City Of Gold team to launch new project

THE SAME team that took the City Of Gold musical/album to its popularity in the British churches are launching a new project. Phil Baggaley, Dave Clifton and Ian Blythe together with poet Adrian Plass have created the musical Shipwrecks And Islands. Said Adrian Plass, "Although we live in a broken and despairing world, many of us settle for the safety and familiarity of an established lifestyle. We close our eyes and ears to devastation in the lives of people around us, be they family, friends or neighbours." Phil Baggaley added, "Through touring City Of Gold we came into contact with a number of people who were kind of at the end of themselves. We've had an incredible amount of letters from people who are ill, people suffering bereavement, people who were struggling as Christians, who have been tremendously helped through some really tough times. It seemed to give them a hope that they needed. What I came away with from City Of Gold was the realisation of what a tough life it is for some people. You don't have to look very far in the newspapers and on your television to see what a broken world we live in.

"There are many times when we ourselves feel that we are hanging on by the skin of our teeth and feel totally inadequate for the call to 'be the difference' in someone else's situation. The point of this album is to offer words of comfort to those who are at the end of themselves, but also, for those of us who are Christians, I would hope that we might get to the end of the album and perhaps feel quite uncomfortable. Not to condemn us," he added, "but to gently move us on. Sometimes you go to Christian meetings and you come out like a condemned man. You think, 'How on earth am I going to change anything? I'm hopeless and useless,' but that's not the gist of the album at all. It's to say, 'Look, we're all in the same position, we're all struggling through, but the fact is that primarily, we do have a responsibility because, as Christians, we know what the truth is, so we need to move out from there and share it with other people.
The 'Shipwrecks And Islands' album features singers Mai Pope and Julie Costello, pictured here with poet Adrian Plass. The album, on Gold Records, has been picked up for distribution in the UK by Word. The previous 'City Of Gold' album peaked at 36 in America's Christian music chart.