The flute in question is Anderson’s back-up flute, and yes, it is indeed orbiting the earth as we speak, and yes, it does perhaps contain traces of Anderson saliva – truly, at least a part of Jethro Tull can accurately be described as being ‘out of this world’. Meanwhile, back on terra firma, the band itself marches on. This year sees the band 43 years on from their 1968 debut, This Was, and it also marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Aqualung (’71), perhaps the band’s best known recording, an album which is now regarded as a classic of its era.
“Yeah, that record is the subject of discussions with EMI at the moment because we’re doing some remixing and remastering in 5.1 Sound, a kind of collector’s edition which we’ll release this year to celebrate the anniversary of Aqualung,” Anderson explains. “And then next year is the 40th anniversary of Thick As A Brick, so we’re already looking at the 2012 calendar and beginning to put together tours to regenerate the Thick As A Brick material in live performance for the first time since 1972, in its entirety.”
