Gryphon (band)
| Gryphon | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Progressive rock, medieval folk rock, symphonic rock |
| Years active | Early 1970s-1977 reunion: 2009 |
| Labels | Transatlantic Records (1973-1975) EMI/Harvest Records (1977) |
| Website | www |
| Members | Brian Gulland Graeme Taylor Dave Oberlé Graham Preskett Rory McFarlane Keith Thompson |
| Past members |
Richard Harvey Philip Nestor Malcolm (Bennett) Markovich Jonathan Davie Bob Foster Alex Baird |
Gryphon are a British progressive rock band formed in the 1970s, best known for their unusual medieval and Renaissance sound and instrumentation. The band briefly flourished in the progressive rock heyday of the early 1970s, and then retired to other musical activities before reforming for a one-off reunion in 2009. Recently the band has confirmed further concerts in 2015, including new music.
In the early 1970s, two fellow Royal College of Music graduates, multi-instrumentalist Richard Harvey and the woodwind player Brian Gulland began the group as an all-acoustic ensemble, mixing 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.
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 to date 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.
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