Neo-prog band Pendragon formed in London during the heady days of punk, but didn't coalesce until 1983, when the band began playing around London and earned a small spot at that year's Reading Festival. The lineup stabilized, after the 1985 album Jewel, around vocalist/guitarist Nick Barrett, bassist Peter Gee, drummer Fudge Smith and keyboard player Clive Nolan. Pendragon recorded the live album 9:15 in 1986 and began to establish a continental fan base the following year. European audiences proved enthusiastic, spawning a contract with the French M.S.I. label; nevertheless, the group was forced to form its own Toff label just to release material in England.

Although progressive rock reached its commercial peak in the '70s, it certainly didn't disappear after the '70s. Progressive rock, after all these years, continues to be recorded, and this late 2010/early 2011 recording finds Pendragon still plugging away after 32 years. Pendragon have experienced some lineup changes along the way; the 21st century edition of the band heard on Passion unites two members of the original 1978 lineup (lead singer/guitarist Nick Barrett and bassist Peter Gee) with 1986 arrival Clive Nolan (keyboards) and 2008 arrival Scott Higham (drums). And stylistically, these prog veterans have definitely evolved; Pendragon still draw on old-school influences like Pink Floyd, Genesis, Jethro Tull, and King Crimson, but there are also post-'80s influences that range from Porcupine Tree to Radiohead.

For anyone who loves Camel, Genesis and early Marillion, this is a must. Pendragon were one of a clutch of bands including IQ, Pallas, Solstice and the aforementioned Marillion, who made up a new wave of British Progressive Rock in the 1980s. By 1985, Pendragon had released an EP, played the Reading Festival and toured with Marillion as well as doing a session for Tommy Vance's legendary Friday Rock Show. Despite that, they were still largely ignored by the mainstream. 'The Jewel', the band's debut album shows a band that has clearly spent a lot of time playing live, as they are extremely proficient and tight musically throughout the record.

Neo-prog band Pendragon formed in London during the heady days of punk, but didn't coalesce until 1983, when the band began playing around London and earned a small spot at that year's Reading Festival. The lineup stabilized, after the 1985 album Jewel, around vocalist/guitarist Nick Barrett, bassist Peter Gee, drummer Fudge Smith and keyboard player Clive Nolan. Pendragon recorded the live album 9:15 in 1986 and began to establish a continental fan base the following year. European audiences proved enthusiastic, spawning a contract with the French M.S.I. label; nevertheless, the group was forced to form its own Toff label just to release material in England.

Neo-prog band Pendragon formed in London during the heady days of punk, but didn't coalesce until 1983, when the band began playing around London and earned a small spot at that year's Reading Festival. The lineup stabilized, after the 1985 album Jewel, around vocalist/guitarist Nick Barrett, bassist Peter Gee, drummer Fudge Smith and keyboard player Clive Nolan. Pendragon recorded the live album 9:15 in 1986 and began to establish a continental fan base the following year. European audiences proved enthusiastic, spawning a contract with the French M.S.I. label; nevertheless, the group was forced to form its own Toff label just to release material in England. On 2005's Believe they took their music in a somewhat darker direction, causing a certain amount of controversy amongst their fans.

Pure is the eighth studio album by English neo-progressive rock group Pendragon. It was first released on October 1, 2008, on Toff Records. The overall reception of the album was very much positive. RevelationZ online magazine gave it a 7 out of 10 score and stressed "mainman - vocalist & guitarist - Nick Barrett's songs draw blood with razor sharp metaphors, often bleak but always human, cleverly broken up by melodic, muscular guitar and keyboard passages, set against a busy, but never intrusive background of whitenoise and special FX". Lords of Metal also paid attention to the album and noticed that "where Marillion drifted off of the ‘standard’ prog route Pendragon stayed steadily on course without repeating themselves", concluding with a 90/100 score.

Neo-prog band Pendragon formed in London during the heady days of punk, but didn't coalesce until 1983, when the band began playing around London and earned a small spot at that year's Reading Festival. The lineup stabilized, after the 1985 album Jewel, around vocalist/guitarist Nick Barrett, bassist Peter Gee, drummer Fudge Smith and keyboard player Clive Nolan. Pendragon recorded the live album 9:15 in 1986 and began to establish a continental fan base the following year. European audiences proved enthusiastic, spawning a contract with the French M.S.I. label; nevertheless, the group was forced to form its own Toff label just to release material in England.

2020 album by the British neo-progressive rock band. Pendragon formed in 1978 in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, 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 were still active as of 2018.

Pendragon's release of "The Masquerade Overture" represents one of the 90's strongest prog releases yet! This brilliant recording sets new heights for neo-prog acts in terms of complete recordings. "The Masquerade Overture" really does capture the essence of concept-like story line and takes the listener into a completely new world. The mix of opera, orchestra and the symphonic tendency of Pendragon seems to work to perfection on this release. There are some nice and tasty guitar / bass parts scattered throughout all of the songs. Nick Barrett adds some great vocals throughout which give it that unmistakeable Pendragon feel.

UK veterans Pendragon have a number of live albums out, time and again documenting their expertise at performing their material on stage. As all good live bands they don't merely replicate the studio versions so that fans have a reason to attend their concerts as well as purchasing the recordings from them. In this case we're treated to a fair few items that haven't been documented in a live setting previously, and some that haven't been covered live by this version of the band. Good enough reasons to note down this production as a likely buy in itself. A strong live recording that should be of interest to just about anyone with an affection for the neo-progressive part of the symphonic prog universe.

Can it really be five years since 'The Masquerade Overture'? In the intervening time, Nick has suffered personally, and some of this is really brought home by the lyrics. There are some very bitter words at times, but the strongest message is probably on "If I Were The Wind (And You Were The Rain)" where Nick sings to his son. It is straight from the heart and I not only felt extremely moved when I read them for the first time, but also that almost I was intruding on a very private matter. Nick has bared his soul on this album, so that it is extremely personal and, hopefully for him, cathartic. But what of the music? In many ways, this is an album that will appeal to followers of Floyd, Genesis and Camel, albeit with more majesty and grace.

Neo-prog band Pendragon formed in London during the heady days of punk, but didn't coalesce until 1983, when the band began playing around London and earned a small spot at that year's Reading Festival. The lineup stabilized, after the 1985 album Jewel, around vocalist/guitarist Nick Barrett, bassist Peter Gee, drummer Fudge Smith and keyboard player Clive Nolan. Pendragon recorded the live album 9:15 in 1986 and began to establish a continental fan base the following year. European audiences proved enthusiastic, spawning a contract with the French M.S.I. label; nevertheless, the group was forced to form its own Toff label just to release material in England.

Japanese edition of 1996 album with 3 bonus tracks. Pendragon's release of "The Masquerade Overture" represents one of the 90's strongest prog releases yet! This brilliant recording sets new heights for neo-prog acts in terms of complete recordings. "The Masquerade Overture" really does capture the essence of concept-like story line and takes the listener into a completely new world. The mix of opera, orchestra and the symphonic tendency of Pendragon seems to work to perfection on this release. There are some nice and tasty guitar / bass parts scattered throughout all of the songs. Nick Barrett adds some great vocals throughout which give it that unmistakeable Pendragon feel.

Neo-prog band Pendragon formed in London during the heady days of punk, but didn't coalesce until 1983, when the band began playing around London and earned a small spot at that year's Reading Festival. The lineup stabilized, after the 1985 album Jewel, around vocalist/guitarist Nick Barrett, bassist Peter Gee, drummer Fudge Smith and keyboard player Clive Nolan. Pendragon recorded the live album 9:15 in 1986 and began to establish a continental fan base the following year. European audiences proved enthusiastic, spawning a contract with the French M.S.I. label; nevertheless, the group was forced to form its own Toff label just to release material in England.