Needle Mythology, the label founded by music writer, author and broadcaster Pete Paphides, is thrilled to announce the first ever stand-alone live album by Stephen Duffy’s acclaimed folk-pop group The Lilac Time. The Lilac Time – Live comprises ten songs dating back to 2007, in the summer that the group were invited to play the main stage at The Green Man festival in rural Wales. Days before their appearance at the festival, an expanded Lilac Time played a show at the Griffin Theatre in Hereford which forms the basis of this release. The audio of the concert had lain dormant for 17 years only to be discovered by Stephen early in 2025. As each song played into the next, he found himself seduced by the magic of the entire performance. Featuring personnel from every era of The Lilac Time (Claire Duffy, Nick Duffy, Micky Harris, Melvin Duffy and Michael Giri), a purposeful joie de vivre envelopes the entire performance: from the dreamy high noon heat-haze of Trumpets From Montparnasse through to the rolling stock rattle of The Lost Girl In The Midnight Sun, an unapologetic clarion call to every militant dreamer who still believes in society. The set also features many of Stephen’s most fondly regarded songs: Return To Yesterday, Driving Somewhere, A Day In The Night, The Silence. For this release, Stephen has penned extensive programme notes, sharing the origin story of every song on the record. Artwork, once again, comes from James Gosling. And mastering comes care of Miles Showell at Abbey Road. The album will available on vinyl and CD. Stephen Duffy, Claire Worrall, Nick Duffy, Micky Harris, Melvin Duffy and Michael Giri.
