Head of rock band Jethro Tull, Ian Anderson, will celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the release of the legendary album Thick As A Brick with a major world tour, which will begin in the U.K. in mid April and commence on the continent from late spring. On this tour Ian Anderson and a range of musicians will perform the album in its entirety for the first time since 1972. A first date for Germany has been fixed now: “Thick As A Brick” and other Jethro Tull hits will be performed by Anderson at Kultur Pur festival on Saturday, May 26^th, 2012. This festival, which takes place in big tents, has become an installation in the area of idyllic mountain range Rothaargebirge and hill “Giller”, which is part of the town “Hilchenbach”.

Ian Anderson really could celebrate anniversaries on an annual basis: The 40^th anniversary edition of the album “Aqualung” has just been released, comprising two CDs, a DVD, a Blue Ray and a high quality vinyl record. It will also include a 48-page book. Steven Wilson, head of “Porcupine Tree”, was responsible for remixing the album.

And there’s more good news for the German Jethro Tull fans: In mid-April, as of now, a book about Jethro Tull and their ties to Germany will be released: touring in Germany through the decades, German chart positions, concert reviews, rare album releases and interviews with musicians, tour promoters, critics (journalists) and fans will be featured. The book, researched and written by Wolfgang Thomas of Siegen-based Rock Museum and his son Kevin Thomas will be similar to the 1998 release „Schickt einen Fahrer mit langen Haaren – The Rolling Stones Over Germany“ (“Send a driver with long hair – The Rolling Stones Over Germany”), which was co-authored by Wolfgang Thomas. More information about this project will be released here as soon as possible. Whoever would like to add a personal Jethro Tull story (that is in any way connected to the band appearing in Germany) please contact us at the rock-museum in Siegen or write an This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Picture: Ian Anderson performing at Jethro Tull-Convention 1994 in Altenkirchen/Westerwald. Left: Ric Sanders of Fairport Convention. Copyright: Siegener Rock-Museum