Ian Anderson Announces the Thick As A Brick Tours for 2012.

Ian Anderson performs Thick As A Brick in its entirety for the first time since 1972, going out for a world tour commencing in the UK in Mid-April. Then, it's on to European countries in the late Spring and Summer before landing in the USA for two tours spanning September, October and early November.

This tour will feature a more theatrical production with video, additional musicians and a troupe of dancing elephants. (Just kidding about the dancing elephants: they don't dance.,...)

In 1972, Ian wrote the music (and the lyrics which were credited at the time to the fictitious character, 8 year-old Gerald Bostock, whose parents lied about his age) and recorded with Jethro Tull, Thick As A Brick. The record became a number one Billboard album and enjoyed huge commercial success in most countries of the world. The album featured only one song, lasting nearly 45 minutes. To accommodate the album on LP vinyl and cassette, the seamless track was split on both sides of the record. It reached number one on the US Billboard Pop Albums chart.

Tull then dutifully took the somewhat theatrical show on the road in the Great Britain, USA, and other world markets.

Since 1972, the album has never been performed in its entirety although a few minutes of the material have been a regular repertoire staple in both Tull and IA solo shows over the years.

Now, scheduled for performance again in 2012, Ian will take the original album to a theatre near you. It will be performed in its entirety in a theatrical setting with band, and additional guests.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gerald Bostock is the fictional author of the poem used as the lyrics for the 1972 Jethro Tull album Thick as a Brick. The album cover is designed to look like a small village newspaper, the St. Cleve Chronicle & Linwell Advertiser. The front page story describes how eight-year-old Gerald, nicknamed "Little Milton", received an award for his poem.

Thick as a Brick is a concept album, and the fifth studio album, by the English progressive rock band Jethro Tull released in 1972. Its lyrics are built around a poem written by a fictitious boy, "Gerald Bostock" a.k.a. "Little Milton" (Ian Anderson himself). The album featured only one song, lasting nearly 45 minutes. To accommodate the album on LP vinyl and cassette, the seamless track was split on both sides of the record. It reached number one on the US Billboard Pop Albums chart.