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Progressive Metal Buyer's Guide
September 2005
Of course it was bound to happen. It was only a matter of time before some lunatics had the seemingly half-baked idea of lifting classic heavy metal riffery and combining it with the wonderfully pretentious explorations of the prog rock greats.
Superficially, such an implausible blend looked fated to fail in an embarrassing pile of discarded denim, Moog synthesisers, golden capes and incomprehensible time signatures, but there had been encouraging precedents. It was easy to argue that much of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple's 70's output had been progressive in nature and you couldn't cite finer metal influences than those two legends, right? But, were these devoted metalheads even capable of equalling the complicated and extravagant musical ramblings that Genesis or Yes had produced in their heyday? Worryingly these clowns were deadly serious. Proudly professing a love for both Iron Maiden and Rush and often with a classical training behind them, the effect was startling and an implausible style of metal was spawned.
With the term Prog-metal being reserved by the genres compulsive fans for bands that were deemed worthy enough to be blessed with the tag, it soon became apparent that there were certain unofficial criteria that needed to be met for entry into their exclusive club. For starters, somewhere in the band's back-catalogue needs to be a full-blown concept album- and preferably one that has an intricate and vague storyline dealing with conspiracies, reincarnation or bloodcurdling supernatural forces. In interviews, the band needed to be able to examine in minute detail the influences that Metallica, King Crimson or Judas Priest had on their lives and be equally adept at explaining to the musos in their audience the complexities of chord inversions. Oh, and being huge in Japan became essential.
By the mid-eighties, the likes of Fates Warning and Queensrÿche had taken the lead and with albums such as The Spectre Within and The Warning respectively, critics began to take notice, labelling these new acts the "thinking man's heavy metal". With Dream Theater and Savatage being encouraged by Queensrÿche's success, and even Iron Maiden probing the more conceptual approach with Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, there could be turning back. Of late, even bands that would balk at the suggestion of being lumbered with the moniker of being progressive, such as Tool or Mastodon, have released albums that appear to have extended the duration of Prog-metal for many years to come.
Rich Wilson
ESSENTIAL THE CLASSICS
QUEENSRYCHE
Operation: Mindcrime
EMI, 1988
Escaping the NWOBHM influences of their early recordings, Operation: Mindcrime was a Prog-metal zenith. Arguably metal's first headphones album, Mindcrime adopted a cinematic approach with sound affects enhancing a bonkers plot involving political revolution, a tramp, the evil Dr X and a nun. Far less convoluted than it may sound, songs such as the dynamic Revolution Calling and the fist-pumping Eyes Of A Stranger helped define prog-metal. With every release after 1990's Empire being a stodgy and miserable failure, Queensrÿche have finally relented to fan coercion and are set to release a sequel next year. But we can guarantee you it won't be as timeless as this . . .
DREAM THEATER
Scenes From A Memory
Elektra, 1999
Dream Theater had already established their prog-metal credentials with 1992's Images And Words which even generated an improbable hit single in Pull Me Under, but it was the full-blown concept album Scenes From A Memory that captured the essence of their sound. Demonstrating an astounding level of musicianship that made most other bands sound like a troop of tone-deaf baboons let loose in an instrument shop, the 74 solid minutes of elegant, interwoven melodies remain inspired to this day. The rampant instrumental Overture 1928 demonstrated to the multitude of bandwagon jumpers that imitation was futile, while the lilting Spirit Carries On proved balladry wasn't beyond them. Even Queensrÿche's 90's output couldn't compete.
SUPERIOR
FATES WARNING
Awaken The Guardian
Metal Blade, 1986
Fates Warning's debut, Night On Brocken was heavily influenced by Iron Maiden, but by the time of 1985's The Spectre Within and, more noticeably with Awaken The Guardian, they'd successfully augmented their sound with the addition a stinging progressive edge. They may have lacked keyboards but that didn't prevent them from creating a dazzling variety of sounds on tracks such as the compelling Fata Morgana and Arcana. Yes's space-cadet lyricist Jon Anderson may have been the only person capable of deciphering such nonsensical lines as "Mystic journey to Arcana travel starry spheres in trine", (answers on a postcard please. . .) but in spite of such absurdities, the album remains their finest.
PAIN OF SALVATION
The Perfect Element- Part I
Inside Out, 2000
Unless you're into church infernos and inverted crosses, Scandinavian metal had far too often been a derivative and horrendous mess until Pain Of Salvation stumbled onto the Prog-metal scene in the late 90's. Centred around the multi-talented vocalist Daniel Gildenlow, The Perfect Element was the first of their albums to deliver the kind of polished elegance that their previous offerings had merely hinted at. With Gildenlow possessing a unique voice reminiscent of Faith No More's Mike Patton and a musical backdrop that encompassed some of Dream Theater's technical wizardry, songs such as King Of Loss and the marathon title track splattered you with gorgeous tunes and ever-changing time signatures. Stunning.
TOOL
Lateralus
Volcano, 2001
When Tool appeared into view in 1992 with Opiate, they confused matters with their genre-busting alternative approach to Prog-metal. Delving into and remoulding such diverse influences as King Crimson and Nine Inch Nails to create a shadowy, experimental sound, their impact was immense even though they firmly denied that they were Prog-metallers. 1996's Aenima is often heralded as their defining moment, but the sheer progressive complexity of Lateralus gives it an inimitable edge. Packing forceful instrumental passages into tracks like the chaotic Ticks And Leeches and adding hate-fuelled lyrics such as "Fat little parasites suck me dry", they attracted as many Marilyn Manson fans as Robert Fripp lovers. Just don't call them Prog, OK?
MASTODON
Leviathan
Relapse, 2004
Mastodon may well get chucked into the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal category along with such acts as Killswitch Engine and Shadows Fall, but they'd be struggling to deny insinuations that their masterpiece Leviathan was Prog-metal. For starters, this was a concept album based on Moby Dick and you can't get more Prog than a 46 minute yarn about a whale. Musically, Naked Burn and Hearts Alive bristled with layered, indulgent melodies that verified their self-confessed devotion to King Crimson, Genesis and (cough) Camel. Their harsher material, such as the grinding opener Blood And Thunder nodded at Metallica and the impact of this outstanding album will only be truly appreciated in years to come.
GOOD
ANGRA
Rebirth
Steamhammer, 2001
Angra's Prog Rock credentials had been recognised on their 90's albums such as the cutting Holy Land. But it wasn't until the band split into two factions (the deserters formed Shaman) that they beefed up their sound with an almost speed metal ferocity that flung them resolutely into the Prog-metal genre. Siren-like singer Edu Falaschi (who replaced Andre Matos) may have had the aura of a Bruce Dickinson clone but his voice was more alluring that his predecessors wheezing. Throwing a ludicrous mix of influences into Rebirth that incorporated soaring orchestral passages; splashes of Latin; widdly-widdly keyboards all driven by unremitting kick drums, it was a remarkable album.
SAVATAGE
Gutter Ballet
Atlantic, 1989
Still revered and mocked in equal measure for having the nerve to record a rock opera, Streets, in 1991, Savatage arguably peaked a couple of years earlier with the polished and robust Gutter Ballet. More coherent and without the cringe-inducing narrated sections that blighted the grandiose Streets, the diversity of material on this album was staggering. The title track effortlessly slithered through an assortment of melodies and their heavier tendencies were confirmed on both She's In Love and the explosive Of Rage And War. If during their adolescent years, the mighty Pink Floyd had been inspired by juddering metal instead of psychedelia, this is what they would have sounded like.
SYMPHONY X
V The New Mythology Suite
Inside Out, 2000
Although, as the title suggests, the dodgy lyrics tie together a tenuous concept revolving around an advanced Atlantis civilisation nearly annihilating the globe (what else?), musically V was a formidable album. So forget the song titles such as The Bird-Serpent War or On The Breath Of Poseidon that smack of Harry bloody Potter and instead revel in their intensity and overblown symphonic splendour. There wasn't a feeble track on the album, and the elaborate interplay between instruments was dazzling. Singer Russell Allen had a far more immediate voice than the acquired taste of many contemporaries and this enhanced their appeal. Now, if only they could lose their comical tales of mystical woe . . .
AVOID
SCENES
Call As At The Number You Provide
Escapi, 2004
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but it's hard to imagine Dream Theater being overjoyed at this album from lame German impersonators SceneS. This rabble may claim that their name was inspired by their desire to paint scenes into the listeners mind but it's surely not coincidental that their moniker hints at Dream Theater's finest album? This debut is packed with such aimless wanderings as So (Father) and a dreadful cover of Talk Talk's Such A Shame. Their first lead singer left to perform in Germany's answer to Pop Idol, which probably tells you all you'll need to know. It's just debatable as to whose career will be the shorter.
THE REST
Psychotic Waltz added a psychedelic touch and flutes to create an idiosyncratic sound with A Social Grace- an album that has been sadly only been recognised as a pivotal Prog-metal release after they split in the late 90's. The guttural vocal style of Mikeal Akerfeld in Opeth ensured that they're often mistaken for a pure death metal band but Blackwater Park had a deep, Progressive vein that created an almost unbelievable hybrid. As one of the many Dream Theater side projects, the first, self-titled Liquid Tension Experiment release took virtuoso musicianship to a ridiculous new level with an instrumental album of hundred-notes-per-second mayhem. Enchant too have shown promise, with their first album A Blueprint Of The World almost making our featured selection. The first Brits to make the grade are Threshold whose more Progressive leanings made 2002's Critical Mass an album that screamed for wider attention. America's Shadow Gallery also just missed out on a Good rating and the slick Carved In Sand is the pick of their expansive back-catalogue.
ONE WE'D LIKE RELEASED
Themes From Your Memory
What better way for prog-metallers to dispense their profound, chin-stroking image than getting them to embellish and extend classic children's TV themes into ten minute epics? Mastodon could add their dirty riffs to Hong Kong Phooey with Psychotic Waltz letting rip with wacky flute melodies for the theme from Bod. And who better to add a pompous panache to Rainbow's catchy ditty than Queensrÿche's, "Geoffrey" Tate joining Bungle, Zippy, Rod, Jane and Freddy for a thumping live rendition. Dream Theater would smoothly expand Rhubarb And Custard's manic theme into a concept piece investigating pet reincarnation, with the hapless SceneS turning in a highly convincing rendition of The Muppet Show.
Farewell From A Big Country- Stuart Adamson's Final Interview With The Music Press.
Backstage at the Manchester Academy, in a dressing room that can at best be described as bijou, Stuart Adamson is enthusiastically ripping the polythene cover off a pre-packed egg sandwich. Its 4.30pm, and the sound of the rest of Big Country trawling through their sound check is resonating through the walls. This is to be their farewell tour after lead singer/ guitarist Adamson announced his decision to quit the band, and before I get chance to ask THE question, he readily offers the answer.
Ive just come to a place in my life where basically Ive had enough of travelling for eight months at a time. You know, living out of suitcases and hotels all the time. Im just over it. You get to certain places in your life where your priorities change, and that applies now. Id rather be available for the people that I care about, than constantly making excuses.
Which, after the best part of twenty years spent on the road, is hardly an unreasonable aim. But with the bands public profile at the highest it has been for a number of years, and their shows continuing to sell out, isnt it a curious time to call it a day?
Well, you cant look at it like that he argues. You have to live your life how you want to live it. And I have come to the stage that I really feel that this is the right thing for me to do.
Ironically, the most media attention that the band have achieved in recent years came last year when Adamson disappeared, causing a great deal of concern and speculation in the media as to his whereabouts. One national broadsheet even requested a copy of his biography from the bands publicist in order to prepare an obituary. But according to Adamson, who now lives in Nashville, things were somewhat blown out of proportion.
Well, we had been told that we were going to be off until the end of November, and that nothing was going to be happening. So I had a whole bunch of stuff that I wanted to do- going to New Orleans and stuff. Then just before I was due to leave, they phoned and said Were playing with Bryan Adams this week, so you have to get on a plane. I was like No, Im not!" I just put the phone down and basically went to New Orleans as I'd planned. Its funny how you can get more attention by not talking to the press than by talking to them, he observes with a wry smile.
Most people will remember the band for their works in the early-eighties, with hits such as Look Away and In A Big Country. In fact they have never stopped working, continuing to record and perform to their extensive fan base, away from the glare of the media. And whatever you think of their music, as a live act they are in a league of their own. Perhaps surprisingly, given his rightful reputation for modesty, Adamson agrees.
The quality of the shows we have done over the years have been superb. If there have been three dodgy shows in all that time, youd be lucky. But as for the media, I think part of it is that British thing of you have had your turn, its time for somebody else. The media are very voracious, and are always looking for new people and things to write about. And lets be honest, how much can you write about any one individual band anyway? Once youve interviewed them three or four times you have pretty much found everything out about them anyway. And as we are a band that has been around for longer than ten minutes, that gives us a problem.
But given that this is their final tour, does it also mean the end of Big Country as a recording act?
I dont know. I wouldnt be averse to making a record. But if you go and make a record, then whatever record company youre doing it for want you to promote it. So, its a bit of a catch twenty-two situation. But maybe, well see what transpires over the next few months.
With that, the tape recorder is turned off, Adamson visibly relaxes, bites another chunk from his sandwich, and with a smile declares Im just looking forward to having a life again.
You cant begrudge him that.
(The article above was published in the August 2000 issue of Record Buyer. Stuart Admason committed suicide on the 16th December 2001)
CAMEL
Veteran prog rockers Camel are currently part way through what has been billed as their Farewell Tour, playing the London Astoria on the 25th June. But unlike the ongoing and seemingly never-ending Kiss tour of the same name, Camel seem unwavering in their desire to finally cease live performances.
Camel at this point are going to be a recording band, confirms guitarist Andy Latimer. It has become increasingly difficult to tour on the level we want to tour given our financial situation. But things may change. You never know, we might have a massive hit album and do an enormous tour! he laughs, with more than a hint of irony.
Just over thirty years ago, Latimer along with Doug Ferguson (bass) and Andy Ward (drums) created Camel out of the ashes of jazz-rock band Brew. Keyboard player Pete Bardens joined soon afterwards, and they released their often-overlooked eponymous debut in 1973. The media, who were unsurprisingly paying far more attention to the likes of Dark Side Of The Moon and Fragile which were also released that year, chiefly dismissed and ignored Camel and its successor Mirage, doubtless due to Camels lack of an enigmatic frontman or any discernible image. But with the recording of 1975s The Snow Goose, an archetypal and uncompromising prog rock concept album inspired by Paul Gallicos book of the same name, they attained limited chart success and even the previously contemptuous Melody Maker gave the band their Brightest Hope Award. As with several of their albums, The Snow Goose was entirely instrumental- a fact that although attracting plaudits from musicians, was actually born more from a confidence crisis than any stubborn refusal to conform.
The vocals on the early albums are buried through effects as we were a bit embarrassed by them, reveals Latimer. Halfway through recording the first album the producer basically told us that none of us could sing, which obviously influenced us into doing less vocals, and maybe that is the reason that we didnt crack it big. We didnt have a good frontman and that made it very difficult for the record company to sell us. Theyd always be asking us to write a single, or shave our heads and wear gold leotards- basically do anything that could make us press and get us noticed. But we werent really interested and of course there was a price to pay. Weve also made some interesting decisions in our career. After The Snow Goose, which was our most successful album, we released Moonmadness which was nothing like it. Most sensible bands would have recorded the Son Of Snow Goose.
Their efforts to compete with the likes of Genesis, Yes and Pink Floyd were hampered by incessant personnel problems. Firstly, Ferguson was fired (according to Andy Ward he couldnt keep up, so he had to go), and then the working relationship between Latimer and Bardens- one which had never exactly been harmonious- finally disintegrated with Bardens resigning in 1978. All of which occurred at a time when Andy Ward was succumbing to his own addictions.
Pete and I had always had an opposite relationship, admits Latimer with distinct sadness in his voice. As always, it came down to egos and in the end we didnt want to put up with all the non-stop tantrums and arguments. Andy was also going off the rails at that stage as he had a lot of problems with drugs and alcohol. He was a manic-depressive and was becoming impossible to work with as he was getting up in the morning and immediately drinking a bottle of brandy. After he left us, it degenerated further and he tried to kill himself, severing all the nerves to his left hand.
By 1982, following the release of the under-rated Nude, Latimer was the sole remaining member. Releasing The Single Factor with a band of hired hands for contractual reasons, and then the comparatively unsuccessful Stationary Traveller in 1984, Latimer took an enforced break from Camel to fight and eventually win a lawsuit over royalties brought by their former manager, Geoff Jukes. But by the late-eighties, Latimer had decided that he wanted to re-animate the legacy of Camel- a desire that was with met with scepticism and a woeful lack of passion from record label moguls.
I went around the record industry and basically became thoroughly depressed by it all. I was told that I was a bloody dinosaur, that Camel was a really dirty word and basically to go away. Which I did and watched TV for about a year doing absolutely nothing.
Deciding to set up their own label and operations centre in the form of Camel Productions, the band finally returned with a new line up and recorded convincing and generally more accessible releases such as Harbour Of Tears in 1992 and last years notable A Nod And A Wink. Encouragingly, the modernity and opulence of these albums has engrossed a new generation of listeners, and the Internet has provided the band with an invaluable link with their fans.
Weve hung on to our ideals and I think if you try and write things just to please other people youre on to a loser. And of course the website [www.camelproductions.com] has enabled us to communicate directly with the people who are buying our records.
With the sad loss of Pete Bardens to cancer in January 2002, the original incarnation of the band can never be reunited. But Latimer divulges that outside of Camel, hes recently been involved in an intriguing side project.
Ive just done some stuff in the studio with Doug Ferguson and Andy Ward and we had a great time. I dont know what the end result will be and we havent even given it a name or decided what to do with the tracks. But it was great fun and more importantly it was very healing for us all.
Rich Wilson
Stone The Crows and Maggie Bell.
It's just over twenty years ago that Leslie Harvey wandered on to the stage in Swansea, unaware that faulty wiring had caused the microphone stand to be live. Brushing against it, he was subjected to a massive and prolonged electric shock that killed him instantly. In that horrific moment, the momentum that had been carrying Stone The Crows towards the lofty heights, occupied at the time by the likes of Free and Led Zeppelin, was brutally halted. An authentic and ill-fated case of what might have been . . .
Their rise to prominence had it's beginnings in the Glasgow Music Halls of the mid-sixties, when Maggie Bell, a tremendously powerful vocalist with a truly distinctive style, met guitarist Harvey, brother of Alex, whose heavy musical leanings perfectly matched Bell's approach.
"Leslie and I were in a dance band covering all types of music from Motown to Jazz and Blues and we played around Glasgow for a couple of years," recalls Bell. "Then we went to Germany for a year and a half, playing in American bases and called ourselves Power. But to be honest, we quickly had enough of playing bases as we had to stay in one place for a month at a time, living behind barbed wire. But it was useful as the only thing we could do was listen to and write music, so it was quite a blessing. When we came back we met up with John McGinnis and Jimmy Dewar and that line-up eventually became Stone The Crows."
Central to their development was Harvey's meeting with Mark London, an associate of legendary Zeppelin manager Peter Grant. Harvey had been approached by London to stand in as guitarist with fellow Scottish band, Cartoone, during a tour of America. Though offered the permanent job on their return, he decided to stay with Stone The Crows, and after London had presuaded Grant to see them perform live, they were swiftly signed and moved to London to record their debut.
Although famously responsible for christening the band, Grant's input was in reality limited and whilst he may have been one of the most powerful figures in the industry, there is a plausible argument that having him as their manager actually hindered their progress.
"Absolutely," concurs Bell. "I always think that I was one of the best kept secrets in the music business. He had us and didn't really know what to do with us. All this was when Zeppelin were doing the business in America, so he was never in the country. But Mark London was great as he pushed us to write our own material, and a person who helped us enormously was John Peel, as he was a fan, and I remember we did a load of BBC sessions for him."
Following the success of their debut album, and it's follow-up "Ode To John Law", the band were able to cement their popularity due to the calibre of their live performances which saw them touring virtually constantly.
"We were like the touring band of England and could do four or five gigs a week in the Universities and Polytechnics," she remembers. "And apart from our own songs, we used to do a version of Dylan's "Hollis Brown", which was something that came out of those gigs. We would jam and get into a situation when we got carried away with ourselves and it wasnt through drugs! We just got a real high and buzz from the music and it could go on for twenty minutes one night or forty-five another.
Naturally, their success and notably Bell's unique vocals brought plaudits from many quarters. Yet, one of the more common suggestions that she was a "British Janis Joplin" seems flawed and somewhat unfair to Bell, given that Joplin's brash, screaming vocals often bordered on the torturous.
"I've been listening to that for years and years, but in my eyes there's no comparison at all." agrees Bell. "I'm a totally different singer to Janis Joplin. I mean I respect for what she did for women in the music industry, but when I was starting, it was Julie Driscoll, Dion Warwick, and Aretha Franklin who influenced me- singers who sang from the heart."
Despite the reception given to the "John Law" album, both Jimmy Dewar (who died from pneumonia earlier this year) and John McGinnis decided to leave the band. The reasons for which were varied as Bell explains.
"Well, to be quite honest with you, John was always a schoolteacher. That was his job before he came with us, and I think he went back to teaching in Glasgow. And Jimmy, well, people change, she says, somewhat diplomatically. I think he always wanted to be a lead singer. But to me, he should he should have stuck to what he did best, which was play bass and sing as well, because he wasn't a frontman. I know he went with Robin Trower and they did very well, but Robin Trower was a great guitar player and after all, it was called the Robin Trower Band."
Replacing them with Steve Thompson and Ronnie Leahy, they recorded the highly regarded "Teenage Licks" album, which was released in 1971. One of the more discussed tracks on that album, "Mad Dogs And Englishmen", was written following a period on the road supporting Joe Cocker.
"We opened for Joe Cocker on tour when he was working with Leon Russell and all that lot, when he was flying high right at the beginning. It started off with a band of about twenty people, with Joe and all the backing singers but it ended up with like 145 people on the road. Total madness as you can imagine with everyone all totally out to lunch. I mean, Joe started off as a fresh faced singer and by the end he looked like he'd aged thirty years."
Yet the optimism that had accompanied that release was to be curtailed by Harvey's untimely and appalling death which naturally had a profound and stifling effect on the band, as Maggie remembers.
It knocked the heart out of us and you just thought what is the point? Why? It is like growing up with a family and you get used to each other. And of course, I was engaged to him as well. He was my childhood sweetheart. We were living together and just before he died we were living with Alex Harvey and his wife, in a house in Highgate. It was one of the best times of my life really, and we had a lot of fun making a lot of music and it was a good time. The night it happened, we all came back to London and we all rented a cottage in Cobham and stayed there. We were all together, the entire band and wives and families and stuff. Then I went to my mothers in Scotland and after that I had to go and identify Leslie's body."
Perhaps surprisingly, following a natural period of inactivity, the band decided not to disband. A decision that came as a shock to many observers at the time.
"Well what do you do? Does life stop there, especially thinking about all the work Leslie and I did to get things going right at the beginning. So I obviously spoke to the band members and we decided to continue and see what happened. It was never the same mind you, but then we all knew it couldn't be."
The band's comeback gig was at the Wheeley Festival, after they had drafted in Peter Green as a replacement.
"Oh yes. We had a carry on with him," says Maggie pointedly. "He said he'd come and join the band and rehearsed with us for three weeks. Then, two days before the gig, he called up and said "Err, Err I can't make it". A rubbish guy really. What can I say? So we knew Steve Howe as we used to use the same recording studio as Yes in London, and he stepped in at the last minute and helped us out. For the next album "Ontinuous Performance", we tried to replace Leslie with Jimmy [McCulloch], who did his best but it wasnt happening. I wanted to continue to with the band, but it got to be really hard work emotionally. It was like everyone was scarred by Leslie's death and we still are even to this day. But don't get me wrong, it was all very friendly. We just decided that we couldn't go on like that any more."
Embarking on a solo career, Bell returned to the studio and recorded two album's worth of material that even today have never been released. A fact which still clearly rankles her.
"Well, I made an album with Felix Cavaliere from the Young Rascals and an album with Felix Pappalardi from Mountain. I paid for those albums, but they were rejected by Atlantic Records. I don't know why they rejected them because they were wonderful. I mean, just think of the guys who were the producers. To this day I am trying to get hold of those tapes, and they're lying somewhere in some vault in America. But I'm the sort of person who can wait and wait and eventually I'll get them. They are somewhere out there."
Later she worked with producer Jerry Wexler, recording upwards of 100 tracks, which were then whittled down to the ten songs which appeared on 1974's "Queen Of The Night". Once again, she has never managed to retrieve the unused tracks, and is to this day actively seeking their return. Executives of Atlantic Records can expect a call anytime soon . . .
This was followed by the release of "Suicide Sal", named after one of her Aunt's who was another Glasgow Music Hall performer, and Bell toured the States with Earth Wind And Fire. And although her later works never quite managed to match the intensity of these albums, she has continued to work, despite her gradual fading from the mainstream eye.
Im always doing something, she confirms. I toured with the Alex Harvey band a few years ago which as wonderful. Then I did a lot of touring with Chris Farrell up and down the country, but I just thought do I really want to be sitting in the back of a van going up and down the M1 just to do a thirty-minute stint? I mean who needs it? The thing is that was three years ago, but I dont even think those venues are around any more and I dont know how people survive or do it today. But its amazing how many people that I meet who still say I met you at Loughborough University in the seventies and that is what it is all about. These people will carry the memories, maybe tell their kids Oh I remember her or that group and that is how it should go on. Thats the way music should be.
