Pendragon

Biography

Pendragon are an English neo-prog band established in 1978 in Stroud, Gloucestershire as Zeus Pendragon by guitarist and vocalist Nick Barrett. The word Zeus was dropped before the band started recording, as the members decided it was too long to look good on a T-shirt. There were a few personnel changes in the early days, but since 1986 the lineup has remained relatively stable (with only the drummer changing several times since then) and the band are still active as of 2025.

History

The band were active in the progressive rock revival spearheaded by the likes of Marillion, Pallas, Solstice and Twelfth Night in the early 1980s, and indeed (like their peers IQ) often appeared as support acts to Marillion and other major neo-prog bands, both on tours and at the Marquee venue which hosted many regular prog evenings.
In spring 1984 the band took part in a 'battle of the bands' contest at Goldiggers club, in Chippenham, televised by the local HTV television station. This was named 'Best Bands West' and Pendragon performed O Devineo (spelling as credited on TV). A Bristol-based covers duo eventually won the contest. After their debut album The Jewel×The Jewel1985 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Higher Circles3:292The Pleasure of Hope3:433Leviathan6:144Alaska: 1) At Home With the Earth / 2) Snowfall8:405Circus6:346Oh Divineo6:517The Black Knight9:588Fly High Fall Far4:579Victims of Life6:53, the band pursued a more commercial direction, documented in the Kowtow album and the Red Shoes×Red Shoes1987 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksA1Red Shoes3:45B2Searching4:00B3Contact3:22 and Saved By You×Saved by You24 September 1989 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksA1Saved by You4:03A2Lady Luck5:01B3Chase the Jewel6:03B4Elephants Never Grow Old...3:31 EPs, but despite these efforts failed to break through to a mainstream audience. The group appeared at the 1983 Reading Festival and were signed to Elusive Records.

1991 - Toff Records

In 1991, the band established their own label, Toff Records, and released the archival release The Rest of Pendragon, a collection of EP tracks, and the studio album The World×The World1991 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Back in the Spotlight7:452The Voyager12:193Shane4:284Prayer5:225Queen of Hearts, Part I: Queen of Hearts8:186Queen of Hearts, Part II: …A Man Could Die Out Here…8:087Queen of Hearts, Part III: The Last Waltz5:278And We’ll Go Hunting Deer7:16, in which they returned to a more progressive style that the band would continue to develop over their next three studio albums, The Window of Life×The Window of Life1993 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1The Walls of Babylon10:502Ghosts8:033Breaking the Spell9:194The Last Man on Earth14:475Nostradamus (Stargazing)6:246Am I Really Losing You?4:48, The Masquerade Overture×The Masquerade Overture3 April 1996 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11The Masquerade Overture3:032As Good as Gold7:153Paintbox8:394The Pursuit of Excellence2:375Guardian of My Soul12:426The Shadow9:557Masters of Illusion12:51Disc 21As Good as Gold3:292Masters of Illusion3:353Schizo7:014The King of the Castle4:45, and Not of This World×Not of This World2 April 2001 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1If I Were the Wind (and You Were the Rain)9:242Dance of the Seven Veils, Part 1: Faithless4:103Dance of the Seven Veils, Part 2: All Over Now7:314Not of This World, Part 1: Not of This World7:205Not of This World, Part 2: Give It to Me2:246Not of This World, Part 3: Green Eyed Angel6:417A Man of Nomadic Traits11:438World’s End, Part 1: The Lost Children10:479World’s End, Part 2: And Finally …7:1310Paintbox (acoustic version)3:2511King of the Castle (acoustic version)4:4612The New World2:23.

2002 - Acoustically Challenged

In 2002, the band released Acoustically Challenged, documenting an "unplugged" session with a number of the band's songs retooled for acoustic instruments, which was originally broadcast on Radio 3 Warsaw. This was considered an unusual move for a progressive rock band, since progressive rock tends to focus a lot on the use of electronic synthesisers and electric guitars; however, the melodic qualities of the band's compositions proved to be well-suited to an acoustic context, and the album was reasonably successful. This heralded a new willingness to experiment on the part of the band, following a run of studio albums all broadly in the same vein as The World×The World1991 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Back in the Spotlight7:452The Voyager12:193Shane4:284Prayer5:225Queen of Hearts, Part I: Queen of Hearts8:186Queen of Hearts, Part II: …A Man Could Die Out Here…8:087Queen of Hearts, Part III: The Last Waltz5:278And We’ll Go Hunting Deer7:16. On 2005's Believe they took their music in a somewhat darker direction, causing a certain amount of controversy amongst their fans. 2008's Pure, which featured elements of progressive metal, refined the style of Believe and was well received by the progressive rock fandom, being voted Album of the Year 2008 on DPRP.
On 21 April 2009, Pendragon released a live album and DVD, Concerto Maximo×Concerto Maximo30 March 2009 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11The Walls of Babylon5:052A Man of Nomadic Traits11:323The Wishing Well17:414Eraserhead8:405Total Recall5:566Nostradamus5:317Learning Curve7:208Breaking the Spell8:319Sister Bluebird7:54Disc 21The Shadow9:082The Freak Show4:113The Voyager11:054It’s Only Me8:015Masters of Illusion12:456The King of the Castle4:547And We’ll Go Hunting Deer5:118Queen of Hearts19:56, shot in Katowice on 13 October 2008. It was filmed and edited by Metal Mind. It was released in several versions – a 2-CD release that features just the audio from the show, a DVD featuring the full show, and a DVD-and-2-CD special edition, which was limited to 1000 copies.
In October 2010, the band recorded the follow-up to Pure, the album Passion×Passion11 April 2011 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Passion5:282Empathy11:213Feeding Frenzy5:474This Green And Pleasant Land13:145It's Just A Matter Of Not Getting Caught4:416Skara Brae7:327Your Black Heart6:46 which was released in the spring of 2011. This was followed by Men Who Climb Mountains in 2014. Both albums continued the darker, heavier, more progressive metal-influenced direction of the band.

Since 2014

In April 2014, the band announced that they had parted ways with drummer Scott Higham for "personal reasons". He was then replaced by Craig Blundell. In June 2015, Blundell was replaced by Jan-Vincent Velazco.
In September 2019 the band released a 40th Anniversary boxed set containing five compact discs. The first three represent a complete live concert recording made in London during 2018. The remaining two discs are re-mixed and remastered versions of the albums The World×The World1991 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Back in the Spotlight7:452The Voyager12:193Shane4:284Prayer5:225Queen of Hearts, Part I: Queen of Hearts8:186Queen of Hearts, Part II: …A Man Could Die Out Here…8:087Queen of Hearts, Part III: The Last Waltz5:278And We’ll Go Hunting Deer7:16 and Men Who Climb Mountains×Men Who Climb Mountains9 October 2014 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 21 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Belle âme3:152Beautiful Soul8:033Come Home Jack10:514In Bardo4:525Faces of Light5:506Faces of Darkness6:257For When the Zombies Come7:338Explorers of the Infinite11:099Netherworld5:47Disc 21The Voyager8:082A Man of Nomadic Traits8:233This Green and Pleasant Land11:354Nostradamus2:475Paintbox4:216King of the Castle4:187Indigo5:288The Freakshow2:479Masters of Illusion2:3910Space Cadet3:4511The Edge of the World6:1212It’s Only Me4:59. In February 2020, a new album called Love Over Fear×Love Over Fear28 February 2020 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Everything5:402Starfish and the Moon3:373Truth and Lies8:264360 Degrees5:345Soul and the Sea5:446Eternal Light8:197Water7:578Whirlwind4:599Who Really Are We?8:4110Afraid of Everything5:08 was released.