“In the end they all went the same way”
THE first public taste of FOREVER-ANDEVERNOMORE could hardly have transpired in more extraordinary circumstances. As Brian Eno sang menacingly of “rock and fire” and “gas and dust” amid an ominously swelling storm of distorted synths, smoke lingered in the nighttime air and ash rained down from the heavens. He was standing on the ancient stage of Athens’ Odeon of Herodes Atticus, in the shadow of the Acropolis, and these were not special effects. Wildfires were ravaging the Greek countryside, and when he cautioned that “these billion years will end”, his voice dropped in a potent mix of angry admonition and desperate resignation. The song felt like a warning from the gods.
The occasion was the inaugural live performance last summer by Brian and younger brother Roger, in celebration of their debut full-length collaboration, . Its timely release in March 2020, as the UK’s initial Covid lockdown began, allowed its gentle solo piano instrumentals to recast our sudden, alien emptiness as a welcome opportunity for a breather. That premiere a year later of “Garden Of Stars” – and “There Were Bells”, which engages with similar themes – occurred in no less serendipitous circumstances, albeit, given their concerns, in an appropriately less soothing manner. “Here we are,” Brian commented from the stage, “at the birthplace of civilisation, watching the end
