Eela Craig was an Austrian rock band of the 1970s and 1980s, that combined progressive rock with jazz and classical music influences as well as Christian lyrics. The band's name is without known meaning.

History

The band was founded in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

in 1970, and recorded its first album, entitled ''Eela Craig'', in 1971 with a circulation of 1,500. Critics compared this album with established bands such as

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

Gentle Giant Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of their members. All of the band members were multi-inst ...

and

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...

. The band had a few onstage performances with the

Zürich Chamber Orchestra The Zurich Chamber Orchestra (Zürcher Kammerorchester; ZKO, German abbreviation) is a Swiss chamber orchestra based in Zurich. The ZKO's principal concert venue in Zurich is the Tonhalle. The ZKO also performs in Zurich at the Schauspielhaus Zü ...

in 1972, which led to more performances in well-known opera houses of Italy, Germany and Austria, uncommon venues for a rock band at the time.Early Work listed
in

Hubert Bognermayr Hubert Bognermayr (6 April 1948 – 17 March 1999), was an Austrian composer and pioneer of electronic music. Born in Linz, Bognermayr was one of the founders of the Ars Electronica festival in 1979. He was also founding member of the Austrian ro ...

's bio (start page of Ars electronica's archive, use search function for artist's name) The band signed a contract with

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

in 1975, to release a number of singles and albums, including the Christian concept album ''Missa Universalis'', and a signature ethereal

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of Chris de Burgh's "

A Spaceman Came Travelling "A Spaceman Came Travelling" is a song by Chris de Burgh. It first appeared on his second studio album, '' Spanish Train and Other Stories'', which was released in 1975. It has been released numerous times as a single, becoming a popular Chris ...

", both released in 1978. ''Missa Universalis'' was a musical translation of a (Catholic) high mass, which embraced lyrics in Latin, German, English and French. The compositions resembled the works of

Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...

, mixed with elements of rock and electronic music. The premiere was performed at the

Brucknerfest The International Brucknerfest Linz is an annual series of music events held in Linz. The music event series is named after Anton Bruckner and is organised by the Brucknerhaus. The Brucknerfest was introduced in 1974 on the initiative of the a ...

of the city of

and received positive acceptance. The band was largely inactive between 1982 and 1986, but the two founding members produced solo music under the Bognermayr/Zuschrader name with Bognermayr's own

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

label, Erdenklang. 1987 saw the release of three singles, which were targeted to match the contemporary

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

style. Eela Craig released their last album, ''Hit or Miss'', in 1987. On 17 November 1995, the band reunited for a one-time live performance in Linz. At the same time, Hubert Bognermayr published a compilation of the band's music entitled ''Symphonic Rock''.

Discography

Singles

*"Stories" / "Cheese" (1974) *"A Spaceman Came Travelling" / "Heaven Sales" (1978) *"Mo-bike Jive" / "Carry On" (1981) *"Linz" / "Fühl mich so..." (1987) *"Il Tempo..." / "Lovers in Love" (1987) *"Weihnachtszeit" / (Instrumental) (1987) *"Lord’s Prayer" / "Vaterunser" (1988)

Albums

*''Eela Craig'' (1971) *''One Niter'' (1976) *''Hats of Glass'' (1977) *''Missa Universalis'' (1978) *''Virgin Oiland'' (1980) *''Hit or Miss'' (1988)

Compilations

*''Symphonic Rock'' (1995)

References

External links

Eela Craig at the Prog ArchivesEela Craig bei germanrock.deHarald Zuschrader / Eela Craig remix
{{Authority control Austrian progressive rock groups Vertigo Records artists