Jethro Tull News

(1/28/02, 12 p.m. ET) -- The legendary original Jethro Tull lineup will reform this week in London, to shoot some performances for a long-form home due this spring.

Frontman Ian Anderson tells LAUNCH the quartet--he, guitarist Mick Abrahams, bassist Glenn Cornick, and drummer Clive Bunker--plans to play some selections from the group's 1968 debut album, This Was, in a stripped-down acoustic setting, accompanied by strings. "The fun of it is is just getting a bunch of old guys together who never...well, collectively we've never played. I've played with Mick and Clive on separate occasions as individuals over the years, but we've never actually stood on the stage, the four of us, and played together since, I think, November 1968. It will be interesting to see if there's any of that original chemistry that kicked Jethro Tull off in the very early days."

Anderson adds that time has not been altogether kind to Tull's first four members. "Well, Mick Abrahams has gout, a disease of elderly English gentlemen; Glenn Cornick had a couple of heart attacks; Clive Bunker's been sort of manic depressive for a few years; and I've lost most of my hair. So, no, we're not in good shape. We're in terrible shape!" Abrahams was the first member to leave Jethro Tull, shortly after This Was was released. He was replaced by Martin Barre, who's been a member of the band ever since.

Jethro Tull kicks off a North American tour on April 23 in Philadelphia.

-- Gary Graff, Detroit

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