Mostly Autumn in 2021. Left to right, Angela Gordon, Olivia Sparnenn-Josh, Henry Rogers (top), Bryan Josh, Iain Jennings, Chris Johnson and Andy Smith.
Bryan Josh Iain Jennings Angela Gordon Andy Smith Olivia Sparnenn Chris Johnson Henry Rogers
Past members
Liam Davison Bob Faulds Kev Gibbons Heidi Widdop Alun Hughes Chris Walton Stuart Carver Allan Scott Heather Findlay Rob McNeil Jonathan Blackmore Andrew Jennings Anne-Marie Helder Henry Bourne Robbie Baxter Gavin Griffiths Alex Cromarty
Mostly Autumn are an English rock band. The group formed in 1995 and have built their reputation through constant touring,[5][6][7] never signing to a major label. They produce music heavily influenced by 1970s progressive rock. According to the BBC, Mostly Autumn "fuse the music of Genesis and Pink Floyd with Celtic themes, hard rock and strong, emotional melodies".[1] They have also been compared with other progressive bands from the same era such as Renaissance,[4]Jethro Tull and Camel, blended with traditional folk music.[3] Later albums also include more contemporary influences.
Mostly Autumn was formed in the mid-1990s. The original line-up included several members of One Stoned Snowman, a Pink Floyd/1970s tribute band. The band's founding line-up consisted of band leader Bryan Josh (vocals and guitars), Heidi Widdop (vocals), Iain Jennings (keyboards), Liam Davison (guitars), Alun Hughes (bass and occasional keyboards), Bob Faulds (violin), Kev Gibbons (whistles), and Chris Walton (drums). Mostly Autumn's first live shows were supported by One Stoned Snowman or vice versa; One Stoned Snowman's final concert was a farewell show in December 1995 and was indeed supported by Mostly Autumn. Mostly Autumn's original rhythm section of Alun Hughes and Chris Walton left the band during 1996 to concentrate on other musical projects and family commitments respectively. They were replaced by bassist Stuart Carver and drummer Allan Scott. Shortly after, Widdop was replaced on vocals by Heather Findlay.
This line-up recorded For All We Shared... in 1998. More line-up changes ensued. By 1999, when the band recorded its second album, The Spirit of Autumn Past, Gibbons and Scott had been replaced by Angela Goldthorpe and Rob McNeil respectively.
In 2000 (as a three piece – Josh, Findlay, and Goldthorpe) they achieved a support slot for Blackmore's Night on their Under a Violet Moon tour, bringing them to a wider audience. On the cover artwork for the following Blackmore's Night album Fires at Midnight (2001), Heather Findlay provided the illustration for the song "Hanging Tree".
The band performing at the Wickerman Festival, Scotland, 2005. Left to right: Bryan Josh, Andy Smith, Heather Findlay, Andrew Jennings (on drums), Liam Davison, Iain Jennings and Angela Gordon (obscured).
On Mostly Autumn's third album, The Last Bright Light (2001), Rob McNeil, in turn, was replaced by Jonathan Blackmore. Andy Smith replaced Stuart Carver on the bass guitar. Shortly before the band's 'V Shows' tour in 2004, Iain's brother Andrew Jennings took over on drums and percussion. By this time, the band had been praised by Rick Wright of Pink Floyd.[8] Olivia Sparnenn joined the band in 2005 to provide backing vocals. Ben Matthews of Thunder stood in on keyboards for Mostly Autumn's headline gig at the Baja Prog Festival in Mexico in March 2006.[citation needed] Chris Johnson was then recruited as a permanent replacement, with Angela (now under her married name Gordon) also taking a more prominent role on keyboards.
At the beginning of 2007, both guitarist Liam Davison and drummer Andrew Jennings left the band; Davison to concentrate on his solo album and Jennings to devote his time to his other projects. The guitar parts were shared out amongst the rest of the group. Ex-Karnataka drummer Gavin Griffiths stood in on drums for most of the 2007 live shows; Andrew Jennings temporarily rejoined the group at the end of 2007, until Henry Bourne took over in 2008. Gavin Griffiths returned for the first shows of 2009 in Manchester and London. After Chris Johnson and Angela Gordon left in 2007, Iain Jennings and Liam Davison returned to the group on keyboards and guitar respectively. Anne-Marie Helder (who had played support slots in the past and stood in for Angela during her pregnancy) took over the role of flute, keyboards and backing vocals. A new studio album entitled Glass Shadows was released in early 2008 and an accompanying tour took place in spring and early summer. A 100-minute DVD, 'The Making of Glass Shadows', accompanied the special pre-order version of the album.
During October 2008, Mostly Autumn performed two gigs with an alternative, semi-acoustic line-up in support of the Bad Shepherds. The line-up consisted of Bryan Josh (guitar and vocals), Olivia Sparnenn (lead vocals), Andy Smith (bass), Anne-Marie Helder (keyboards and flute) and Robbie Baxter (drums). This tour was truncated after the Bad Shepherds cancelled many dates.
Former members, Heather Findlay and Liam Davison performing with the band in 2004.
Mostly Autumn have their own independent record label and choose to finance each album release itself. The group typically prints a limited edition of each album and sells those to cover their recording costs. A retail version of the album is then made available via retail outlets, distributors, the group's concerts and through their website.[9]
Up to and including Heart Full of Sky (2006), Mostly Autumn's albums have started with the last few seconds of the previous album's final song. This tradition was dropped with the release of Glass Shadows (2008).
At the beginning of 2010, Heather Findlay announced her intention to leave the band to focus on solo work and on her family. She performed her last gig with the band at Leamington Spa Assembly on 2 April 2010.[10] This was filmed, and released as a 2-disc DVD under the name That Night in Leamington, which also included a 30-minute interview with Josh and Findlay. After her departure, Olivia Sparnenn stepped into the lead role, and the band's next album Go Well Diamond Heart was released in 2010.
Bryan Josh and Olivia Sparnenn were married on 21 June 2013.[11]
Anne-Marie Helder and Gavin Griffiths both departed the band in 2013 to focus on their other band, Panic Room
From mid-2013 onwards, Helder and Griffiths were absent from the band's touring line-up due to other commitments; their positions being temporarily filled by keyboardist Hannah Hird and drummer Alex Cromarty.[12] In March 2014, it was revealed by Bryan Josh on the band's official website that Griffiths had decided to leave the band and that Cromarty was now his official replacement.[13] With this line-up the band then recorded their eleventh album, Dressed in Voices.[14] In May 2014, shortly prior to the release of Dressed in Voices, Josh announced that founding member Liam Davison had left the band and had been replaced by returning member Chris Johnson,[15] and this new line-up recorded the live album Box of Tears.[16]
In the autumn of 2014, Josh and Sparnenn – as "Mostly Autumn Acoustic" – supported Steve Hackett on the UK leg of his "Genesis Extended" tour.[17]
In mid-2015, former Mostly Autumn flautist and keyboardist Angela Gordon replaced Hannah Hird in the band's touring line-up;[18] whilst no official statement was made at the time, the band have now acknowledged that Gordon had officially replaced Helder in the band's line-up, and with this new line-up the band recorded its next album, Sight of Day.[19]
On 5 November 2017, the band announced that founding guitarist Liam Davison had died.[20]
Side-projects
Founding members Bryan Josh, Liam Davison, Heidi Widdop, Alun Hughes, Bob Faulds and Chris Walton played in the Pink Floyd/1970s tribute band One Stoned Snowman. They disbanded at the end of 1995, largely due to the popularity of Mostly Autumn.
Liam Davison and Alun Hughes played with the hard rock band Life Support from their founding in 1994 until leaving at the same time during 1996. Life Support split up in 1999.
Iain Jennings left the band at the beginning of 2006 to pursue his own musical ambitions and formed his own band, Breathing Space, as well as contributing to projects by other artists and even becoming a Music Technology teacher at Huntington School, York, a local Comprehensive. He recruited then-Mostly Autumn backing vocalist Olivia Sparnenn to sing lead vocals and the pair, along with various other musicians recorded three albums. Despite his return to the Mostly Autumn fold in 2008, Iain remained a member and core songwriter in Breathing Space. In April 2010, Sparnenn took over lead vocals in Mostly Autumn so decided to stop working with Breathing Space. Breathing Space continued for a short while with original Mostly Autumn vocalist Heidi Widdop, before splitting up.
During 2005 Heather Findlay and Angela Gordon formed an acoustic side project called Odin Dragonfly (an anagram of their surnames), making live appearances both as a support act and as headliners. In August 2007 they released their first album, Offerings, which was followed by Sirens in 2022.
Both Anne-Marie Helder and Gavin Griffiths are members of Panic Room, and were previously members of Karnataka.
Following a one off project in 2019 involving Iain Jennings and York rock band Godson (which includes founding Mostly Autumn bassist Alun Hughes), Iain became a full member of Godson in August 2020. They subsequently changed their name to The Tower Radio and are working on their eponymous first album. This has been delayed by COVID-19 restrictions and is now planned for release in 2022.
Jon Carin is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer. He has collaborated with acts including Pink Floyd, the Who, Eddie Vedder, Kate Bush and Richard Butler.
Heart Full of Sky is the seventh studio album from rock artists Mostly Autumn released in 2006. The limited edition double-CD version was only available via the band's official website, whereas the single-CD version is available as a general release. This is the first Mostly Autumn album to feature multi-instrumentalist Chris Johnson, and the first to feature Olivia Sparnenn as an official member. Also, it is the last album to feature Angela Gordon, who left Mostly Autumn to look after her newborn baby, and Andrew Jennings, who left due to other commitments.
Mark Gillespie, is a singer, songwriter, currently living and touring in Germany, where he has built himself a substantial fanbase, and has toured with Jethro Tull, Meat Loaf, Lisa Stansfield, Fool's Garden and Chris De Burgh.
For All We Shared... is the debut album by the band Mostly Autumn. It is the only Mostly Autumn album to feature Allan Scott on drums and Kev Gibbons on whistles.
13th Star is the ninth solo studio album by Fish since he left Marillion in 1988. Released as a limited edition via mail-order in September 2007 and to retail in February 2008, it is his first since Field of Crows (2004). Released on Fish's own imprint Chocolate Frog Records, retail distribution is handled by Snapper Music.
Catch the Spirit is a compilation album released by rock band Mostly Autumn in 2002. This replaced the previous anthology Heroes Never Die and provides an introduction to the band using re-recorded material from their first four studio albums.
The Last Bright Light is the third studio album by rock band Mostly Autumn. It is the first album to feature drummer Jonathon Blackmore and bassist Andy Smith. It is the only Mostly Autumn album on which Angela Gordon receives a writing credit.
Pink Floyd Revisited is a live DVD recorded by rock band Mostly Autumn in 2004. This was a recording of a one-off concert at the Civic Hall in Stratford-Upon-Avon where they played a whole set of Pink Floyd covers. It was only available for a limited period of time and has become quite sought after by Mostly Autumn fans. The V Shows DVD was also included in the same box making it a double DVD set.
Anne-Marie Helder is a British singer and songwriter, best known for fronting the UK rock band Panic Room. She has also performed internationally as a solo artist and with various bands since circa the year 2000.
Breathing Space are a band formed in 2006 by Mostly Autumn keyboardist Iain Jennings. Some of the members had played on his solo album Breathing Space (album) and formed a band to tour this record. They became a full-time band in 2007 when they released their first album as a band. This was called Coming Up for Air.
Coming Up for Air is the debut album by British progressive rock band Breathing Space but the second album to carry the 'Breathing Space' name as Iain Jennings' 2005 solo album was also titled Breathing Space and the band he formed took that name to tour the album. However, this album is the first one produced as a full band.
Bryan Josh is a multi-instrumentalist who is the founder of British progressive rock band Mostly Autumn. While primarily being the band's co-lead singer and lead guitarist, he has performed on many other instruments in the studio, which include the bass guitar, piano and keyboards. He, either alone or with other members of the band, has written a large percentage of the band's back catalogue. He also contributed to Mostly Autumn keyboardist Iain Jennings' solo album Breathing Space where he played two guitar solos.
Through These Eyes is the debut solo album by Bryan Josh of Mostly Autumn. He plays all the instruments on the album except the drums and flute parts. Gavin Griffiths of Karnataka, Panic Room and Mostly Autumn played most of the drums on the album with Henry Borne, Mostly Autumn drummer during the 2008 shows, playing drums on two of the tracks. The two tracks Borne played on were songs left over from Mostly Autumn's Glass Shadows sessions and they can be heard in instrumental form on the bonus DVD that came with the special edition of Glass Shadows. The album also features Mostly Autumn bandmate Olivia Sparnenn on a few tracks singing lead, harmony and backing vocals.
The Deep Purple European Tour was a year-long successful concert tour by English hard rock band Deep Purple, lasting from July 1969 until June 1970. The band played mostly United Kingdom shows, also covering West Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium. It was the first tour to feature the classic Deep Purple line-up: Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord and Ian Paice. It is considered to be the pre-tour for the In Rock album, as the band mostly played songs from the upcoming album.
Below the Radar is the second album by British progressive rock band Breathing Space but is the third album to carry the Breathing Space name. This album was recorded during an interim period after the departure of guitarist Mark Rowen, and Liam Davison of Mostly Autumn fame recorded all the guitar tracks and played a few live shows with the band. This album showcases a much rockier sound than Coming Up for Air and has been well received by the Breathing Space fans.
Live in the USA is a live album recorded October 2002 and released in 2003 by rock band Mostly Autumn.
The Next Chapter is a live album/DVD consisting of live performances around the world, interview snippets and studio recordings such as "Forge of Sauron", by progressive rock band Mostly Autumn. The DVD was released August 5, 2003.
Violeta de Outono is a Brazilian psychedelic/progressive rock band from São Paulo. Heavily influenced by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Gong, they were originally a post-punk band with some psychedelic elements intertwined, but would gradually drop their post-punk influences and add more prog elements to their sonority as time went by.
Like It Is: Yes at the Bristol Hippodrome is a live album and video by English progressive rock band Yes, released on CD, DVD, and Blu-ray on 8 December 2014 by Frontiers Records. It is their first live album featuring keyboardist Geoff Downes and lead vocalist Jon Davison in the band, after joining the group in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
Sight of Day is the twelfth album by English progressive rock band Mostly Autumn. As with many of the band's previous albums, the recording was funded through a pre-order campaign. Those who pre-ordered the album received a double-disc edition of the album, which was released on 10 February 2017. A single-disc edition of the album was made available for general release on 7 April.
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