Fruupp were a 1970s

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band, which originated in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Northern Ireland, but developed a fan base in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. They were relatively popular, particularly on the student scene and as a supporting act, opening for such bands as

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

, and

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 ...

History

The group was assembled by guitarist Vincent McCusker in early 1971 in Belfast, and consisted primarily of classically trained musicians Peter Farrelly (bass guitar and lead vocals), Stephen Houston (keyboards and

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

), and Martin Foye (drums and percussion). After two years of performing, they created a demo tape, and were signed by

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhoo ...

for their underground music and progressive rock label Dawn Records. Between 1973 and 1975, the group released four studio albums and three singles. Despite having played hundreds of concerts in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe during that time, no live output had yet been released, although audience bootleg recordings of live shows in England and Ireland do exist. A concert at the

Friars Aylesbury Friars Aylesbury is a music club that runs in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. It opened in 1969 but closed down twice, once in 1970 for a period of nine months and again in 1984 for a period of twenty-five years. Friars Aylesbury reopene ...

club played on 6 December 1975 was recorded using a mobile unit for a possible album ''Live at Friars Aylesbury'', but the master tapes were later destroyed by fire in a flat the musicians shared in Peckham, London. In January 1975, Stephen Houston left the band and became a clergyman. He was replaced by John Mason, with whom Fruupp recorded their last album, '' Modern Masquerades'' (1975), produced by multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, best known as a founder of

and Foreigner. Although the band was working on the fifth album ''Doctor Wilde's Twilight Adventure'' in 1976, poor record sales along with the advent of the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

/ new wave movement caused Fruupp to break up in the end of the year. In 2022 a new Fruupp Live double album was released on the Bad Pressings label, titled Masquerading With Dawn. It featured the same performance from 6/12/75 that had originally been intended for release, the newly discovered recording being remastered and released as a limited edition.

Personnel

* Vincent McCusker – guitar, vocals (1971–1976) * Peter Farrelly – bass guitar, guitar, lead vocals (1971–1976) * Martin Foye – drums, percussion (1971–1976) * Stephen Houston – keyboards,

, vocals (1971 – January 1975) * John Mason – keyboards, vibes, vocals (January 1975 – 1976)

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Future Legends'' (Dawn, 5 October 1973) * '' Seven Secrets'' (Dawn, 19 April 1974) * '' The Prince of Heaven's Eyes'' (Dawn, 8 November 1974) * '' Modern Masquerades'' (Dawn, 14 November 1975)

Compilations

* ''Songs for a Thought'' (Sequel, 1992) * ''It's All Up Now: Anthology'' (Castle Music, 1 November 2004)

Singles

* "The Prince of Darkness" b/w "Annie Austere" (Dawn, 11 October 1974) * "Prince of Heaven" b/w "The Jaunting Car" (Dawn, 18 October 1974) * "Janet Planet" b/w "Why" ( Pye, 24 October 1975) Live . "MASQUERADING WITH DAWN"(Archival material recorded on December 6, 1975)2022

References

{{Authority control Rock music groups from Northern Ireland Musical groups from Belfast British progressive rock groups Musical groups established in 1971 Musical groups disestablished in 1976 Dawn Records artists