Pendragon are an English neo-progressive rock band established in 1978 in Stroud, Gloucestershire as Zeus Pendragon by guitarist Nick Barrett. The Zeus was dropped before the band started recording as the members decided it was too long to look good on a t-shirt.[citation needed] There were a few personnel changes in the early days, but since 1986 the lineup has remained stable (apart from two changes on the drummer's stool) and the band is still active as of 2009.
History
The band were active in the progressive rock revival spearheaded by the likes of Marillion, Pallas, and Twelfth Night in the early 1980s, and indeed (like their peers IQ) often appeared as support acts to Marillion and other major neo-prog bands, both on tours and at the famous Marquee venue which hosted many regular prog evenings. After their debut album, The Jewel, the band pursued a more commercial direction, documented in the Kowtow album and the Red Shoes and Saved By You EPs, but despite these efforts failed to break through to a mainstream audience.
In 1991 the band established their own label, Toff Records, and released the archival release The Rest of Pendragon, a collection of EP tracks, and the studio album The World, in which they returned to a more progressive style that the band would continue to develop over their next three studio albums, The Window of Life, The Masquerade Overture, and Not of This World.
From this point on their fortunes have improved, and whilst they are still relatively obscure in their home country they have a significant following in Europe; in particular, they have managed to develop a strong fanbase in Poland, and have both released at least one compilation specifically for the Polish market and recorded several live albums there.
In 2002 the band released Acoustically Challenged, documenting an "unplugged" session with a number of the band's songs retooled for acoustic instruments, which was originally broadcast on Radio 3 Warsaw. This was considered an unusual move for a prog rock band, since progressive rock tends to focus a lot on the use of electronic synthesisers and electric guitars; however, the melodic qualities of the band's compositions proved to be well-suited to an acoustic context, and the album was reasonably successful. This heralded a new willingness to experiment on the part of the band, following a run of studio albums all broadly in the same vein as "The World". On 2005's Believe they took their music in a somewhat darker direction, causing a certain amount of controversy amongst their fans. 2008's Pure refined the style of Believe and was extremely well received by the progressive rock fandom; on the community website progarchives.com Pure enjoyed the current "most popular album" spot for a period in 2008, and remains in the site's top 10 prog releases of 2008 (as voted by site users).
Recently, Pendragon released a live album and DVD, Concerto Maximo, shot in Katowice, on October 13, 2008. It was filmed and edited by Metal Mind. It was released in several versions - a 2 CD release, featuring just the audio from the show, a DVD, featuring the full show, and a DVD and 2 CD special edition, which was limited to 1000 copies.
Current members
- Nick Barrett - guitars, vocals (1978-present)
- Peter Gee - bass (1978-present)
- Clive Nolan - keyboards (1986-present)
- Scott Higham - drums (2008-present)
Past members
- John Barnfield - keyboards (1978-1984)
- Nigel Harris - drums (1978-1986)
- Rick Carter - keyboards (1984-1986)
- Fudge Smith - drums (1986-2006)
- Joe Crabtree - drums (2006-2008)
Discography
Albums
- Studio Albums
- The Jewel (1985) - Includes first half of Fly High Fall Far (EP)
- Kowtow (1988)
- The World (1991)
- The Window Of Life (1993)
- The Masquerade Overture (1996)
- Not Of This World (2001)
- Believe (2005)
- Pure (2008)
- Live Albums
- WRIF 101 Live At Hart Plaza (1983)
- 9:15 Live (1986) - Includes second half of Fly High, Fall Far (EP)
- The Very, Very Bootleg (1993)
- Utrecht... The Final Frontier (1995)
- Live In Krakow 1996 (1997)
- Acoustically Challenged (2002)
- Concerto Maximo (2009)
- EPs
- Fly High, Fall Far (1984) - Vinyl only
- Fallen Dreams And Angels (1994)
- As Good As Gold (1996)
- Compilations And Rarities
- The R(B)est of Pendragon (1991) - Includes Fly High Fall Far EP
- Overture 1984 - 1996 (1998) (US compilation)
- The Round Table 1985 - 1998 (1998) (Compilation Argentina)
- Once Upon a Time in England Volume 1 (1999) (rarities)
- Once Upon a Time in England Volume 2 (1999) (rarities)
- The History: 1984 - 2000 (2000) (compilation, originally released in Poland)
DVD
- Live at Last...And More (2002)
- And Now Everybody To The Stage (2006)
- Past And Presence (2007)
- Concerto Maximo (2009)
CD/DVD combo
- Liveosity (Acoustically Challenged CD packaged with Live at Last...And More DVD, featuring new artwork)
External links
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