North-Norfolk singer-songwriter Paul Thompson is gaining a reputation as one of the true eccentrics of the British singer-songwriter scene. His latest tour ‘Floating to the Fringe’ saw him embarking on an epic three month musical journey to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe...in a milk float!
Playing inspiring outdoor spaces, festivals, arts centres, pubs, clubs, village halls and house concerts, Paul travelled in a specially converted milk float that utilised solar panels to power stage lighting and music gear. He was the first solo musician ever to tour Britain in a milk float, and has gained a Guinness World Record for his 1,500 mile journey.
During the Arts Council England funded tour to promote his latest CD ‘Lost in the Land of Midnight Sun’, Paul was joined by performers from around the UK to play on the milk float (named Bluebell!), and ran song-writing workshops in venues as far north as the Outer Hebrides. His tour culminated with a two week run of shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.
No stranger to travel, Paul wrote the songs for ‘Lost in the Land of Midnight Sun’ after his previous tour, another three month epic voyage, this time around Alaska and Canada. Inspired by the film ‘Into the Wild’, Paul hitch-hiked around with just his guitar, a small ampilfier and a back-pack, playing mountain towns and festivals, surviving a tsunami scare on the western Alaskan coast, and avoiding one or two over-enthusiastic bears for good measure!
Described by Acoustic Magazine as ‘Blissed out Donovan meets John Martyn’, Paul is currently working on his fourth CD, and has also written a book about his ‘Floating to the Fringe’ tour. He continues to do events with Bluebell, using the amazing musical milk float as a mobile stage and workshop space at various events and festivals, and is planning another major tour for 2017.
To learn more about Paul and his musical adventures visit www.paulsmusc.co.uk
And check out a video of Paul and Bluebell here: Live at the Forum, Norwich
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Acoustic magazine