Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the most commercially successful neo-progressive rock band of the 1980s.
Michael Pointer is an English drummer. He is known for his work in the neo-progressive rock bands Marillion and Arena. Away from music, he has also worked as a kitchen designer.
IQ are a British neo-progressive rock band founded by Mike Holmes and Martin Orford in 1981 following the dissolution of their original band The Lens. Although the band have never enjoyed major commercial success and had several lineup changes, IQ have built up a loyal following over the years and are still active as of 2022, currently with the original recording line-up. In 2021/22, IQ performed a series of concerts in the UK and Europe celebrating their 40th anniversary.
Jadis are a British neo-progressive rock group. They play guitar-driven rock with the use of synthesisers to add depth and atmosphere, and an emphasis on melody. They were previously signed to InsideOut Music.
Shadowland are a British progressive rock band formed in the 1990s. The band's music tends towards the pop side of progressive rock, while retaining its melodic and emotional intensity.
Damian Wilson is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Wilson works in the progressive metal genre and was the lead singer of Headspace and Threshold. He sang and toured with bands and projects for Star One, Ayreon, Landmarq, Praying Mantis and with Rick Wakeman's English Rock Ensemble.
It Bites are an English progressive rock and pop fusion band, formed in Egremont, Cumbria, in 1982 and best known for their 1986 single "Calling All the Heroes", which gained them a Top 10 UK Singles Chart hit. Initially fronted by Francis Dunnery, the band split in 1990, eventually returning in 2006 with new frontman John Mitchell.
John Beck is an English musician and songwriter, best known for his role as a member of progressive rock/pop fusion band It Bites.
John Young is a British rock musician hailing from Liverpool. He is currently the keyboardist and singer for the progressive rock band Lifesigns.
Songs from the Lion's Cage is the debut album of British Progressive rock group Arena, released on 25 July 1995. This is the only Arena album to feature vocalist John Carson and bassist Cliff Orsi.
Pride is Arena's second full-length album, released in 1996. It is the first album to feature bassist John Jowitt and vocalist Paul Wrightson, but it's also guitarist Keith More's final album with the band.
The Wishing Tree is a music project by Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery and vocalist Hannah Stobart. Their debut album, Carnival of Souls, was released in 1996 and a second album, Ostara, was released 23 March 2009.
Early Stages is a box set containing live recordings of Marillion with their former singer Fish. The recordings were made by the BBC for radio broadcast, and are from five concerts performed by the band in the UK between 1982 and 1987. The packaging was designed by Mark Wilkinson, who had designed all Marillion covers of the 1980s and went on to work with Fish after his departure. The set was released to retail by EMI on 17 November 2008.
Pepper's Ghost is the sixth studio album by the English progressive rock band Arena. It was issued in 2005 by Inside Out Music.
"Welcome To The Garden Party‘" is a 1986 single by British neo-progressive rock band Marillion released exclusively in West Germany to accompany a series of concerts the band played at festivals in that country as second bill to Queen, following their commercial breakthrough with the album Misplaced Childhood and the hit singles "Kayleigh" and "Lavender" the year before. The single was released on 7" and 12" vinyl; neither version contained any new or previously unreleased material. The 7" and 12" versions contained completely different recordings from each other. The A-side, "Garden Party", originally the second single from the band's debut album, Script for a Jester's Tear, had reached #16 on the UK Singles Chart in 1983, but—like all Marillion singles before "Kayleigh"—had failed to chart in Germany. However, the single received little airplay and failed to enter the German top 100.
Edison's Children is a science fiction-oriented progressive rock trio, featuring Rick Armstrong, Pete Trewavas and Eric Blackwood.
Tracy Hitchings was an English musician, and former lead vocalist for the progressive rock band Landmarq. Her musical credits spanned from 1989 to 2022 with many notable sessions with various bands and artists, predominantly in the British neo-progressive rock scene. Hitchings was known for her charismatic stage presence and her wide vocal range.
Cats in Space is a British rock band formed in Horsham, West Sussex in 2015 by guitarist Greg Hart and drummer Steevi Bacon. Following the band's inception, vocalist Paul Manzi, keyboardist Andy Stewart, bassist Jeff Brown, and second guitarist Dean Howard were recruited to complete the official lineup. In mid-2019, vocalist Paul Manzi announced that he would leave the band to join The Sweet after the first half of ‘The Narnia Tour.’ Soon after Manzi’s departure from the band, Mark Pascall joined the band as their new lead vocalist. After the tour, the band parted ways with Pascall. He was then replaced by Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds stage show vocalist Damien Edwards.
Paul Manzi is an English singer, best known as a member of The Sweet, Cats in Space and Arena, and for performing with the likes of Ian Paice, Gordon Giltrap and Oliver Wakeman.
Ulysses is a German progressive rock band from the early 1990s with an international line-up. They were part of a colourful scene of new bands, labels and magazines that emerged in Germany at that time. Musically, they were less influenced by the German "Krautrock" phenomenon but initially oriented strongly towards the second generation of British progressive rock bands. Hegarty & Halliwell would have classified them as part of third wave of progressive rock bands, who can also be described as a second generation of neo-progressive bands. So one might not wonder that most reviewers heard similarities to Marillion, Galahad and Änglagård in their music which is characterised by a strong emphasis on melodies and the integration of folkloristic elements, abrupt changes of moods and partly complex and ever changing arrangements often moving towards a climax.
