Andy Poole To Leave Big Big Train

BBT

Big Big Train have announced that founder member Andy Poole is to leave the band.

Poole founded Big Big Train with Greg Spawton in Bournemouth in 1990, where he originally played bass, and has been in every incarnation of the band since. In an announcement on the band’s Facebook page, the band state they will remain as a seven piece, utilising the services of an additional musician for live guitar and keyboard work.

In a short statement, Poole says: “Dear All, it has been a long old trip aboard this train and now the time is right for me to disembark: I am ready for new and exciting adventures. Thank you to my fellow crew and passengers. I wish you a fabulous and fulfilling journey. Warmest regards. Andy.”

The band’s own statement reads:

“Andy Poole will shortly be leaving Big Big Train.

Big Big Train would like to thank Andy for the significant part he has played in the band’s journey and we wish him well in his future endeavours.

Big Big Train will continue with the seven-piece line-up of D’Virgilio/Gregory /Hall/Longdon/Manners/Sjöblom/Spawton alongside the five-piece BBT brass band led by Dave Desmond.

For future live performance, the band has recruited an additional musician to assist with keyboard and guitar work. We will announce details in due course.

We also hope to announce a UK warm-up show for our July 13th Night of the Prog festival appearance at Loreley. We expect the warm-up show to take place on July 11th.

Best wishes

Danny, Dave, David, Greg, Nick, Rachel and Rikard”

Jerry Ewing

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.