apart from shopping, money and more and more things!

It was a great night  focusing our eyes again on the REAL THING!
 
Thanks for coming and releasing something great in us!Thank you boys for living what you sing and play and for staying so humble and faithful to what God has called you to do.
 
Keep running for the Greater!
 
love, eszter.

Hello everyone,

I am writing to you from our dressing room in  Hungary, its very warm (considering the weather) and full of chocolate and wi fi making us all very happy indeed!

so last night we played the Roxy in Prague, it was quite exciting for me being my first time in prague and thought I should make the most of it, around lunch time we set of for a walk and ended up crossing the river and climbing up a hill to have a look at what we thought looked like a gigantic metronome.... it turns out that was exactly what it was and various jokes about my timing ensued!

we then ventured back into the city centre and into (what I think was) the main square and wandered around the christmas market where we had Ghluwein and hot dogs, it was amazing walking around and looking at the buildings and taking it all in.

then back to the venue for sound check and dinner, what followed was a great night we always find when the crowd are in to it, it gets us going as well!

so thanks to all that came and have a happy Christmas!

Getting on the tour bus after a great Christmas show at Shepherds Bush, I’m struck again by the fact that I really really love my job...every bit of it.
I will miss this...

Knowing that we had a two day journey to Poland just made me excited...a chance to catch up with my road mates, listen to music and discuss who’s the greatest guitar player...Hendrix, Gilmour, Edge????

Anyway we decided it was the people who inspired such greats...
Check this lady out: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=v7lN1R2LP-4&feature=related

So once again in a country for the first time and yet again amazed at the passion that comes off a crowd that sees you for the first time...grateful that we’re there and singing every word...
Standing on stage I reminded myself to take it all in...
I will miss this...

We were joined onstage for My Soul Sings by TGD a professional Polish choir...stuff like that just makes for great memories...

Back on the bus and heading for the Czech Republic...once again I love my job...

For me, Christmas begins when the confetti cannons of the shepherds bush empire are fired, as I watched the confetti fall I realised it isn’t the only thing up in the air this year.

Last night we added to the sbe scrap book of memories playing what could be the final Christmas delirious show on planet earth. It was with sadness and excitement we paced the boards of our most loved London venue.

The delirious sbe Christmas cake this year was baked only using the finest ingredients... a sprinkling of bluetree, a dash of Sir John Cass’s children’s  choir, a rich filling of d:classics set on fire with a little Christmas spirit in the form of Rudolf and Shakin Stevens.

The night was made extra special for me as my three small children were part of the sell out crowd. From day one we have had a phrase saying delirious is more than a band, it feels like we are about to find out what that really means.

I hope your Christmas is full of peace, love and light.

Merry Christmas, Jon.