lindajan

I realised too late that I should have indicated when Gareth was on the ships by putting the places in bold. He's having a very busy time at the moment. He's been on Britannia for part of 2 cruises and all of a third (only a short one of 2 nights), then straight from there to join Sapphire Princess for a few days, this time not even touching down in the UK. He should be flying back from Halifax, Nova Scois (Canada) on Tuesday (1st Oct), then he's doing several gigs around the UK for a change.

Great to have Gareth's interview on here. Thanks

See you all there. Excited.

I've booked Winsford for Kirsty and me too, Val. Is Doris coming with you? Hope to see you there. So looking forward to hearing and seeing Gareth sing - it will be especially good if he does some different songs Hope he plays keyboard too

I don't believe Gareth will be performing on Sapphire Princess on 25/5/19 - it is the day that one cruise ends and another starts and would leave him stuck on the ship until it next went into a port. Therefore the Hereford gig looks OK.

All Gareth said was something about being sorry to see Bhavna go - he didn't say that Rana would die. However it has been known for a long time that she was leaving and strongly rumoured that her character would die, so I think this was a lot of fuss about nothing. Just another excuse for some to get at Gareth.

Thanks for this Doris. It's great to hear that Gareth is getting such a fantastic reception to his performances on the cruises - it's not surprising that he's keen to do them. Lovely to hear there were some different songs - I'll look forward to seeing the set list when you get home. I expect Pete had other gigs that he was involved in. Enjoy the rest of the cruise. Love Linda xx

I think this means that Gareth will do 90 perfromances on cruise ships during this year - an impressive number.

Thanks for your reports, Doris, about your cruise and seeing Gareth, Pete & Wendy at his show & elsewhere. It's so lovely to read that his shows were sold out - it's really not surprising that he has decided to concentrate on the cruises this year. Lovely photos & great to have the set list too. Do you mean that when Gareth is on Sapphire Princess that he does one night (2 shows) in the theatre, then performs elsewhere on the other nights? It must have been lovely that Gareth acknowledged you & even stopped for a chat when you saw him around the ship, etc. It's good that you are booked to see the show again next time you go.

Gareth has announced on his Official Website some gigs on home soil during 2019. Date Venue Booking Info Extra Info 11/05/19 Butlins, Bognor Regis Bognor Booking Not finding accommodation including this date. 15/06/19 Pontins, Southport Southport Booking Not finding accommodation including this date. Day passes are available – scroll down info page for details. 17/08/19 Ipswich Unknown venue. 22-23/08/19 Hemsby Beach Holiday Village, Yarmouth Hemsby Beach Booking Book by 31/01/19 to save 30%. Would need to book for: 19-26/08/19 (2 shows), 19-23/08/19 (1 show) or 23-26/08/19 (1 show). 12/10/19 Butlins, Minehead Minehead Booking Not finding accommodation including this date. 09/11/19 Butlins, Skegness Skegness Booking Not finding accommodation including this date.

Thanks for the update, Doris. Pleased you've arrived safely and that you are booked to see Gareth's show. Have a brilliant time.

Doris, have a wonderful time on the cruise - hope you've got a show or two booked. Looking forward to hearing all about it when you are able to post. A set list like last year would be brilliant too. I'm not in the least bit jealous! I'm genuinely thrilled that you are on Gareth's first cruise of the year again. Thanks also for posting about the excellent comments Gareth was getting on the P&O site, so lovely to read that he is getting the recognition he deserves. Love xx

Gareth has confirmed that throughout 2019 he will be performing again on cruises, taking to the high seas on some luxury ships - P & O Britannia or Sapphire Princess. Cruises are in the Caribbean, Europe and even North America. On Britannia, Gareth performs in the Limelight Club, an adults only venue, where his show punctuates courses of your meal served at your table. Top-class entertainment with delicious food, what more could you want? Places need to be booked in advance with a cover charge of around £25-35 per person. His shows on Sapphire Princess take place in a theatre. For anyone interested or able to consider booking, information about the cruises including booking details can be found using these links: P & O Website or Iglu Cruise Britannia Princess Cruises Website or Iglu Cruise Sapphire Iglu Cruise is one of many sites which may offer deals (others can be found by surfing). Except for some very short cruises, Gareth does not spend the entire cruise on the ship. He usually either joins at the start then leaves early or joins late and leaves at the end. What follows is an attempt to show which ships and dates Gareth will be performing on. Please check official sites to be sure of accuracy. A question mark next to a date on Sapphire Princess means that it is doubtful that he will perform on that date. The table was compiled using events published on Gareth's Official Website, the ships' itineraries from Crew Center and the P & O and Princess Cruises websites (links above) for details of cruise packages available. If you would like to save or print the table there is a pdf version at the end of this post. Hope this information is useful. PERFORMANCES ON CRUISES 2019 DATES SHIP PLACES GARETH PERFORMING NUMBER OF PERFORMANCES 18/1-1/2/2019 OR 19/1-2/2/2109 P & O Britannia Barbados, Curacao, Bonaire, St Vincent, Martinique, St Lucia, Antigua, St Maarten, Dominica, Barbados 19/1-23/1/2019 5 5 1/2-15/2/2019 OR 2/2-16/2/2019 P & O Britannia Barbados, Bonaire, Aruba, St Vincent, Grenada, St Lucia, St Maarten, St Kitts, Antigua, Barbados 13/2-14/2/2019 13/2-15/2/2019 2 3 15/2-1/3/2019 OR 16/2-2/3/2019 P & O Britannia Barbados, Curacao, Aruba, St Vincent, Grenada, St Lucia, Dominica, Antigua, St Maarten, Barbados 15/2-17/2/2019 16/2-17/2/2019 3 2 1/3-15/3/219 OR 2/3-16/3/219 P & O Britannia Barbados, Curacao, Aruba, St Vincent, Grenada, St Lucia, St Maarten, St Kitts, Antigua, Barbados 13/3-14/3/2019 13/3-15/3/2019 2 3 15/3-29/3/2019 OR 16/3-29/3/2019 P & O Britannia Barbados, St Lucia, St Kitts, Antigua, Azores, England (Southampton) 15/3-18/3/2019 16/3-18/3/2019 4 3 29/3-5/4/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Belgium (Zeebrugge), Guernsey, England (Southampton) 1/4-4/4/2019 4 21/3-16/4/2019 OR 6/4-16/4/2019 joining ship at Civitavecchia Sapphire Princess UAE (Dubai), Oman (Salalah), Jordan (Aqaba), Egypt (Suez Canal), Greece (Piraeus), Malta (La Valletta), Italy (Messina, Naples, Civitavecchia & Livorno), Monaco (Monte Carlo), Spain (Barcelona), Gibraltar, Portugal (Lisbon), France (Le Havre), England (Southampton) 12/4-15/4/2019 4 4/5-18/5/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Spain (Cadiz & Barcelona), Italy (Livorno & Civitavecchia), Spain (Cartagena), Gibraltar, England (Southampton) 15/5-17/5/2019 3 18/5-25/5/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Norway (Stavanger, Olden, Alesund & Bergen), England (Southampton) 18/5-19/5/2019 2 18/5-25/5/2019 Sapphire Princess England (Southampton), Norway (Bergen, Geiranger, Olden & Stavanger), England (Southampton) 23/5-?25/5/2019 2 or 3 1/6-8/6/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Guernsey, Belgium (Zeebrugge), Holland, (Rotterdam), England (Southampton) 2/6-4/6/2019 3 1/6-15/6/2019 Sapphire Princess England (Southampton), Belgium (Zeebrugge), Denmark (Copenhagen), Sweden (Stockholm), Finland (Helsinki), Russia (St Petersburg), Estonia (Tallinn), Poland (Gdansk), England (Southampton) 12/6-?15/6/2019 3 or 4 15/6-29/6/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Spain (Cadiz & Barcelona), Monaco (Monte Carlo), Italy (Livorno), Spain (Cartagena), Gibraltar, England (Southampton) 26/6-28/6/2019 3 29/6-6/7/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Norway (Stavanger, Flam, Alesund & Bergen), England (Southampton) 29/6-30/62019 2 6/7-13/7/2019 Sapphire Princess England (Southampton), Norway (Stavanger, Olden, Geiranger & Bergen), England (Southampton) 11/7-?13/7/2019 2 or 3 6/7-20/7/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Denmark (Skagen), Finland (Helsinki), Russia (St Petersburg), Estonia (Tallinn), Sweden (Stockholm), Denmark (Copenhagen), England (Southampton) 17/7-19/7/2019 3 20/7-27/7/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Norway (Stavanger, Flam, Olden & Bergen), England (Southampton) 20/7-21/7/2019 2 13/7-27/7/2019 Sapphire Princess England (Southampton), Norway (Bergen, Flam, Geiranger & Alesund), Iceland (Akureyri, Isafjord, Grundarfjordur & Reykjavik), England (Southampton) 23/7-?27/7/2019 4 or 5 27/7-10/8/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Spain (Cadiz & Barcelona), Italy (Livorno & Civitavecchia), Spain (Cartagena), Gibraltar, England (Southampton) 7/8-9/8/2019 3 10/8-17/8/2019/ P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Norway (Stavanger, Olden, Alesund & Bergen), England (Southampton) 10/8-11/8/2019 2 10/8-17/8/2019 Sapphire Princess England (Southampton), Norway (Stavanger, Olden, Geiranger & Bergen), England (Southampton) 15/8-16/8/2019 2 17/8-31/8/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Spain (Cadiz & Barcelona), Monaco (Monte Carlo), Italy (Livorno), Spain (Cartagena), Gibraltar, England (Southampton) 28/8-30/8/2019 3 31/8-7/9/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Norway (Stavanger, Flam, Olden & Bergen), England (Southampton) 31/8-1/9/2019 2 30/8-14/9/2019 Sapphire Princess England (Southampton), Belgium (Zeebrugge), Denmark (Copenhagen), Sweden (Stockholm), Estonia (Tallinn), Russia (St Petersburg), Finland (Helsinki), Poland (Gdansk), England (Southampton) 11/9-?14/9/2019 3 or 4 7/9-21/9/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Spain (Cadiz & Barcelona), Italy (Livorno & Civitavecchia), Spain (Cartagena), Gibraltar, England (Southampton) 18/9-20/9/2019 3 21/9-23/9/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Belgium (Zeebrugge), England (Southampton) 21/9-22/9/2019 2 23/9-7/10/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Madeira, Canary Islands (La Palma, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas, Arrecife), Spain (Cadiz), Portugal (Lisbon), England (Southampton) 23/9-26/9/2019 4 14/9-8/10/2019 Sapphire Princess England (Southampton), Canada (St Johns, Sydney & Charlottetown), USA (New York City, Newport, Boston & Rockland), Canada (Saint John, Halifax), England (Southampton) 28/9-30/9/2019 3 23/10-25/10/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Belgium (Zeebrugge), England (Southampton) 24/10/2019 1 25/10-8/11/2019 OR 25/10-9/11/2019 P & O Britannia England (Southampton), Madeira, Antigua, St Kitts, St Lucia, St Vincent, Barbados 25/10-28/10/2019 4 8/11-22/11/2019 OR 9/11-23/11/2019 P & O Britannia Barbados, Curacao, Bonaire, Grenada, St Vincent, St Lucia, St Kitts, Antigua, St Maarten, Barbados 18/11-21/11/2019 18/11-22/11/2019 4 5 22/11-6/12/2019 P & O Britannia Barbados, Curacao, Aruba, Grenada, St Vincent, St Lucia, St Kitts, Antigua, St Maarten, Barbados 22/11/2019 1 On P & O Britannia in the Caribbean, most cruises can be booked for 7 days from St Lucia to Barbados or from Barbados to St Lucia. Cruises can also usually start and end in St Lucia, although this is generally a more expensive option. Cruises 2019.pdf

Thanks for telling us, Chris. It'll be good to see Gareth on TV again.

Thanks for the link, Chris, lovely to read. Wish they'd check facts though, Cuppanut wasn't developed in 2006! (makes it seem that it's taken ages to get into shops) Seems that Gareth is doing a date on Britannia that hasn't been inclued on his official site - wonder if anything else has changed/been added.

This link won't play for me - not on here nor on Twitter. It's amazing that after less rhan a week of rehearsals they are a position to run through the show, obviously hand-working and experienced professionals.

Good to know that rehearsals start today - this is getting very close. Booked yesterday to see this again on evening of 20th Dec with my daughter. Much better availability in the evenings of that week rather than matinees.

Gareth was in excellent form for the Christmas lights switch-on in Altrincham this afternoon/evening. I sat on a wall for the earlier part of the main entertainment but got up and moved gradually closer to the stage when Gareth came on stage. He looked very smart with a grey winter coat over his clothes but not close enough to describe better, (I'm sure Maria will as she was right at the front). Gareth sang five songs: Suspicious Minds Anyone Of Us Perfect (which he dedicated to Faye who was in the audience) Unchained Melody Spirit In The Sky He encouraged the crowd to join in throughout and there was a great atmosphere. It was especially lovely to hear Perfect in full and live. Gareth's voice suits this song so well and it seems completely back to its very best. Gareth then left the stage for a few minutes before coming back with the other guests to switch the lights on. Shortly after it was all over. Maria & I hung around for a while to see whether Gareth would come out. After a while James Moores and Emma Lansley (Fates) appeared. We stopped them & chatted a bit about Fates, then asked whether Gareth was coming out but he & Faye had already left another way to go to his car on the roof (car parking extended over several of the buildings). It was lovely to see Gareth performing again and hadn't really expected to be able to speak to him on this occasion. Good to see Maria too before and after the show.

Lovely - thanks for finding and posting these videos.

Pleased you got to this gig after the disappointment of missing the David Lloyd one and that you were brave enough to stay in a hotel on your own. Thanks for the lovely write-up, photos and videos. xx

Hi, Thanks to everyone for their reports, comments, pictures and videos from Gareth's short Pizza Express Live tour. I was at the show in Birmingham on Saturday with Chris and Yvonne and also with my sister-in-law, Joyce, and her friend, Ann. It was a lovely, intimate venue which was virtually full (all ages and both females and males) by the time Gareth performed. The stage was set when we were shown to our table just after 6.30pm and as I'm always especially excited to see a piano (or keyboard), I wasn't disappointed - there was a grand piano all miked up and ready to go. Although I'm not a huge fan of his velvet or flowery suits (I much prefer the one he wore at Holborn on Sunday), Gareth always manages to look amazing. It was also lovely that Pete Rinaldi was his guitarist for this tour (and most of the cruise shows and probably other shows during the year) - they have a brilliant rapport and genuine friendship. After everyone had eaten and had a few drinks, Pete came onto stage first and commented that there wasn't anyone to do the introductions so he was going to do them and proceeded to welcome Gareth to the stage. As usual Gareth bounded out then, as Chris said, he stopped, preened himself and seemed to be inviting us to appreciate his suit. He then went straight to the piano, sat down and started the first song, so now seems a good time to include his set list. (I'm pretty sure I've got all the songs with their correct titles and I hope I've got the order right). GARETH GATES SET LIST BIRMINGHAM PIZZA EXPRESS LIVE Part 1 I Believe I Can Fly (piano) Yesterday (piano) My Girl Suspicious Minds True Colours Angel On My Shoulder (Gareth dedicated this to his mum, Wendy, who wasn't there) Faith (dedicated to Inger Barber, Faye's mum & a George Michael fan, who was there) Valerie Anyone Of Us Hold On Tight (this was written for Faye, who was at the gig) Can't Stop The Feeling! (sung for 1st time in Maidstone – it was in the last panto though) Footloose (Gareth made it quite clear he wouldn't be stripping!) Part 2 All Of Me (piano) That's When You Know (piano) Dance With My Father (piano) Sentimental Heaven Sweet Child Of Mine Say It Isn't So Mr Brightside Unchained Melody (piano) (still got audience to sing high note – in panto sang a lower, highish note himself) Brown-Eyed Girl Spirit In The Sky (got 4 girls, separately, on stage to sing with him, the last of them was Sarahjane) Encore Mustang Sally I've added a few comments next to some of the songs. The set list appears to be an extended and re-ordered version of the one Gareth is using on the cruise (at least when Doris went). Everything about his performance was superb. Gareth's voice was strong, rich and faultless (finally back to how it was, perhaps even better); his piano playing was beautiful, adding an extra dimension to the songs he accompanied; his speech when talking between some of the numbers was fluent; his stage presence was charismatic and sometimes funny; frequently he asked us to acknowledge Pete and his brilliant guitar work; and he engaged with the audience, encouraging us to join in or take over at times. Gareth really is a fantastic entertainer and I'm certain that he thoroughly enjoyed the fact that Faye and her family and some of his were there to support him. Although Gareth was on stage for around 90 minutes with a break in the middle, all too soon the show was over. However it wasn't long before he was back for a 'Meet and Greet', happily chatting, signing autographs, having photos with everyone that wanted them. Eventually we reluctantly left, having truly enjoyed the show in a great venue. I really hope the news report I came across this morning (which mentions Gareth) about Pizza Express opening many more of these venues is true and that Gareth does a more extended tour covering more parts of the country. Thanks to the people I was with for your excellent company and also to other fans that were there that I've met at various other times. Love Linda xx

Thanks so much for your report and photos, Doris. Have read it lots of times and have been meaning to reply properly - still haven't time to do that at the moment, but so pleased that you were able to be part of Gareth's first cruise. I'm going to Pizza Express on Saturday with Chris and Yvonne and my sister-in-law and her friend, so I'm hoping that his set is much like you had on the cruise. Thanks, Linda xx

Doris, your little report of Gareth's gig makes me feel all warm inside - it's lovely that others are recognising what we've seen for years. Thanks for writing a bit more about his show and I'm looking forward to your full report when you get home (but I can wait, you continue enjoying your cruise - it's cold and wet here). Please include as much detail as you can because not many of us are going to be on one of these cruises. Things like: what the venue was like; what Gareth wore; what the reaction of the audience was (sounds fantastic from what I've read so far) and of course the list of songs that you said that you have - I'm sure we'd all like to image that we were there with you soaking up the atmosphere. It was great that you were so close to the piano and lovely that your sister enjoyed Gareth's performance too. I love it when he plays the piano at his gigs - I remember one show when I gave a little squeal when I realised that he was going to be playing. You must have felt so special when Gareth spoke to you when leaving the stage and gave you a hug at the end. Shame you couldn't get tickets to go again but you must have amazing memories anyway. Enjoy the rest of your holiday. Love Linda xx

Thanks, Chris, for the links to all the reviews - will catch up on them later. I don't know where the reviewer that commented on pop songs being used has been for the last few years, as every panto that Gareth has done has used pop songs (and I'm sure other pantos are the same) - it's what the kids know and gets them even more involved. Looking forward to seeing this tomorrow.

Adam Booth played Buttons in Cinderella in Crewe with Gareth, of course.