Triumvirat

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Triumvirat was a German progressive rock trio that formed in 1969 in Cologne, Germany. The founding members were Jürgen Fritz (keyboards), Hans Bathelt (drummer/lyricist) and Werner Frangenberg (bassist). The band went through numerous personnel changes through the years, but Jurgen Fritz remained as the primary music force within the group.

During its early years, Triumvirat initially played Top 40 songs at local venues in Cologne. The Nice and Emerson, Lake and Palmer heavily influenced Trimuvirat’s musical direction and the band incorporated some of Nice/ELP music into their repertoire (Rondo among others). In fact, at the height of their fame during the 70’s prog rock era, Triumvirat was often referred to as the ‘German Emerson, Lake & Palmer’ or ‘ELP clone’ due to Fritz’s classical virtuosity on keyboards and synthesizers.

In the early 1970s, the band sent a demo tape to EMI Records in Cologne and won their first record contract. Triumvirat subsequently produced modestly successful albums during the early to mid-1970s, including Mediterranean Tales: Across The Waters and Illusions on a Double Dimple and toured the United States with Fleetwood Mac to support Illusions on a Double Dimple, playing the album in its entirety. In 1975, Triumvirat reached the apex of their commercial success with the release of Spartacus, which is considered by many as a classic "prog rock" masterpiece album, along with Illusions on a Double Dimple.

The band underwent numerous personnel changes over the course of its life (including the loss of bassist Helmut Köllen who died from carbon monoxide poisoning while listening to some of his studio tracks in his car's cassette player while running the engine in his garage) and eventually disbanded in 1980 with the release of their final album Russian Roulette.