Gryphon (band)

, 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. [ [http://www.the-banned.com/history.html The Banned] ]

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 predominantly 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. On 15th September 2008, Gryphon announced via their website that the album was still in production "albeit Slowly", but the reunion concert had been postponed until 2009 due to lack of venue availability. __NOTOC__

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")

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".

Discography

Albums

* "Gryphon" (1973)
* "Midnight Mushrumps" (1974)
* "Red Queen to Gryphon Three" (1974)
* "Raindance" (1975)
* "Treason" (1977)

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

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)

References

External links

* [http://www.gaudela.net/gryphon/ Gryphon Website]