Twelfth Night (band)

Twelfth Night are an English neo-progressive rock band of the 1980s, reformed between 2007 and 2012 and again in 2014. The BBC has described them as Reading's biggest band of the 1980s.

History

Formation

The seeds of Twelfth Night were sown when guitarist Andy Revell and drummer Brian Devoil joined forces on 23 February 1978 to win a talent competition at Reading University. The road crew included Geoff Mann as backdrop painter, and Rick Battersby as dry ice engineer. Devoil's previous musical experience was of various local bands in Reading, including ''Trash'' with whom he recorded a single ''"Priorities"'' released by Polydor in October the previous year. Revell's previous bands (in Bournemouth) included ''Joe Soap and The Bubbles'' and ''Abraxas''. Later in 1978, Clive Mitten wandered into a rehearsal and asked for a job. Devoil described Mitten as being very good in creating opportunities, convincing them when he said "you need a bass player". Mitten had previously played with local bands in Brighton, including Luna Hare.

Twelfth Night

Following a couple of gigs as the "Andy Revell Band", the band changed their name to Twelfth Night. In March 1979, the band completed its first recording which resulted in the 'legendary' Skan demo (Line-up: Devoil, Mitten, Revell). Later, during the Summer, they played one notable gig: a Midsummer Rock Concert at Reading University where friend Mann guested on vocals. After a couple of open-air concerts in the summer, the band retired to Mann's parents' home in Manchester for rehearsals taking Battersby with them. While there they played a gig in Salford to an audience of 10 year olds.

When Battersby and Mann joined the band it was their first musical venture, although Battersby had previously been classically trained in the piano. However, Mann decided to remain in Manchester to paint and work with a close friend, Peter Lawrence, in a two-piece "off the wall" band called the "God Stars". So Twelfth Night, having decided to forge ahead as an instrumental band, started gigging in earnest early in 1980. These early gigs were mainly pubs in the Home Counties.

Coming to notice

The band's first publicly available material was released in January 1980. This was an album featuring live versions of Fur Helene and Encore along with studio tracks Freddie Hepburn and Sequences. It was only available as a cassette and was named ''The First Tape Album''. Their first major breakthrough came when music paper "Musicians Only" voted this tape its "Demo of the Week". This was followed by an ecstatic gig review and full page article - the band's first national press.

To find a vocalist, the band advertised in '' Melody Maker'' and during that summer recruited American singer Electra MacLeod.

Electra added lyrics to a number of previously instrumental pieces, notably "The Cunning Man", "Abacus", "Keep The Aspidistra Flying" and "Sequences". Live recordings of this line-up remain unreleased.

The band, with Electra, recorded a second cassette album (known variously as ''Twelfth Night'', ''The Electra Tapes'' and ''Early Material'') which was released to coincide with an autumn tour. However, this did not work out and Electra left during November 1980. Despite this, a single, jokingly named "The First 7" Album" (TN001) was released that December featuring Electra's vocal contribution to "The Cunning Man" and a newly recorded short version of "Fur Helene".

Following Electra's departure the band quickly recorded a live album, '' Live at the Target'' (TN002). This album was released in February 1981 and was promoted by extensive live dates on a couple of which support was provided by "God Stars". This tour included the band's first gigs at the Marquee Club, London.

Success

The album ''Live at the Target'' was recorded over two days in January. This led to a publishing deal with Neptune - signed in March 1981 - and the initial success of the album prompted Pinnacle Records to offer a distribution deal which meant the band had product available nationally for the first time. It appeared in both Heavy Metal and Hippy charts in both Melody Maker and Sounds.

Once again the summer saw them searching for a vocalist. One track recorded with Reading vocalist Ian Lloyd-Jones in May 1981 was intended as a single, but did not materialise.

Eventually they recruited Mann once again and opened the Reading festival in August 1981, being only the second local band to appear at the event (after A.F.T. in 1976 who released one LP on Charisma that same year). Mann's own version of Sequences, debuted at Reading, would soon become a live staple and, ultimately, perhaps the best-loved Twelfth Night song.

After this they disappeared into the studio to demo some new songs. Some of the tracks from these demos were released on an LP length tape early in December 1981. Entitled '' Smiling at Grief'' (TN003) it also included Fur Helene Part II, one of the earliest tracks written in 1978 and not previously released. During this period Battersby left the band to pursue some solo projects. By this time, Live At The Target had also enjoyed significant sales in America, Scandinavia and Europe.

The band spent most of 1982 writing and recording the '' Fact and Fiction'' (TN006) album. Commenced in May it wasn't finally finished and released until December. Mitten doubled on keyboards in Battersby's absence and a few gigs were done as a four-piece that autumn.

During the summer, an offer to appear on TV came "out of the blue" and so the band performed East of Eden on the first ever David Essex Showcase. It was screened on BBC1 on 26 June 1982.

Two tracks which didn't find room on the Fact and Fiction album, Eleanor Rigby and East of Eden were released on single (REV009) in October 1982. Battersby then rejoined in December 1982, completing the line-up for the Fact and Fiction Tour which began in January 1983 and included the band's first headline gig at the Marquee. Bullet & Pinnacle Records took over distribution of the new album.

A new epic track, "The Collector", was performed and demoed during the first half of 1983.

In August 1983, the band once again performed at the Reading Festival. CBS records seemed poised to offer a recording deal after four demos were recorded for CBS the previous May.

Departure of Mann

In November 1983, Mann left after two sell-out gigs at the Marquee, which were recorded for a live album, ''Live and Let Live''. Mann commenced a solo career, and was replaced by vocalist/songwriter Andy Sears (ex Canis Major, Isis, Rapid Apple, and Silva) in December.

Consolidation

In January 1984, the band began an extensive period of touring with Andy Sears, coinciding with the release of the Live And let Live LP on the Music For Nations label (Cat. No. MFN18). Highlights included a slot supporting Pallas at Hammersmith Odeon, London, in March and several more gigs at the band's second home the Marquee Club - including one which was filmed. This concert went out "live" in several European countries and was recorded for subsequent broadcast in the UK as part of a series: "Live From London". Twelfth Night's performance has never been broadcast, but was later released on video entitled ''"The Creep Show"'' and a DVD "Live From London".

Immediately after touring the band signed a management and publishing deal with Hit and Run Music, joining Genesis and Peter Gabriel amongst others at the company.

While most of summer 1984 was spent preparing new material, including a major new song Take A Look, the band broke cover in July to play their first major London headline at the Dominion Theatre. It was a great success with some 1,500 people attending. In August the band travelled to Liverpool to record the ''Art and Illusion'' album with Gil Norton (of " Echo & the Bunnymen" fame) producing. Soon after its release in October it reached No. 83 in the national chart. The tour saw the band playing much larger venues than before and included the Dominion Theatre again and what turned out to be their only gig outside the UK, in Marburg, Germany.

1985 started with a couple of special birthday gigs at the Marquee under the pseudonym Jan Six and the Cryptk Clues which sold out in advance through the fan club. Most of the rest of the first half of the year was spent writing new material, some of which was tried out during the Corner of the World tour in May.

It seemed that the band were at last going to get a major record deal when Charisma Records decided to sign them. In July, however, the company went bust. Not dispirited the band played a charity gig (Wycombe Live Aid) followed by three consecutive nights at the Marquee - their 14th, 15th and 16th successive sell-out gigs there.

By September the band had selected the songs for the next album and began pre-production with producer John L. Walters. Recording of the album began November, and in December the band signed a major record deal with Virgin Records, who had by now taken over Charisma. The album was premiered at a special "showcase" concert at the Marquee in April 1986.

In May another special concert, this time at the London Town and Country Club, was filmed by the BBC
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