Stornoway play for passengers after Eurostar breaks down
Oli Steadman, a multi-instrumentalist in the band, told the BBC: "We were just on our way home and then suddenly there was an emergency stop."I turned to Tom, our trumpet player next to me, and he said 'I think we're going to be here for a long time'. "He somehow knew it was not going to end well."Steadman said emotions were starting to run high and the passengers were eventually allowed to get out of the train onto the sidings.
The band missed a day in the recording studio because of the delay, but Steadman "felt much, much worse for the others", which included passengers who were "very young and very frail". "All of them were baffled by the lack of clarity from Eurostar," he added."Not once in the 11-hour journey did we have any official announcement... we just had a rumour mill from drivers to the buffet car."
Eventually the band picked up their instruments and played a setlist that included The Only Way Is Up by Yazz, opening with the new lyrics "We've been broken down for six hours long / Being on Eurostar, sure ain't no fun".Steadman said: "What really helped on top of the music was a chaffinch and a couple of chiffchaffs in the beech wood that we happened to be stopped next to who chimed in."The sense that we were out in nature really helped plug people back into that sense that we're part of something bigger."We can all get along even in difficult circumstances, and it was a good thing we weren't stopped in a concrete jungle just outside of central Brussels."
The replacement train eventually arrived at St Pancras at 19:20 BST. Eurostar said it would be offering compensation.
Stornoway formed in 2005 and had their first radio play on BBC Radio Oxford the following year.They released their debut album Beachcomber's Windowsill in 2009.Two more albums followed before a six-year hiatus and 2023's comeback album Dig The Mountain!They celebrate their 21st anniversary with a gig at the Royal Albert Hall in March next year.
You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
32 minutes ago
- The Sun
Love Island line up sexy female footballer as late bombshell ‘to create maximum drama' after explosive Movie Night
FEMALE football ace Catarina Pita is lining up to score on Love Island. Dating show bosses are finalising their team sheet for the closing half of this summer's series and reckon the Portuguese defender has what it takes to be a gamechanger. 8 8 The beauty, who is a model away from the pitch, plays for Atlético London but has vast experience across the women's league, including for Millwall Lionesses, Clube Athletico Ouriense, Leyton Orient, West Ham United Porto FC, Barking FC and QPR. A source said: 'Cat has been busy in pre-season training but is on ITV2 's list as a late bombshell. 'As always, cast are pulled in to suit storylines to create maximum drama. 'Bosses loved the idea of having a female footballer on the show during the Women's Euros.' The villa is in disarray after Movie Night, with not one couple looking settled. Sounds like the perfect time to put Cat among them. an alleged 'mean girl' on Movie Night, with a boy forced to step in. Meg was seen arguing with Shakira and Toni about a comment she made that was shown during Movie Night. In the video that caused an issue between the women, Meg was seen chatting to Helena when she mocked how Toni and Shakira walked. Billykiss defended Shakira when she said: "It's the way you was coming at Shakira, like you've never said anything bad. That's the problem." Love Island feuds explode as villa stars turn on each other in most brutal movie night yet Meg then said: "This wasn't even about Shakira, it was about how Toni and her walk." "What I'm saying is, you were sat on your high horse like you've never said anything in your life," Shakira snapped back. Meg fumed: "I'm not jumping on my high horse Shakira, I say it to your face." Shakira said that Meg doesn't say anything to her face, to which Meg said "I am now". But Toni wasn't convinced and slammed: "Only because it's out." 8 8 8 8 8
The Guardian
40 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Turn empty London office blocks into ‘late-night party zones', report suggests
Could the future of Canary Wharf lie in thumping beats and dancefloor raves? Could the City of London become a global hub of nocturnal revelry? With financial districts struggling to bounce back to full capacity post-Covid, and the nightlife industry facing an existential crisis, there are suggestions clubs could move into deserted office blocks at evenings and weekends. In its annual eccentric report on the future of leisure, the creative studio Bompas and Parr says it envisions 'a future where financial districts in London and the world over are transformed into world-class late-night party zones'. 'By day, the city bustles with suits and stocks. By night, it's reborn as a pulsating rave arena,' the report says. 'With few residents to file noise complaints, organisers capitalise on the empty, echoing canyons of glass and steel. 'Empty office lobbies become sought-after DJ booths, rooftops host industry defining light shows, and any space that isn't locked morphs into a dancefloor to create a sprawling web of passionate chaos as capitalism and counterculture merge.' It may sound far-fetched, but it could become reality as the corporate and hospitality industries respond to changing behaviour in a post-Covid world. Michael Kill, the chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), said the prospect of few noise complaints and the need to boost footfall in areas that workers have deserted in the shift to work from home made it an appealing prospect. 'There are conversations going on about things like the City of London, where the financial district is, as there is a very limited residential core so without a doubt, given some of the noise complaints and restrictions, that actually makes sense and works for nightlife,' Kill said. About 500,000 people work in the City of London but only 8,500 people live there, reducing the likelihood of noise complaints from residential properties, something that has proven a hindrance for venues in recent years. Kill said some financial districts were struggling with the impact of having only 'three core days with full workforce', as many people were choosing to work from home on Mondays and Fridays. 'What we've always had with the financial districts is, after a Friday night, they close down and everyone disappears,' he said. 'But now we're seeing people only work from the office for about three days a week. Friday has become an extension of the weekend. So landlords are obviously looking for new opportunities, and that is a very constructive conversation we're having.' He said there were conversations about how zoning rules could be adjusted to give 'preferential planning and licensing opportunities' to nightlife and hospitality businesses in financial areas. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion The NTIA has warned the UK nightlife sector faces extinction by 2029 if venue closures persist. The number of nightclubs has more than halved between 2013 and 2024. The rate of decline was exacerbated by the pandemic, when clubs were shut for months on end and more than a third of the country's venues closed for good. The industry was continuously adapting to entice people back to the dancefloor and ensure the sector's survival, Kill said, with everything from 'light clubbing to full-fat clubbing to hybrid spaces and the evolution of venues with multifaceted options like conference spacing'. Bompas and Parr predicted that capitalising on the over-50s market would be key, and that the 'generation that pioneered sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll' would be seeking new ways to spend their spare time. Kill said: 'What we've seen is the industry, in many respects, has been propped up by an older generation that are plugged into revisiting those club culture memories, rave memories, events memories. The reality is, all they want to do is go out and revisit their youth. 'So it's absolutely something that is happening and is a growing market that is without a doubt now being noticed by the sector as a whole as a big opportunity.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Princess Kate and Paul Mescal among stars at Wimbledon finals
It wasn't just the heatwave making people feel faint at the Wimbledon finals as some of the hottest stars - including Paul Mescal and Nicole Kidman - joined royals in SW19.
