Neo-prog band
Pendragon formed in London during the heady days of punk, but didn't coalesce until 1983, when the band began playing around London and earned a small spot at that year's Reading Festival. The lineup stabilized, after the 1985 album
Jewel, around vocalist/guitarist
Nick Barrett, bassist
Peter Gee, drummer
Fudge Smith and keyboard player
Clive Nolan.
Pendragon recorded the live album 9:15 in 1986 and began to establish a continental fan base the following year. European audiences proved enthusiastic, spawning a contract with the French M.S.I. label; nevertheless, the group was forced to form its own Toff label just to release material in England.
Pendragon lay dormant through the rest of the '80s, but returned in 1991 with
The Rest of Pendragon -- a reissue of the early
Fly High, Fall Far with added B-sides -- and their first new album in five years,
The World. The album earned a U.S. release in 1993, followed by
The Window of Life. A deal with the Japanese Pony Canyon label in 1994 resulted in the reissue of the entire back catalog, in addition to the new
Fallen Dreams and Angels. The band made its U.S. debut a year later at L.A.'s Progfest, and released
The Masquerade Overture early the following year.
–
John Bush, Rovi