Camel (band)
| Camel | |
|---|---|
 Camel in Concert - 2003 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Progressive rock , rock |
| founding | 1971 |
| Website | www.camelproductions.com |
| Founding members | |
| Andrew "Andy" Latimer | |
| Douglas Ferguson | |
Keyboard , vocals |
Peter Bardens († 2002) |
| Andy Ward | |
| Current occupation | |
Vocals, guitar, flute, keyboard |
Andy Latimer |
bass |
Colin Bass (1979–1981, since 1984) |
Drums |
Denis Clement (since 2000) |
Keyboard (tours 2013-2016)
|
Jason Hart |
Keyboard |
Pete Jones (since 2016) |
| former members | |
Bass, vocals |
Richard Sinclair (1977–1978) |
Saxophone , flute |
Mel Collins (1977-1979) |
Keyboard |
Jan Schelhaas (1979–1981) |
Keyboard, flute |
Kit Watkins (1979-1982) |
singing |
Chris Rainbow († 2015) (1982) |
Drums, percussion |
Paul Burgess (1984-1992) |
Keyboard |
Ton Scherpenzeel (1984, 1991, 1999, 2003) |
Drums, percussion |
Dave Stewart (1997-2000) |
Keyboard |
Guy LeBlanc († 2015) (2000-2003, 2013) |
Camel is a British progressive rock group led by singer and guitarist Andrew "Andy" Latimer .
history
Camel was formed in 1971 when Peter Bardens joined The Brew , a band made up of Andrew Latimer, Andy Ward and Doug Ferguson . The band name was quickly changed to Camel and played for the first time in front of a larger audience at Waltham Forest Technical College together with the band Wishbone Ash . Camel released her first album in 1973 on the MCA Records label. After the financial failure of the first recordings, they switched to Decca Records. There Camel released their second, far more successful album Mirage in 1974 . In the following two years the equally successful albums The Snow Goose and Moonmadness were released. The band's constant is founding member Andrew Latimer, otherwise the band's history is characterized by personnel changes. Founding member Doug Ferguson left Camel in 1977 and Peter Bardens in 1978. In 1981 drummer Andy Ward also left the band. Camel then took a creative break.
In 1982 Camel formed anew with Andrew Latimer, Kit Watkins, Andy Dalby, Chris Rainbow , Stuart Tosh and David Paton and recorded the album The Single Factor , which meant a musical change. The band turned away from progressive rock and towards simpler compositions. In the 1990s Latimer moved to the USA and released Dust and Dreams, the first album under his own label Camel Productions . The album Harbor of Tears followed in 1996 . After an extensive tour in 1997 Camel produced their album Rajaz in 1999 with the cast of Andrew Latimer, Dave Stewart and Colin Bass.
Andy Latimer has been suffering from the blood disease polycythemia vera (PV) since 1992 , which has now resulted in myelofibrosis . In 2002, Andy Latimer dedicated the album A Nod and a Wink to the recently deceased ex-band member Peter Bardens . Another tour followed in 2003. In 2013 Camel toured Europe. Three of the ten concerts took place in Germany at the end of October 2013. A second European tour took place in March 2014, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain and Italy. Former singer Chris Rainbow passed away on February 22, 2015 at the age of 68. Guy LeBlanc , a former keyboardist for the band, passed away on April 27, 2015 at his home in Kemptville , Ontario .
style
In the 1970s, Camel played mostly progressive rock. The band became known for their melodic compositions with long instrumental parts. Bandleader Andrew Latimer stood out for his guitar and flute playing.
In the 1980s, Camel approached the mainstream of rock and pop music with shorter and more succinct titles . In the 1990s, however, after a few personnel changes, they returned to the band's progressive origins and expanded them to include a folk component.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1974 | Mirage | - | - |
US149 (13 weeks) US |
|
| 1975 | (Music Inspired By) The Snow Goose | - |
UK22nd  (13 weeks)UK |
US162 (5 weeks) US |
|
| 1976 | Moonmadness | - |
UK15th (6 weeks)UK |
US118 (13 weeks) US |
|
| 1977 | Rain Dances |
DE49 (1 week) DE |
UK20 (8 weeks) UK |
US136 (5 weeks) US |
|
| 1978 | Breathless |
DE40 (2 weeks) DE |
UK26 (1 week) UK |
US134 (10 weeks) US |
|
| 1979 | I Can See Your House From Here | - |
UK45 (3 weeks) UK |
- | |
| 1981 | Nude |
DE65 (1 week) DE |
UK34 (7 weeks) UK |
- | |
| 1982 | The single factor | - |
UK57 (5 weeks) UK |
- | |
| 1984 | Stationary traveler | - |
UK57 (5 weeks) UK |
- | |
More studio albums
- 1973 - Camel
- 1991 - Dust and Dreams
- 1996 - Harbor of Tears
- 1999 - Rajaz
- 2002 - A Nod and a Wink
- 2013 - The Snow Goose (new recording)
Live albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
|||
| 1978 | A live record |
DE34 (1 week) DE |
More live albums
- 1984 - Pressure Points - Live in Concert
- 1992 - On the Road 1972
- 1993 - Never Let Go (September 5, 1992, Enschede, NL)
- 1994 - On the Road 1982
- 1997 - On the Road 1981
- 1998 - Coming of Age (March 13, 1997, Billboard, Los Angeles, USA)
- 2000 - Gods of Light 73-75
- 2001 - The Paris Collection (October 30, 2000, Bataclan Club, FR)
Compilations
- 1981 - Chameleon - The Best of Camel
- 1986 - A Compact Compilation
- 1986 - The Collection
- 1991 - Landscapes
- 1993 - Echoes
- 1997 - Camel - Master Series (25th Anniversary Compilation)
- 2001 - Lunar Sea
- 2010 - Rainbows End: Camel Anthology 1973 - 1985 (4CD box)
Singles
- 1973 - Never Let Go / Curiosity
- 1975 - Flight of the Snow Goose / Rhayader
- 1975 - The Snow Goose / Freefall
- 1976 - Another Night / Lunar Sea (live)
- 1977 - Highways of the Sun / Tell Me
- 1978 - Breathless / Wing And A Prayer (Japan)
- 1979 - Your Love Is Stranger Than Mine / Neon Magic
- 1979 - I Can See Your House From Here (Flexi-Single)
- 1980 - Remote Romance / Rainbow's End
- 1981 - Lies / Changing Places
- 1982 - No Easy Answer / Manic
- 1982 - No Easy Answer / Heroes (Japan)
- 1982 - Selva / Camelouge
- 1984 - Long Goodbyes / Walzing Fraulein
- 1984 - Cloak and Dagger Man / Pressure Points
- 1986 - Captured / Captured (live)
Video albums
- 2002 - Coming of Age (live, March 13, 1997, Billboard, Los Angeles, USA)
- 2003 - Pressure Points (live, May 11, 1984, Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK)
- 2003 - Curriculum Vitae
- 2004 - footage
- 2005 - Footage II
- 2007 - Total Pressure (live, May 11, 1984, Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK) This time the complete concert plus 4 additional bonus tracks and 1 interview with Andrew Latimer!
- 2007 - Moondance (live, April 14, 1976, Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK Bonus: Autumn (1974) and Riverman (1975))
- 2010 - The Opening Farewell (live, 2003 at the Catalyst, US)
- 2014 - In From the Cold (live, 2013 at the Barbican, London)
- 2017 - Ichigo Ichie (live, in Japan 2016)
- 2019 - Camel at the Royal Albert Hall (live, 17th September, 2018, Royal Albert Hall, London)
Others
Andrew Latimer founded his own record label under the name Camel Productions in 1991, under which Camel's albums are sold. This also explains the large number of live albums in the 1990s.
Web links
- Camel Productions (English)
- Pink-Camel (English)
- The Camel Forum (English, German)
- Unofficial Camel site (English)
- Rajaz ~ The Rhythm of the CAMEL (English)
- The Camel Gallery (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Chris Rainbow, Singer With Alan Parsons Project and Camel, Dies , accessed June 21, 2015.
- ↑ Camel Keyboard Player Guy LeBlanc Dies at 54 , accessed June 21, 2015.
- ↑ a b Chart sources: DE US .
- ↑ Music Sales Awards: UK .