Twelfth Night
| Twelfth Night | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Neo-Prog |
| founding | 1978, 2007 |
| resolution | 1987 |
| Website | http://www.twelfthnight.info/ |
| Current occupation | |
| Andy Sears (1983–1986, from 2007) | |
| Andy Revell | |
| Brian Devoil | |
| Clive Mitten | |
Keyboard |
Mark Spencer (from 2007) |
| former members | |
singing |
Geoff Mann (1979, 1981-1983) |
Keyboard |
Rick Battersby (1979-1981, 1982-1987) |
singing |
Electra MacLeod (1980) |
singing |
Martyn Watson (1987) |
Twelfth Night is one of Reading coming British rock band. She is one of the bands who founded neo-prog as the second wave of progressive rock with their releases in the early 1980s .
The band made their first appearances and recordings instrumentally before the charismatic front man Geoff Mann joined them as a permanent member, initially on a trial basis and after a break. This occupation is considered classic. After his departure, the band turned to a more pop-influenced style with Andy Sears as the new singer and finally broke up after another line-up change after the only album on a major label was commercially unsuccessful. Geoff Mann died of cancer in 1993.
Similar to the genre pioneers like Marillion and IQ , the group's music is influenced by the theatrics of early Genesis . Influences from wave music as well as a characteristic gloom should also be named as independent aspects .
history
founding
The beginnings of Twelfth Night go back to February 1978, when Andy Revell and Brian Devoil formed a project for a talent competition at the University of Reading . Among the roadies were Rick Battersby, a dry ice technician, and Geoff Mann, a theology student and later priest, who painted the stage sets. Devoil had previously played with various bands from Reading, including Trash , whose single Priorities was released in October 1977 by Polydor . Revells had experience with several Bournemouth bands such as Joe Soap , The Bubbles and Abraxas . Later that year, Clive Mitten appeared for a band rehearsal and successfully applied for the open position of bassist. Mittens earlier projects include some Brighton bands like Luna Hare .
Twelfth Night
After a number of appearances as the Andy Revell Band , the band changed their name to Twelfth Night . In the summer of 1979 they gave a concert at Reading University, where Mann was a guest singer. At the same time the formation Devoil, Mitten, Revell made their first recordings, from which an instrumental demo called Skan emerged .
This was followed by a few appearances at open-air concerts in the summer, until the band, together with Mann and Battersby, retired to Mann's parents' house in Manchester for extensive rehearsals . The two newcomers were involved in a musical project for the first time, but Battersby had previously taken classical piano lessons. Mann wrote texts for the previous instrumental pieces. An anecdote from this time is that the band once held a gig in nearby Salford - in front of an audience of ten year olds.
Mann finally decided against a further collaboration with Twelfth Night for the time being. Instead, he wanted to stay in Manchester to paint and start a humorous two-man music project called God Stars with his close friend Peter Lawrence. Twelfth Night continued their work as an instrumental band and began a tour of the pubs in their homeland in the spring of 1980.
First popularity
In January 1980 the First Tape Album was released . It included live versions of Für Helene and Encore une fois as well as the studio tracks Freddie Hepburn and Sequences . A milestone was the vote for "Demo of the Week" by the readers of the music magazine Musicians Only . With an enthusiastic gig review and a full-page article, the band was featured in the national press for the first time.
The band placed an ad in Melody Maker for the vacant vocal post and found the American singer Electra MacLeod that way. Another demo tape was created with her, the publication of which was accompanied by a tour in autumn. Due to discrepancies, she left the band in November. Her singing can still be heard on the single Für Helene / Cunning Man from December of the same year.
Immediately after MacLeod's exit, the band recorded the live album Live at the Target , which was released in February 1981 and promoted with an extensive tour. The God Stars acted as opening act for some appearances. It came to the first appearances in the Marquee Club in London.
success
Live at the Target was recorded within two days in January 1981 and brought the band a record deal with the Neptune label in March . The album's success continued to lead to a distribution deal with Pinnacle Records , which made the album available across the UK. The LP then entered both the heavy metal and hippy charts of Melody Maker and Sounds .
In the summer Twelfth Night went looking for singers again and finally managed to convince Geoff Mann to join them again. With him they opened the Reading Festival and made history as the first band from Reading to play there. Then they went to the studio to record new demo material. The results were partially released in December on an LP-length demo tape called Smiling At Grief , including Helene 2 , which was written back in 1978 and had previously remained unpublished. During the recording, Battersby left the band to pursue other projects. Live at the Target has since achieved considerable sales in America, Scandinavia and the rest of Europe.
The band spent 1982 mainly working on their first studio album, Fact and Fiction . Originally slated for release in May, it didn't hit the market until December. Due to lack of space, two tracks had to leave the finished album: Eleanor Rigby and East of Eden were released as a single in October 1982.
Mitten also took over the keyboard part of the pausing Battersby. This four-person line-up not only played a few gigs in the fall, but also made their first television appearance: Twelfth Night East of Eden played in the first edition of David Essex Showcase . The program aired on June 26, 1982.
Battersby returned in December 1982 and completed the line-up for the Fact and Fiction tour which began in January of the following year and which included the first gig as headlining at the London Marquee. CBS Records were ready to offer a record deal.
Post Geoff Mann era
In November 1983, after two sold-out gigs at the Marquee, which were recorded for the live album "Live and Let Live", Mann turned his back on the band for professional reasons and while maintaining the friendly relationship with the band.
He was replaced in December by Andy Sears, who had previously sung with Canis Major . With this line-up there was an extensive tour from January 1984, which went hand in hand with the release of the LP "Live and Let Live" (with Geoff Mann) on the Music for Nations label . The highlights included a performance as the opening act at the Hammersmith Odeon in London and other gigs at the Marquee Club. One of these was filmed and later aired in the UK as part of the Live from London series. The broadcast never took place, but the appearance was published as a video called Creepshow .
Immediately after the tour ended, the band signed a deal with Hit and Run Music , joining the same label as Genesis , Peter Gabriel and others.
In the summer of 1984 the band turned to composing new material. They only interrupted the performance break once in July to give one of their biggest concerts in the Dominion Theater in London in front of 1,500 spectators. In August the band traveled to Liverpool to record the next album called Art and Illusion with producer Gil Norton , known for his work with Echo and the Bunnymen . After its release in October, this rose to number 83 in the UK charts. The band now played in much larger halls than before, including again in the Dominion Theater. Her only appearance so far outside of Great Britain took her to Marburg .
1985 began for them with a few gigs for the anniversary of the Marquee Club under the pseudonym Jan Six and the Cryptk Clues , which were sold out in advance due to the work of the fan club. New material emerged in the first half of the year, some of which was performed on the Corners-of-the-World tour in May.
The major contract
Later in 1985, a contract with the important progressive rock label Charisma Records was pending, but this went bankrupt in July of the same year. Not discouraged, the band played a benefit gig at a festival called Wycome Live Aid and performed three consecutive evenings at the Marquee Club, which was sold out with them for the 14th, 15th and 16th in a row. In September the songs for the new album were selected and brought into the pre-production phase with producer John Walters. The recording began in November. After Charisma was bought by Virgin Records , the band finally signed their first global major label deal on December 12th .
In 1986 the recordings were moved to Swanyard Studios and Rooster Studios, and the album was mixed in Wessex . In April, the band presented their album to those in charge at Virgin and some invited fans at a concert at the Marquee Club. In May there was another special concert, this time at the Town and Country Club in London . The BBC filmed the appearance for the program Whistle Test and showed the play Blue Powdered Monkey there . Radio 1 also recorded the show, but did not broadcast it. In July, Virgin released the single Shame / Blue Powdered Monkey .
In July, Twelfth Night was the band's first album on a major label, closely followed by Take a Look / Blondon Fair as its second single. Although the album was well received by the critics, the sales figures were disappointing - with the exception of their home town of Reading, where the LP jumped to number 1 on the sales charts. Before the end of the year, the band played again at the Hammersmith Odeon.
Dissolution and afterlife
In 1987 Virgin broke the contract with Twelfth Night due to a lack of commercial success. With Martyn Watson from Pookah Makes Three replacing the outgoing singer Andy Sears, the band made a final line-up change. It was slowly becoming apparent, however, what was officially confirmed in the summer of the year: Twelfth Night were history.
Mitten went to found his own studio. The last songs that emerged from the formation Revell, Devoil, Battersby, Watson were to be presented to an audience when Geoff Mann was accompanied by this formation at one of his solo shows in the Marquee, which has now become regular.
In 1988 the band members asked what should happen to the 19-minute piece The Collector , which had never been recorded. Mitten offered his studio and so it happened that the classic line-up with Revell, Devoil, Mitten, Mann and Battersby came together again there. A revamped version of Love Song was also created . In 1989/90 the band turned to the MFN label with these and a few other recordings , which published the compilation Collector's Item in 1991 .
In February 1993, Geoff Mann died of cancer.
Since the breakup of Twelfth Night, a number of live albums have been released from the band members' archives, most recently the compilation Voices in the Night with a studio and live retrospective on the entire history of the band.
Reunification 2007
In June 2007, Clive Mitten and Andy Sears announced a one-time concert with the songs from Twelfth Night for November of the same year. In July it was confirmed that the two would officially perform as Twelfth Night until a second appearance and the participation of Andy Revell and Brian Devoil were announced in July. Mark Spencer, former singer of the 80s prog band LaHost, former roommate of Sears and long-time companion of the band, replaced Rick Battersby, who was unable to attend. At further concerts in Great Britain and Spain in May 2008 there was a guest appearance by Geoff Mann's son James as the singer of Love Song .
In 2010, new live activities were announced with a six-person line-up, consisting of the three regular members Devoil, Mitten, Sears, the 2007 new member Spencer and two musicians from the Galahad formation, Roy Keyworth (guitar) and Dean Baker (keyboards) in representation for the prevented Andy Revell. At the Night of the Prog Festival on September 3, 2010, the band performed outside of England for the second time after the Marburg concert in 1984.
Discography
Studio albums
- Fact and Fiction (1982)
- Art and Illusion (EP, 1984, UK # 83)
- Twelfth Night / XII (1986)
Live albums
- Live at the Target (instrumental) (1981)
- Live and Let Live (1983)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (1980, released 2005)
- Entropy (1981, released 2005)
- Smiling at Grief ... Live (1981, released 2005)
- Flashbacks (1983, release: 2005)
- Night Vision (1984, release: 2006)
- Live From London (1984, released 2005, also DVD)
- Corner of the World Tour (1985, released 2005)
Compilations
- Collector's Item (1991)
- Voices in the Night (2007)