Jethro Tull

19th December 2025

Peterborough Cathedral

Jethro Tull have been performing these Christmas Shows for a few years now.  The proceeds of which all go towards the restoration and upkeep of the various cathedrals which host the concerts, even though Ian Anderson is, in his own words, a non-believer.

Architecturally speaking, Peterborough Catherdral is jaw-droppingly spectacular, but as a concert venue it is pretty useless.  Most of us were were seated some distance from the stage, whilst a series of screens had to be set up for those folks who had bought seats in the side aisles, as most of these pews had no sight of the stage at all.  The acoustics were decent though, as may be expected.

A fair number of the tunes/songs played this evening - seven in total, I think - came, not perhaps surprisingly, from the band's 2003 Christmas Album.  

But we also enjoyed a few surprises.  Not least the contributions served up by the evening's two special guests.  

Who knew Loyd Grossman had even a single musical note in his body?  He being known to most of us as either an annoyingly affected TV presenter, or the face on a million cooking sauce jars.  But he could certainly hold a tune, and his upbeat contributions to the evening added a dash of rock and roll to proceedings.

It was Marc Almond's presence and song choices though, which must have raised more than just my eyebrows, when he launched into that tale of homosexual passion Tainted Love, moments after the Dean had been given space to spout a prayer.  I rather doubt the timing of that was a coincidence.  Marc then followed that one up with his yarn of marital infidelity gone awry: Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

And, not to be outdone, Ian Anderson then presented us with My God, his vicious dissection of the hypocrisy inherent within organised religion, with the "bloody Church of England" given a stiff lyrical kicking for good measure.  

"It is all in a good cause", I am sure Dean Chris Dalliston told himself, raising his eyes heavenwards.

 

Peterborough Cathedral

Holy Wullie

  

John O'Hara

Jack Clark & Scott Hammond

Ian Anderson & David Goodier

 

   

Set list

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Gaudete (Sung by choir)

We Five Kings

A Christmas Song

Marmion (Poem excerpt read by Ian Anderson)

Candles Glowing (Sung by Marc Almond)

The Witch's Promise (Sung by Marc Almond)

Ring Out, Solstice Bells

Christmastime Romance (Sung by Loyd Grossman)

Over Jerusalem

Bourée

                        Interval

Holly Herald

Weathercock

I Believe in Father Christmas

Ain't Doin' Nothing (Sung by Loyd Grossman)

Tainted Love (Sung by Marc Almond)

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (Sung by Marc Almond)

My God

Aqualung

Locomotive Breath