Dear Friends
 
Back in 1996, we put together the first edition of the Passport Queue. It was meant to be a short newsletter with information on tour dates and releases. This was still in the days before we collected email addresses to keep everyone up to date with my opus and plans. Through the years it expanded to become a place of opinion, recommendations & insights, and valued feedback from you, the reader. It extended the sense of community and goodwill that grew around the recorded music and, of course, the live shows. The time then came when it became a subscription service and for £5 a year you got three magazines, a Christmas Card and free Cassettes of special recordings for a year. Not bad for the price! We were reluctant when we realised we would need to raise the price to £8, and more recently, to the annual subscription of £10, as times and postage costs changed. Apart from the Cassettes becoming CD’s not much else about the PQ has changed. It was wonderful to continuously hear how much each edition meant to all of you. Your letters and engagement helped us realise that, despite the digital age, you enjoyed the tactility of having the magazine in your hands to read and look back on.
 
If this all sounds like I’m leading up to tell you that the PQ has run its course then, yes, I’m afraid you’re right. It has become increasingly more difficult to produce the magazine due to rising prices, and the time it takes to produce, package up and send out. As many of you know, Nikki at Pipe Records HQ has been ill for some time with Covid which has meant that changes have had to be put into place to enable her to recover and this will take some time. So unfortunately we have decided to call time on our little ‘fanzine’. We do realise that we owe our members one more special offering and so we hope you like what we have coming up! A few months ago I gave an online concert from my studio to celebrate my 60th birthday. Well, I recorded that night and the final offering from the PQ will be highlights from that concert. I think it will be a notable and appropriate addition to the PQ’s legacy, and a fitting way to wrap it all up. This will be with you in the next month or so. 
 
I’m hugely grateful to all of you who are or have been members of what, though I struggled with the terminology, was MJ’s fan club. Thank you so much for supporting the PQ through the years. It was a very worthy venture that I’m very proud of and became a special way of communicating with you all.
 
However, as one window closes another opens. I have plans for a new digital platform that is going to see our interaction become more intimate, hands on and with a lot more exciting content than the PQ could provide. We are working on that right now and will make an announcement in the coming months about what’s going on. It will be an exciting and unprecedented opportunity to draw closer to everything that my music stands for. In the recent LYT update, Justine spoke about the community around the music and LYT being a ‘family’. She hit the nail on the head and I can’t wait to share what I feel will be a galvanising of that spirit within a brand new platform that will give you far more opportunity to access the music and its spirit in an informed and practical way. More very soon on this.
 
So some good news along with the sad, but I’m seeing this as an opportunity to move forwards in a new and thrilling way. Looking forward to taking you with me and, as ever, thanks for being on board.
 
Love,
Martyn
 
P.S. Obviously, as you all know, Pipefest has been cancelled due to Covid. I’ve scheduled my next streaming FB concert to be the weekend after Pipefest, Sept 27th in its honour. Should be a special night! 
 
 
MORE PQ NEWS  
 
Following on from the above from Martyn, The Passport Q bank account will be closed in October, and will no longer be able to accept standing orders. So please contact your bank to cancel all future payments. We will be back in touch very soon with the new way to keep up to date with all Martyn’s new and exclusive material.
 
For those who have recently paid their PQ subscription, we hope you understand that this last CD will be special enough to be considered a fitting end to this remarkable service which is now in its 25th year - but all things must change.
 
This has turned out to be a monumental year, Martyn’s 60th birthday, the end of the PQ as we know it, the reduction in concerts due to Covid-19 and the reduction of audience capacities at the concerts which CAN go ahead.
I don’t think we’ll see another one like it (hopefully).
 
NEXT ONLINE SHOWS!
 
On Sunday September 27th at 8.00pm Martyn will play another on line show. These have proved highly popular during lockdown and this will be the first one since his 60th Birthday special five weeks ago. This concert will take time to focus on the 'Deep Blue’ album released in 2007 but Martyn will also consider your requests for songs leading up to the show. Don’t miss this unique gig!
 
TOUR NEWS
 
As at the time of writing, the confirmed concerts which ARE going ahead for Martyn this year, are subject to change, but as they stand, they are:
 
5 November 20 UCKFIELD Civic Centre, Bellfarm Lane, Uckfield, TN22 1AE
Tickets on sale soon
 
19 November 20 LEICESTER, The Musician, Clyde Street, Leicester, LE1 2DE
PLEASE NOTE ** 2 SHOWS ON THIS EVENING - PLEASE SEE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS**
Tickets On Sale Soon from http://www.themusicianpub.co.uk/
 
20 November 20 STOCKTON ON TEES Georgian Theatre, Green Dragon Yard, Stockton-on-Tees TS18 1AT
Website: https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/martyn-joseph-the-georgian-theatre-tickets/10554135?pl=teesmusicalliance
 
28 November 20 PETERSFIELD Studio Theatre, Petersfield School, Cranford Rd, Petersfield GU32 3LU
PLEASE NOTE ** 2 SHOWS ON THIS EVENING - PLEASE SEE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS**
Tickets: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/the-petersfield-school/the-studioattps/martyn-joseph/e-jmkeda 
 
29 November 20 HITCHIN FOLK CLUB, Hitchin Cricket Club, The Pavilion, Lucas Lane, Hitchin, Herts., SG5 2JA
Website: http://www.hitchinfolkclub.idnet.net/programme.html
 
4 December 20 BRIDPORT, Description:Bridport Arts Centre, 9 South St, Bridport DT6 3NR
Tickets: https://www.bridport-arts.com/event/martin-joseph-18/
 
5 December 20 BATH, Chapel Arts Centre Ltd, St. James's Memorial Hall, Lower Borough, Walls, Bath, BA1 1QR
Tickets: https://chapelarts.org/events/martyn-joseph-2/
 
PLEASE NOTE - ALL THESE CONCERTS ARE WITH LIMITED CAPACITY TO ENSURE SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES ARE MET - SO BUY EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT!!
 
Current indications are that the remaining dates of the Autumn/Winter tour, in 2021 will be along the same lines - reduced audience capacity numbers and reduced concerts also, but updates will be added to Martyn’s website when we know more.
 
STOP PRESS…!!!
 
This Thursday 10th September, Martyn will be playing live and chatting to Janice Long on her BBC Radio Wales show at 8pm UK time.
Listen LIVE here
The show will be available for a further 28 days after broadcast on Listen again facility.
 
Thanks for your support everyone
 
www.martynjoseph.net