The Syn are an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

band that were active from 1965 to 1967, and then reunited as a

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 in 2004. The band was founded by

Steve Nardelli Stephen Louis Nardelli (born 10 April 1948 in London) founded the Syn in 1966 with Chris Squire, Martyn Adelman and others. In 1968, Nardelli left the band for a business career in the fashion and sports industries before reforming the band in 2 ...

Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes. He was the longest-serving original memb ...

Andrew Pryce Jackman Andrew Pryce Jackman (13 July 1946 – 16 August 2003) was an English keyboardist, arranger and composer who worked with many leading figures in British popular music. His most successful project was as the arranger and conductor of the ''Classi ...

Martyn Adelman Martyn J Adelman or Martin, also known as Max Adelman (born 1947) is a British photographer and former drummer. Adelman learnt to play drums aged 14 and soon formed his first group, The Insteps, also including John Altman. A subsequent band inc ...

and John Painter.

Chris Welch Chris Welch (born 12 November 1941) is an English music journalist, critic, and author who is best known for his work from the late 1960s as a reporter for ''Melody Maker'', ''Musicians Only'', and ''Kerrang!''. He is the author of over 40 mu ...

, in his book, ''Close to the Edge: The Story of Yes'' wrote, "The Syn were very similar to Yes in fact. It was very much a precursor of Yes."

Early years

The Selfs were a

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

band formed in 1964 in

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, London. The band was formed of bassist

, keyboardist

, drummer

, and guitarist John Wheatley, and singer Chris Slater. A future line-up included drummer Mike Richardson. The band played their first gigs at The Graveyard, a youth club at St. Andrew's church in

Kingsbury Kingsbury may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Kingsbury, London, a district of northwest London in the borough of Brent ** Kingsbury tube station, London Underground station * Kingsbury, Warwickshire, a village and civil parish in Warwickshi ...

, and Blackbirds Cross in Wembley. In 1964, they took part in Ready Steady Win, a music competition run by the producers of the music television show ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light enter ...

'' They were beaten in a heat of the competition by the eventual winners,

the Bo Street Runners The Bo Street Runners were an English R&B band formed in Harrow. England, during 1964. The band released four singles and an extended play record. They gained prominence in the United Kingdom after winning the ''Ready Steady Win!'' band contest ...

. The Selfs recorded an acetate "Love You" and a cover of

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

's " I Can't Explain". The roots of The Syn are in an earlier north London R&B band called High Court including

on guitar and his school friend George Arzimanow on vocals. The band evolved over time and, in 1965, with Nardelli now handling lead vocals and John Painter on guitar, they changed their name to The Syn. Shortly after, however, in 1965, The Syn merged with The Selfs, so Nardelli and Painter were joined by

(bass),

Andrew Jackman Andrew Pryce Jackman (13 July 1946 – 16 August 2003) was an English keyboardist, arranger and composer who worked with many leading figures in British popular music. His most successful project was as the arranger and conductor of the ''Classi ...

(keys) and

(drums). The band's first gig, at Nardelli's school,

Kingsbury County Grammar School Kingsbury may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Kingsbury, London, a district of northwest London in the borough of Brent ** Kingsbury tube station, London Underground station * Kingsbury, Warwickshire, a village and civil parish in Warwicksh ...

, included covers of "

Heat Wave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...

" and

The Marvelettes The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who wa ...

' "I'll Keep On Holding On".

Paul Korda Paul Korda (born Paul Kunstler, 1948 – 11 March 2020) was a Singaporean songwriter, singer, musician, and actor. He wrote and performed music from the 1960s onwards, and his songs have been covered by artists such as Roger Daltrey, Dave ...

produced his composition "Merry-go-round" as a demonstration record for the band.

Psychedelic period

John Painter was replaced by

Peter Banks Peter William Brockbanks (15 July 1947 – 7 March 2013), known professionally as Peter Banks, was a British guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer. He was the original guitarist in the rock band Yes, and also the Syn, Flash, and Empire. ...

and Martyn Adelman was replaced by Icelandic drummer Gunnar Jökull Hákonarson (born 13 May 1949,

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

; died 22 September 2001) usually referred to as Gunnar Jökull or Jökullinn (literally meaning Jökull "glacier"). The band also got a new manager, Peter Huggett, former bass player with

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002), known as Lonnie Donegan, was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the "King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotl ...

. Huggett was later replaced by Kenny Bell as manager. The band moved away from R&B covers and started writing their own material, led by Jackman and Nardelli. Reflecting the musical changes going on around them, they became more influenced by

psychedelic music Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, and cannabis to ...

. They released two singles titled ''Created by Clive'' (b/w ''Grounded'') and ''Flowerman'' (b/w ''14 Hour Technicolour Dream'') in 1967. In 1967, they played in support of

The Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

at the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed whe ...

in London, attended by many notable rock musicians (including

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

) that introduced Hendrix to the music world. The Syn went on to have a long-running residency at the club, supporting bands including

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

The Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The group came to ...

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...

and

Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have List of best-selling singles, sold over ...

before establishing their own weekly headline night at which they launched their Gangster and Flowerman rock operas. Later line-ups saw a number of different drummers play after Hákonarson returned to Iceland.

Aftermath

The band split up in 1967. Both Squire and Banks then joined

Mabel Greer's Toyshop Mabel Greer's Toyshop are an English progressive rock (initially as psychedelic rock) band formed in London and initially active from 1966 to 1968. The band was the precursor to the rock band Yes. Their music was marked by a combination of p ...

which was eventually renamed Yes. Nardelli, Jackman and sometimes Squire also worked together after the band split up. Nardelli and Jackman recorded a planned further Syn single, entitled "Sunshine and Make Believe", with session appearances by Tony Kaye on keys and

David O'List David O'List (born 13 December 1948) is an English rock guitarist, vocalist and trumpeter. He has played with The Attack, The Nice, Roxy Music (before being replaced by Phil Manzanera), and Jet (replaced by Ian Macleod). He also briefly deputi ...

on guitar. Tapes for this session could not be located in 2004. Jackman recorded another Syn piece with an orchestra, "The Last Performance of the Royal Regimental Very Victorious and Valiant Band", eventually released on the 2004 compilation ''Original Syn''. Another Syn piece, "Mr White's White Flying Machine", was released in 1970 by

Ayshea Ayshea (born Ayshea Hague, 12 November 1948) is a British singer, actor and television presenter. Biography Born in Highgate, London, and educated at Arts Educational School, London, Ayshea was trained in ballet, music, drama and dance. She mad ...

in a session produced by Jackman and with Squire on bass. Jackman continued to work with Squire, including on his first solo album ''

Fish Out of Water Fish out of water is an idiom used to refer to a person who is in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings. Fish out of water may also refer to: Film and television * ''Fish Out of Water'' (1993 film), a Danish film * ''Fish Out of ...

'' and on Yes's ''

Tormato ''Tormato'' is the ninth studio album by English progressive rock band Yes. It was released on 22 September 1978 on Atlantic Records, and is their last album with singer Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman before their departure from the ...

''. Squire has emphasised Jackman's role on ''Fish Out of Water'', saying he offered him co-writing credits, but Jackman declined.

Reunion

The Syn reunion grew out of two events. In 2003, Martyn Adelman contacted the webmaster of a Yes fan site and agreed to do an interview. Steve Nardelli saw this and was put back in touch with Adelman. With Banks too, they met up for lunch and discussed a reunion. Around the same time, Andrew Jackman died, and there was a desire to mark his passing. In 2004, the new band started rehearsals. Banks had brought in keyboard player Gerard Johnson, with whom he had worked on several previous projects.

John Wetton John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Known for his dexterous bass playing and booming baritone voice, Wetton first gained fame in the early 1970s. Wetton was the singer and p ...

was originally to have played bass, but pulled out at the last minute and was replaced by Steve Gee (bassist in progressive rock band

Landmarq Landmarq (pronounced like "landmark") are a British neo-progressive rock band. Since forming in 1990, they have so far released a total of ten albums, four of which were recorded live at various concerts in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, plus ...

). The sessions produced new versions of old Syn songs "Illusion" and "Grounded" and an extended new version of Yes' song "Time and a Word". Recordings were carried out at the studio owned by guitarist

Paul Stacey Paul Stacey (born 27 September 1963) is a British guitarist and producer, best known for his work with Oasis, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and the Black Crowes. Biography Stacey's early work included the 1990s band, the Lemon Trees (wi ...

. However, Banks did not continue on with the group, and gave an explanation on his web site. Nardelli continued with the band and, in late 2004, he and Johnson had begun recording on a new song "Cathedral of Love" when Nardelli asked Squire if he could play on the tune. Squire did and went on to join the band. Paul Stacey became the guitarist and his twin

Jeremy Stacey Jeremy Stacey (born 27 September 1963) is a British drummer and keyboard player. His early works included the 1990s band The Lemon Trees (with twin brother Paul Stacey on guitars, Guy Chambers and others) and Denzil. He has also played with ...

, the drummer. Adelman had chosen to step away from performing, although he remained associated with the band for a period as a photographer—photography rather than drumming having been his career for over 30 years. The band released their first full studio album ''Syndestructible'' in October 2005, with ''Cathedral of Love'' coming out beforehand as a single. The lineup of musicians performing on that album is * Paul Stacey - guitars, engineer, co-producer * Gerard Johnson - keyboards, co-producer * Steve Nardelli - vocals * Jeremy Stacey - drums * Chris Squire - bass, backing vocals An interviewer at the MWE3 website described ''Syndestructible'' as "one of the best prog-rock albums of the new century" and "a masterpiece of beat-prog". Richie Unterberger for Allmusic said, "It's rather like hearing a slightly middle-of-the-road version of Yes, with plenty of multi-sectioned song structures and progressive rock interplay between the instruments. ..It's well executed and well recorded. But it should have been credited to Steve Nardelli and Chris Squire, or a different band name than Syn, as the links to the '60s Syn sound are virtually absent." The More Drama Tour, scheduled to begin in North America in August 2005, was to have seen three acts, The Syn,

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

and

Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to le ...

touring together, with Squire, Howe, White and

Geoff Downes Geoffrey Downes (born 25 August 1952) is an English keyboardist who gained fame as a member of the new wave group The Buggles with Trevor Horn, the progressive rock band Yes, and the supergroup Asia. Born in Stockport, Downes moved to London ...

playing Yes material at the end of the evening (with either

or Kevin Currie of White handling lead vocals). However, the tour was cancelled shortly before it was due to begin. The Syn line-up for the tour was to have comprised: *

Francis Dunnery Francis Dunnery (born 25 December 1962) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and record label owner. Dunnery was the lead singer and guitarist for British prog-pop band It Bites between 1982 and 1990. Since 1990 he has ...

- guitars * Gerard Johnson - keyboards * Steve Nardelli - vocals *

Gary Husband Gary Husband (born 14 June 1960) is an English jazz and rock drummer, pianist, keyboard player and bandleader. He is also a composer, arranger and producer. Husband is a member of John McLaughlin's group The 4th Dimension, he also regularly pe ...

- drums * Chris Squire - bass The Syn album line-up debuted live at a show in London at the end of 2005 (assisted by Husband), but for live dates in January 2006, the band was: * Steve Nardelli - vocals *

- bass guitar * Gerard Johnson - keyboards *

Shane Theriot Shane Theriot (pronounced "terry-oh") (born October 4, 1972) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is the musical director, guitarist, and band leader for Hall & Oates and musical director/guitarist for the television show '' Liv ...

- guitar * Alan White - drums A UK tour in May that year was cancelled and, on 16 May 2006, Squire announced his departure from the group: "Chris has decided to leave the Syn, and is no longer involved with that band despite reports to the contrary." Nardelli assembled an album, ''Armistice Day'', combining a new studio track ("Armistice Day", recorded with Johnson and P. Stacey) with live work from 2006 recorded at XM radio studios in Washington DC(with

, Alan White, Gerard Johnson and

). Although Johnson recorded and mixed the track, he claimed he was never paid for his work. In an 18 October 2006 message on Yesworld.com,

discouraged fans from purchasing the album. The album was released without the permission of any of the artists, other than Nardelli. Both Johnson and P. Stacey left the band. While a release date in November 2006 was initially announced, legal action saw the album delayed until 2007. Meanwhile, Johnson and the Stacey brothers continued to work with Squire. Chris Squire, Gerard Johnson and Jeremy Stacey worked with two of Andrew Jackman's brothers (

Jeremy Jackman Jeremy Jackman (born 22 April 1952) is a British choral director, composer and arranger, and a former counter-tenor of the King's Singers. Biography Jackman was a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral. He trained at the Royal College of Music and ...

and Gregg Jackman) on '' Chris Squire's Swiss Choir'' album, while Squire, Johnson and both Staceys began working on another Squire solo project. Work on this stalled, but Jeremy Stacey appeared on the debut album from Squackett, with Squire and

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...

. The Squackett album and two Yes albums (''

Fly from Here ''Fly from Here'' is the twentieth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes. It was released on 22 June 2011 by Frontiers Records, and is their only album featuring lead vocalist Benoît David and keyboardist Oliver Wakeman. Yes r ...

'' and '' Heaven & Earth'') include material co-written by Squire and Johnson and others.

New line ups

In June 2007, Nardelli said, "The Syn today is me and the musicians I chose to play with." Nardelli formed a new Syn line up in 2008, as follows: * Steve Nardelli - vocals * Francis Dunnery - guitars *

Tom Brislin Tom Brislin (born October 5, 1973) is an American keyboardist, songwriter, singer, producer, and author. In December 2018, American progressive rock band Kansas announced Brislin as the group’s keyboardist; his playing, vocals, and prominent song ...

- keyboards The band recorded a new album, ''Big Sky'', released early 2009, with

Brett Kull Echolyn is an American progressive rock band based in eastern Pennsylvania. History Origins and first phase (1989–1995) Echolyn was formed in 1989 when guitarist Brett Kull and drummer Paul Ramsey, members of a recently split cover band ...

and Paul Ramsey, both of the band

echolyn Echolyn is an American progressive rock band based in eastern Pennsylvania. History Origins and first phase (1989–1995) Echolyn was formed in 1989 when guitarist Brett Kull and drummer Paul Ramsey, members of a recently split cover band ...

, and Dorie Jackson. ''Big Sky'' was voted the best progressive rock album of 2009 at USA Progressive Music website. In October 2008, Umbrello Music Entertainment released a digital track written by Nardelli for the musicians from The Syn fan forum called "Reasons and Rituals". Band members included Steve Nardelli (vocals/guitars), Steve Sikes-Nova (vocals), Cary Clouser (flute), Steve Nicholas (keys), Kevin Stills (guitars/mixing), Brett Kull (guitars) and Kelly Child (drums). The executive producer for the project was radio station host and teacher Steve Sikes-Nova. The project was named 14 Hour Technicolour Dream V-Band after the Nardelli/Jackman written Syn track. A US tour began (with Nardelli, Dunnery, Brislin, Kull, Ramsey, Jackson and Jamie Bishop) in April 2009, including 2 days of music workshops and charity concerts for the students at Gloucester High School in Virginia, but was cancelled after 6 dates when Nardelli had to return to England following the creation of his eco town project being accepted by the UK Government, with the band breaking up acrimoniously as a result. The final performance was on 1 May 2009 at Rosfest and was recorded for future release, scheduled for 27 April 2015. Kull commented on the end of the tour, saying: Kull, Ramsey, Brislin and Bishop went on to work with Dunnery subsequently. In December 2010, Nardelli announced a new collaboration with Swedish band

Moon Safari ''Moon Safari'' is the debut studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on 16 January 1998 by Source and Virgin Records. ''Moon Safari'' was re-released on 14 April 2008 to mark the album's 10th anniversary, including a bound book ...

, known for their artistic rock sound and five-part harmonies. Recording sessions began in December 2010 in

Skellefteå Skellefteå (, locally ) is a Cities in Sweden, city in Västerbotten County, Sweden. It is the seat of Skellefteå Municipality, which had 73,246 inhabitants in 2021. The city is historically industrial, with mining being a large part of that i ...

, Sweden. The resultant new Syn album was scheduled for release in 2011. A member of Moon Safari said in October 2014 that, "The project is still in the works, but due to the work load of both parties, with Moon Safari playing live and recording new material while working day time jobs and Nardelli working on his projects outside of music, there has not been enough time left to get together and start recording for real. The tracks are done and sound fantastic, we just need to find a space in our schedules to enter the studio." In an interview for Progzilla radio on 25 October 2014, Nardelli confirmed final recording for the album was scheduled for early December 2014 and January 2015. He also announced the release in early 2015 of ''The Syn Live at Rosfest'', recorded 2009, coupled with a newly commissioned movie entitled ''The Syn in the 21st Century''. Umbrello Records announced in January 2015 that

Jonas Reingold Jonas Reingold (born 22 April 1969) is a Swedish bass guitarist from Malmö. Biography Reingold started to play bass in 1986 when he subbed for a friend in the local famous act WIRE. The band was happy with his performance and offered him the ...

, Swedish bass player with the Flower Kings and Karmakanic, was producing the ''Trustworks'' album. ''Trustworks'' was released in March 2016 with the vinyl version of the album to follow in August 2016. Original guitarist John Painter died in 2016. The vinyl edition of the Syndestructible album was released in November 2018. This included a link to a previously unseen video of the Syn at the Marquee, the only live performance by the incarnation of the musicians that recorded what has been described as one of the best albums of the 21st Century: Steve Nardelli; Chris Squire; Paul Stacey; Gerard Johnson; Jeremy Stacey. In October 2021 Cherry Red released on their Grapefruit label a new version of the Syn early archival releases from the 60s called ''Flowerman - Rare Blooms From The Syn''.

Discography

Albums

*''Original Syn'' YesServices Limited edition - Umbrello/2004 *'' Syndestructible'' - Umbrello/2005 *''Original Syn'' -Umbrello/2005 *''Armistice Day'' - Umbrello/2007 *''Big Sky'' - Umbrello/2009 *''The Syn Live Rosfest'' - Umbrello/2015 *''Trustworks'' - Umbrello/2016 *''Flowerman Rare Blooms From The Syn''- Cherry Red/Grapefruit/2021

With various artists

*compilation: ''Roots of Yes 1964-68'' *various artists: ''The Psychedelic Scene'' *various artists: ''The Freakbeat Scene'' *various artists: ''Rubble Collection 3'' *various artists: ''Rubble Vol. 14, The Magic Rocking Horse'' *compilation:

''Can I Play You Something? (The Pre-Yes Years Recordings from 1964–1968)'', 1999 *various artists: ''Nuggets II'', 2001 *The Syn/Steve Howe/White More Drama Tour sampler

DVDs

*"Syndestructible Tour" - Umbrello/2007 *''The Making of Big Sky'' - Umbrello/2009 (released with ''The Syn Live Rosfest'') *''The Syn in the 21st Century'' - Umbrello/2015 (released with ''The Syn Live Rosfest'') *''The Syn:Live and Raw at the Marquee 2005'' -Umbrello/2018 (released as streaming bonus link with vinyl edition of ''Syndestructible'')

Singles

* "Created By Clive" / "Grounded" - Deram/1967 * "Flowerman" / "14 Hour Technicolour Dream" - Deram/1967 * "Cathedral of Love" - Umbrello/2006

References

External links

Official Site

The Syn
at Myspace
Steve Nardelli interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Syn, The Beat groups English psychedelic rock music groups English progressive rock groups Musical groups established in 1965 Deram Records artists