Gryphon (band)

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Gryphon

Gryphon were a British progressive rock band of the 1970s, notable for their unusual sound and instrumentation. Multi-instrumentalist Richard Harvey and his fellow Royal College of Music graduate Brian Gulland, a woodwind player, began the group as an all-acoustic ensemble that mixed traditional English folk music with medieval and Renaissance influences. Shortly after this, the duo was joined by guitarist Graeme Taylor and Drummer/percussionist Dave Oberlé. After their self-titled debut, they expanded their sound to include electric guitars and keyboards as well as wind instruments, such as bassoons and krumhorns, not previously used in rock music. Gryphon's music often sounded as much like rural English folk or renaissance chansons as it did rock, at least on their early recordings. After their third album (Red Queen to Gryphon Three) and the subsequent tour as a supporting act for Yes, their instrumentation became more conventional and the use of non-standard instruments was reduced. Fans and critics generally regard Midnight Mushrumps and the all-instrumental Red Queen to Gryphon Three as their finest albums.

In 1974, the group's publicist Martin Lewis arranged for the band to be commissioned to write and record the music for a major stage production of Shakespeare's The Tempest at Britain's National Theatre directed by Sir Peter Hall. It opened at the historic Old Vic theatre in April 1974. The music the band wrote and recorded for the stage production inspired the 21-minute fantasia "Midnight Mushrumps" (named after a phrase mentioned in The Tempest) which became the title track of their second album. Following the successful premiere of the play and acclaim for its music, Lewis arranged for Gryphon to give a Sunday evening concert at the Old Vic in July 1974 - the first-ever and up until now the only rock concert held at Britain's National Theatre. At the concert the band performed "Midnight Mushrumps". The concert was considered a major breakthrough for progressive rock music. Rumours abound that there are audio tapes of the fabled concert but none have yet surfaced.

In 1977, Richard Harvey and Jonathan Davie - under the names Rik Mansworth and John Thomas - were members of The Banned, supposedly a punk rock group, who had a hit in the UK pop charts with a version of "Little Girl", originally recorded in the 1960s by The Syndicate of Sound.^[1]

In September 2007 it was announced on Gryphon's website that after a silence of thirty one years the band have finally decided to produce a new album. Whether the new Gryphon album will be a modern progressive and commercial sounding offering like their later albums or a return to the predominate medieval based themes of their earlier works has yet to be announced. Whilst there is no timescale planned, it is envisaged that it will be released in the Summer of 2008 with a one-off London concert date also suggested though not confirmed.

[edit] Members

Brian Gulland — Bassoon, Krumhorn, Recorder, Keyboards, Vocals (born 30 April 1951, in Maidstone, Kent).
Richard Harvey — Recorder, Krumhorn, Mandolin, Keyboards, Vocals (born 25 September 1953, in Enfield, Middlesex).
Dave Oberlé — Drums, Percussion, Lead Vocals (born 9 January 1953, in Farnborough, Kent, now part of London).
Graeme Taylor — Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Vocals (through Raindance) (born 2 February 1954, in Stockwell, South-west London).
Philip Nestor — Bass guitar, Vocals (Midnight Mushrumps and Red Queen to Gryphon Three) (born in 1952, in Epsom, Surrey).
Malcolm Bennett — Bass guitar, Flute (Raindance)
Jonathan Davie — Bass guitar (Treason)
Bob Foster — Guitar (Treason)

[edit] Auxiliary members

The following craftsmen manufactured instruments used on Gryphon albums, but they were not band members:

Ernest Hart - Organ (Midnight Mushrumps and Red Queen to Gryphon Three)
Peter Redding - Acoustic bass (Red Queen to Gryphon Three)

Tim Sebastion co-wrote lyrics for Treason

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

All albums released by Transatlantic Records, except Treason, which was released by EMI Records.

[edit] Compilations and other releases

The Collection (1991)
The Collection II (1995)
About as Curious as It Can Be (2002) - 1974 & 1975 BBC Radio session performances
Glastonbury Carol (2003) - 1972 & 1974 BBC Radio session performances
Crossing the Styles: The Transatlantic Anthology (2004)