Billy and Bob saddle up for a new tour
From pantomime beginnings to folk clubs and Lindisfarne, the duo’s latest show From the Horse’s Mouth mixes music, memories and North East-soaked storytelling
There’s a moment, not long into our conversation, when Billy Mitchell leans back from his dining table and laughs, “We thought it was going to be a one-off.” Sitting beside him, Bob Fox joins in.
The two men - each a beloved veteran of North East music in his own right - have been saying this, in one form or another, for almost two decades.
Yet here they are again – taking a break from living room rehearsals to talk to me about gearing up for another run of shows together.
This autumn, they embark on From the Horse’s Mouth, a tour weaving songs and stories from across their sprawling careers. It’s a show that promises music from Billy’s long history with legendary folk rockers Lindisfarne and Jack the Lad; Bob’s early folk club and later War Horse years at the National Theatre and beyond (where he played Songman), and their joint venture as half of The Pitmen Poets.
But more than that, it’s about the chemistry between two old friends who have spent a lifetime on stage, in rehearsal rooms, in pubs, and backstage swapping tales and singing songs.
That said it was only in the mid-2000s when they decided to do something as a duo - following a break in pantomime rehearsals.
“We’d known of each other for years,” Bob recalls. “We’d cross paths at festivals, say hello, but our careers had gone down different tracks.
“It was when I was playing keyboards for Billy’s panto company that we first tabled the idea of actually doing something together.”
A standalone gig turned into a run of dates… they had stumbled into a partnership that audiences weren’t ready to let go of, spawning a string of successful joint-effort tours and albums.
From the Horse’s Mouth leans into that sense of history. The first half of the show traces the respective musical journeys chronologically.
Bob revisits the folk clubs of the 1970s, where he sang unaccompanied traditional ballads and formed duos with Tom McConville and Stu Luckley.
Billy digs into his time with The Callies and the aforementioned Jack The Lad (formed with Ray Laidlaw, Simon Cowe and Rod Clements following Lindisfarne’s down-the-middle split in 1973); his time in Canada where he heard Mr BoJangles for the first time in a lift; and the eight years he spent as Lindisfarne’s lead singer following Alan Hull’s untimely death in 1995.
“It’s not just the songs,” says Billy, who completed his latest tour of The Lindisfarne Story alongside drummer and founding band member, Ray (Laidlaw) earlier this year.
“It’s why we sang them, what they meant at the time. There’s always been a lot of chat in our gigs, but this time it’s got more shape. We’re telling the story as we go.”
“Audiences like to know where a song comes from,” says Bob. “Maybe they’ve heard me sing The Jolly Waggoner before, but they won’t have heard the background about how waggoners were replaced by the railways, and how that song still resonates today. It’s hardship for the working man and fortunes for the few - and that’s as true in 2025 as it was 200 years ago.”
If the first half is about memory lane, the second half is more of a greatest-hits package, the “big hitters” as they call them.
I’m not going to spoil the setlist here, but those who have followed these two lads won’t have much trouble guessing lots of its contents.
Billy and Bob say putting the set together was like “putting on a comfortable pair of shoes”.
“We’ve been singing some of these songs for decades,” Bob smiles. “But there’s always a new way to do them together. Billy might add a harmony I’ve never heard before, or I’ll find a guitar line that changes the feel. That keeps it fresh.”
“And we’re still learning from each other,” adds Billy. “I’ve grown to love the traditional stuff Bob does, and he’s taken to some of the more modern songs I’ve written. These days, the lines blur. It’s just good music.”
It would be impossible to talk about these two without talking about place. Both have spent their lives singing songs rooted in North East culture – The Pitmen Poets, a group formed with Jez Lowe and Benny Graham to celebrate the lives and stories of North East mining communities, would be a shining example.
And the new show embraces that heritage too.
“The North East has always had this wealth of stories,” Billy says. “Working people, tough times, humour, resilience. That’s what we celebrate in the songs.”
“When we do gigs up here, it often feels like a gathering of old friends,” says Bob. “People bring their kids, sometimes even their parents. It’s not just a concert, it’s a community thing.”
For all their talk of farewell tours (The Pitmen Poets have done at least two), neither seems ready to stop. “We never think, well, that’s the end,” says Billy. “We always just see how it feels.”
Bob laughs: “We did think about calling this tour Adventure Before Dementia. Decided against it.”
What they’ve settled on, From the Horse’s Mouth, is apt. These are stories told directly by two men who’ve lived them, shaped by decades on the road and friendships forged in song.
The tour begins in Blyth on October 16, before heading to Hexham, Bishop Auckland, Gateshead, Saltburn, Otley, Cullercoats, and beyond. It’s an itinerary that reflects both their North East roots and their wider appeal, taking in intimate clubs and theatres alike.
“We still love doing it all,” says Billy, simply.
Bob smiles. “And as long as we love it, we’ll keep going.”
All dates and booking details for the From The Horse’s Mouth, which runs from October 16 to November 5 are available here.