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Delirious?

Delirious? are an English Christian rock and worship band, featuring Martin Smith on vocals and guitar, Stuart Garrard (also known as Stu G) on guitar and backing vocals, Jon Thatcher on bass guitar, Tim Jupp on keys and piano, and Paul Evans on drums and percussion. Former drummer Stew Smith left the band at the end of April 2008. His retirement was announced first at his last UK performance and then at his last ever performance at Hillsong Church in Australia.

Their 1994 song "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever" has been called a "modern worship classic" and is their best-known song in the United States.

It was announced via a press release on the 6th of July 2008 that Delirious? would break up at the end of 2009.

History

The Cutting Edge Days (1993-1996)

Delirious? began life as a worship band for a youth outreach event called "Cutting Edge", instigated by the Arun Community Church in Littlehampton, West Sussex, England. As the popularity of these events increased, and the band also played at other "Cutting Edge" events along the South Coast reaching as far as Southampton. However the band remained as the house band for Cutting Edge for several years despite their soaring popularity, what originally began as an event in the school hall soon moved to the school's sports hall with the organisers having to charge £1 to control the numbers attending. In 1996 the show was taken outside with a show performed on the green next to Littlehampton's beach and the derelict Beach Hotel, an estimated 4000 people attended while Channel 4 filmed it for a documentary. The last ever Cutting Edge was held the following summer in 1997, again on the beach where the band played from their Cutting Edge back catalogue and the King of Fools album.

The music became well known in Christian circles, and demand grew for recordings. Four EPs were released under the "Cutting Edge" name before the group made the decision to turn professional and change their name to "Delirious?" in 1996. By that time, they had already sold over seventy thousand EPs by mail order.

Many of the band's most famous songs were written during this era, including "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever", "The Happy Song", and "Lord, You Have My Heart". A composite edition of Cutting Edge was released to retail and sold Gold in Canada according to the CRIA and the band's Canadian distributor ''' CMC Distribution

Taking The Band Full-Time (1997-1998)

On 30 August, 1995, Martin, his wife, and Jon were involved in a near-fatal car accident. Jon and Martin's wife were unhurt but Martin was hospitalized for several weeks. While in the hospital, Martin made the decision to become a full-time musician, and Delirious? was conceptually born. They gained success in 1997 following the release of King of Fools, the first studio album released under their new name. King of Fools eventually went 'Silver' in the United Kingdom, and Delirious? became one of the most popular and well-known Christian rock groups both in the UK and the United States. Songs such as "Deeper" and "History Maker" gained anthemic status and still surface regularly at Christian youth events. Delirious? also released three singles to the mainstream UK Charts - "White Ribbon Day", "Deeper", and "Promise". The last two both reached number twenty with very little radio airplay; "Deeper" remains the band's best-selling single with over thirty thousand copies sold. The group signed to EMI for its British releases but in 1997 the group signed to both Virgin and Sparrow Records for distribution in secular and Christian markets in the United States. The success of the King of Fools album allowed the band to tour the UK for the first time comprehensively, with venues such as Leeds Town & Country Club and Brixton Academy taken in. Delirious chose to tour without a support band, instead using a DJ and a large visual aspect to the performance.

During the summer of 1997, Stewart Smith and his wife lost their unborn baby through a miscarriage, inspiring the song "Summer of Love on the DeEPer EP, a re-release of the "Deeper" single. The re-release attained number thirty-nine on the UK Charts.

In 1998, the band released their second live album, tour 1997 Live at Southampton, which featured many of the songs from the King Of Fools album in addition to some songs from the Cutting Edge period. It was recorded at Southampton Guildhall.

The First Mainstream Push (1999-2000)

The 1999 album Mezzamorphis attained number twenty-five in the album charts (number two in the independent section), and soon became certified silver in the UK. The band found resistance in the mainstream due to their "Christian" label despite generally positive reviews in the music press. However, the work was aimed as a "secular" audience, causing many former fans to shun the album and claiming that Delirious? had "sold out" to mainstream markets. The Virgin marketed version omitted three songs, "Jesus' Blood", which was explicitly faith oriented, and the praise and worship songs "Love Falls Down" and "Kiss Your Feet".

Singles from Mezzamorphis gained some British chart success. For example, the first single, "See The Star", peaked at number sixteen on the charts, following an appearance on television show The Big Breakfast. The second single, "It's OK", reached number eighteen. In the US, "Gravity" was chosen over "See the Star" as lead radio single for promotion.

In 2000, the band released a worship-oriented album, Glo (short for glorious). This album was the number one Christian seller for eight months. Several songs from the album, while not being released as actual singles, gained immense popularity in the Christian-music world, most notably the guitar-driven "My Glorious" and the more introspective "Jesus' Blood". The track "Investigate" eventually became a favourite concert closer for Delirious?. That year the band toured the US and appeared to an audience of 55,000 at the Creation Festival.

The Second Mainstream Push (2001-2002)

The second attempted mainstream album, Audio Lessonover? (an anagram of 'Radio One Loves Us') was released in 2001. The single "Waiting For The Summer" did manage to reach number twenty-six on the charts. The album was later released as Touch in North America with some significant edits. That year the group toured with Bon Jovi and Matchbox Twenty. Again they received criticism for "selling out" to achieve success in mainstream markets.

Deeper was released in early 2002. It is a double album comprising of many remastered classic worship songs from the Cutting Edge albums and previous work such as Glo and King Of Fools. It also includes some new versions and a new song, Not Forgotten.

Libertad was released in late 2002. A new studio album, but made specifically for the band's growing Spanish audience. It comprises 12 classic Delirious? songs from the cutting edge days, all translated into Spanish and re-recorded. Even today, Martin Smith will occasionally sing stanzas of his songs in Spanish as can be heard on the live albums Access:d and Now Is The Time, and on Disc II of Touch.

The Modern Era (2003-2008)

In 2003, Delirious? released World Service, the first of what guitarist Stu G later described as 'a trilogy'. Although this was more of a worship-oriented album as was Glo, Delirious? released two singles to the German market: "Inside Outside" and "Every Little Thing". The former sold over twelve thousand copies, was number one in German radio station SWR3's chart, and spent seven weeks in the German singles charts peaking at number seventy-two. Delirious? also released two free MP3 downloads on mp3.com, both topping the Guitar Rock charts (the first for a full month). The first MP3, "Majesty (Here I Am)", hit number fifteen on the worldwide charts; the second, "Rain Down", reached number twenty-eight. The two together had amassed over 500,000 listens/downloads after fifty days. Delirious?’s World Service is finding success in the United Kingdom and America as well. The band’s American single "Rain Down" has become its biggest multi-format hit since "Deeper".

The band's sixth studio album, The Mission Bell was released in the UK in 2005. The album received very positive reviews, with Christianity Today, Jesus Freak Hideout, and Cross Rhythms all praising The Mission Bell for "Effectively stretching the boundaries of worship music". "Paint The Town Red" was released as a CD and iTunes single in the UK, entering the charts at number fifty-six. Several singles were released to CrossRhythms radio in the UK, all charting at number one for several weeks. The Mission Bell was nominated for the May 2007 Dove Awards, in the Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year Category, although it didn't win (Jars of Clay's Good Monsters won).

Delirious? spent much of 2007 recording and working on their new album Kingdom of Comfort with producer Sam Gibson. On the November 2, 2007, Delirious? announced their upcoming album which was then released in the US on April 1, 2008, and was to be released in the UK on April 14. This strategically coincided with the launch of the third version of their official site. The band made one of the tracks, "God Is Smiling", available as a free download in the members only section of the site called "The Living Room." The song is what the band call the "Living Room" version so a re-mixed version may be expected on the upcoming album. Another track, "We Give You Praise," has since been added as a free download.

Break Up (2008-2009)

When Stew Smith left the band at the end of April 2008, Paul Evans was drafted in to replace him as the bands drummer. Before leaving, Stew mentioned that a live album and DVD had been recorded whilst on tour in Brazil, as a collaboration project with André Valadão. This was titled Unidos, and has since become available in several countries, although no announcement has yet been made on a possible UK release date. On the 6th of July of the same year, the band announced via a press release that they would be "taking a break" at the end of 2009 to allow the band to focus on things close to them. Martin said that he wanted more time to spend with his family and devote more time to the Compassion Art project. On the 19th of September, it was announced that another live album and DVD would be recorded in Columbia as the band's final project before their split.

Naming Confusion

The question mark is part of the official name. On the band's early albums, the final s before the question mark was rendered as a 5. According to drummer/bandmember Stewart Smith, this occurred because the keyboard he was using at the time did not have the letter "s" and he improvised with the number 5 on the keypad--a convenient reflection of the band name. In some circles, therefore, the band's name often appears as Deliriou5?. The band's logo changed in 1999, and the glyph was replaced with a character that could be an s or a 5. It should be noted that the name has always been spelled as Delirious? in official, non-graphical literature. This is consistent with the names of the band's record company (Furious?) and publisher (Curious?).

Delirious? Live

Delirious? regularly play at Christian events such as the Greenbelt festival in the UK as well as mainstream festivals such as at the Glastonbury Festival. In the USA, they have played at such events as Acquire the Fire (an event hosted by Teen Mania) and Spirit West Coast. In New Zealand they have made appearances at the Parachute Music Festival, the largest 4-day Christian music festival in the southern hemisphere. They have also been the support act for several notable secular bands/artists, such as Bon Jovi in 2001 and Bryan Adams in 2002. In 2005, they helped lead worship at Soul Survivor and also took part in the closing festivities of World Youth Day following Pope Benedict XVI's Mass in Köln, Germany. In Singapore, they have played twice so far in the inter-denominational fellowship Festival of Praise held in the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The band played a live show on the 14th of August 2004 in Athens, Greece, in the Omonia Square, as a part of the varied cultural activities that took place during the Olympic Games of Athens. At 15 June 2008, Delirious played in front of 30.000 people at EO Youth Day, in Dutch Gelredome Soccer Stadium.

As part of the launch of their new site which involves a members only section called the "Living Room", Delirious? have began to sell tickets for what they call Living Room gigs. These gigs are presumed to take part in small venues across the UK (and later perhaps the world) in which the band will play to a limited audience and give away freebies. The first of these gigs was at the London Embassy in Mayfair and limited to 100 tickets to the public. The band gave away a special 3-song EP of their 2008 album 'Kingdom Of Comfort'.

The band have announced that they will tour the UK in October as part of the promotion of Kingdom of Comfort.

Discography

Band members

Martin Smith

is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter of the band. He is well known in Christian circles as the composer of some of the most famous church songs of recent years, including 'I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever', 'Lord You Have My Heart', 'Thank You For Saving Me', 'What A Friend I've Found' and 'Happy Song'.

Stu G

, better known by the stage name Stu G, is the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and secondary songwriter for Delirious?. He has written many songs for Delirious?, including "Come Like You Promise", "Metamorphis", and Pursuit of Happiness. His most famous song is probably "Majesty (Here I Am)" (written with Delirious? lead singer Martin Smith). Stu G is the only member not related to the others by blood or marriage. Martin, Stewart, and Tim are each married to one of Jon's three sisters. He has appeared on the Newsboys' CD Devotion on guitar and also on Terl Bryant's CD Timbrel with backing vocals and guitar. He has also written songs with Hillsong London and Graham Kendrick, and has contributed to Tim Hughes' album Holding Nothing Back, released in April 2007. In a documentary coinciding with the Delirious? live DVD "Now is the Time", Martin Smith claimed of Stu G that he "can't think of many guitarists that are better than him".

Stu G is the only member of Delirious? who is not related to the others; Jon Thatcher is related to the other three members by marriage (each of his three sisters married another Delirious? member). He is married to Karen and they have two daughters.

For many years, his preferred Guitar has seemed to be the Gibson Les Paul, although recently he has been frequently seen playing Fender Telecasters, and sometimes a Fender Stratocaster. He also plays many others, including a Gibson 135, an epiphone SG double neck and a Gretsch duo jet, as well as a number of acoustic guitars. His choice of Amplifiers include the Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Tremoverb, the Gerlitz Revelator, the Marshall JTM 45, the Orange AD-30, and a Vox AC-30. In the USA, however, he only uses up to two of those amps at one time, due to cargo limitations.

Tim Jupp

is an English musician who plays the piano and keyboard for Delirious?. Tim Jupp and Martin Smith became friends while working together at a recording studio. There they decided to form a band. Before that, he released an instrumental cassette-only album titled "Hooked On Ishmael". Following the band's manager Tony Patoto decision to leave his position and return to his native Seattle, Tim assumed the position of band manager.

Jon Thatcher

is the bass guitarist of the band. His involvement with the band began as their merchandise salesman, selling tapes at the end of their shows. He began playing with the band on Sunday evenings as part of a youth event known as "Cutting Edge" in Littlehampton, England. Jon uses Fender basses and Ashdown amps.

Jon Thatcher was the youngest member of Delirious? (before the recent induction of Paul Evans), and each of his three sisters married another Delirious? member (Martin Smith, Tim Jupp and Stew Smith). Jon is married to Kristen and has 3 children

Paul Evans

is the new drummer for Delirious?, following Stewart Smith leaving the band. Since the age of 17 he has been a session player. He has played with Cathy Burton and has previously played with Delirious? before when Stewart Smith couldn't make a tour. Paul Evans was trained at the Academy of Contemporary Music and features prominently as a drum teacher on the Musicademy Worship Drum Course DVDS

Former Member

Stew Smith

, also known as Stew Smith, is the former drummer for Delirious?. Stew is endorsed by Premier Percussion and Zildjian Cymbals. He regularly competes in triathlon events. He is left-handed.

Stew Smith announced on February 1st 2008 that he will be leaving Delirious, and his final performance with the band took place on April 27th 2008 at Hillsong Church - Sydney, Australia. He gives the reasons to leave as "I have found the touring an increasing pressure on both me and my family. We function better as a complete unit than when we are separated for so many months of the year, and I wish to be at home, to be around and be far more local." He also says he wants to establish a design company.