(LONDON) – Following the recent announcement of a 19-date tour to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the landmark progressive rock album Thick as A Brick by Jethro Tull, Ian Anderson, Tull founder and frontman, has announced the release of a sequel to the original album on April 2, 2012 (April 3, 2012, in North America).

In 1972, Ian Anderson wrote and recorded the Jethro Tull album Thick as A Brick. The lyrics were credited at the time to the fictitious child character, Gerald Bostock, whose parents supposedly lied about his age. The record quickly became a number one Billboard Chart album and enjoyed considerable success in many countries of the world.

Forty years on, Ian Anderson has pondered the question what would Gerald Bostock – aged fifty in 2012 – be doing today? What might have befallen him?

The answer can be found on Thick as a Brick 2, the 40^th-anniversary “part two” album that will examine the possible different paths that the precocious young schoolboy might have taken later in life through alter-ego characters with song-section identities illustrating the hugely varied potential twists and turns of fate and opportunity.

Anderson says of the album, “As we baby-boomers look back on our own lives, we must often feel an occasional ‘what-if’ moment. Might we, like Gerald, have become instead preacher, soldier, down-and-out, shopkeeper or finance tycoon?”  Adding, “And those of more tender years – the social media and Internet generation – may choose to ponder well the myriad of chance possibilities ahead of them at every turn…..”

To coincide with this groundbreaking release, for the first time since 1972, Anderson and fellow musicians John O’Hara (keyboards), David Goodier (bass), Florian Opahle (guitar) and Scott Hammond (drums) – as well as some guest performers – will take to the road to perform the original album in its entirety and, in addition, the sequel.

Thick As A Brick 2 will be released as a standard jewel case CD and digital download, and in a Special Edition 2-disc package with DVD featuring 5.1 stereo mixes, 24-bit stereo mix, video of the making of the album, interviews with the musicians and Ian Anderson reading the lyrics in various locations.

Anderson is known as the flute and voice of the legendary Jethro Tull, formed in the north of England in 1968 from the amalgamation of blues-based John Evan Band and McGregor’s Engine. Since their first performance at London’s famous Marquee Club in 1968, the band has released 30 studio and live albums and earned a prominent place in rock history.