It’s easy to picture Pendragon’s Nick Barrett at work in his Cornwall home, curious cows peering over his garden fence and Barrett noodling with his guitar while gazing thoughtfully out to sea. It’s a serene setting that provides rather a sharp contrast with some of the hardships endured over the first 45 years of Pendragon’s career.
“For me, this is the icing on the cake, really,” concurs Barrett. “All the time we were sleeping in vans and struggling with trying to make a living. At times we were living in one-bedroomed accommodation, getting into debt and doing shitty jobs just to keep things going. But now I can get up in the morning, play my guitar and stare out looking out at the view of the sea. It’s just fantastic and I’ve always got a few songs going around. I still play a lot and I really love it more than ever.”
Those character-building days of musician hardship of Pendragon’s formative years have certainly been on Barrett’s mind over recent years. With their last album, Love Over Fear, released back in 2020 and touring restricted, the guitarist began writing an autobiography. Although it remains an ongoing project, he’s also in the tentative stages of forming new music for his band.
“I started writing a book on Pendragon and I decided to get through the early years before I forget them,” he reflects with a laugh. “There were so many funny little things that happened and stories from over the years: sleeping in a van and crashing on people’s floors and just trying to get somewhere with the band. So it’s a story of the impossible dream in a way that if you want to do anything you can. It’s got this message in there as well as the humour side as well.
Esta historia es de la edición Issue 140 de Prog.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición Issue 140 de Prog.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
JAKKO M JAKSZYK
King Crimson's vocalist and guitarist shares anecdotes from his revealing new autobiography, discusses his lost career as a footballer and reveals what he said when he met the former king of pop.
A Part & Yet Apart
Sheffield-based 80s proggers Haze have returned with a new studio album, The Water's Edge - their third since their 2013 comeback record, The Last Battle. Prog catches up with threequarters of the band to discuss Haze's DIY ethos, the curse of prog and playing to Cumbrian sheep farmers.
CONTROLLED AIRSPACE
He's about to embark on Dream Theater's 40th Anniversary Tour, but keyboard maestro Jordan Rudess has taken time out to discuss his soaring new solo album, Permission To Fly.
On The Wing
Birds, break-ups, big choruses and the Charlie Chaplin effect can all be found on In Murmuration, the ninth album from Finland's Von Hertzen Brothers. But as they embrace their power pop influences, have the Finns cast off their prog wizard cloaks once and for all? Mikko von Hertzen talks about the Seattle influence, songwriting secrets and sax solos.
Fourth Dimension
The stock of melodic Northumberland-based proggers Stuckfish has been rising since they formed six years ago. Their fourth studio album, Stuckfish IV, represents an important watershed in the band's musical evolution. Co-founders Adrian Fisher and Phil Stuckey tell Prog about the diverse influences that have helped to shape it.
Symphly The Best
In the 70s, Barclay James Harvest almost bankrupted themselves by performing with an orchestra, but, several decades on, they’re celebrating last year’s performance with the Slaithwaite Philharmonic, captured on their latest live record, Philharmonic! The Orchestral Concert. John Lees reminisces over the band’s ambitious early years and bassist Craig Fletcher fills Prog in on JLBJH’s upcoming “progtastic” double album.
We've Not Been Expecting You
The unpredictable Frost* are back with Life In The Wires, a bold double concept album that revisits the mood of Milliontown. Bandleader Jem Godfrey tells Prog why he rolled out the solos on a record he describes as the most fun since their dazzling debut.
FAR HORIZONS AND PANORAMIC AMBITIONS
Dutch five-piece Lesoir have been steadily gathering momentum over the last 15 years, and they hope to build on that with their latest release, Push Back The Horizon. Vocalist/ instrumentalist Maartje Meessen and guitarist Ingo Dassen discuss the creation of their sixth album, working with Muse's production team, and their dream of bringing their intricate music to new audiences.
'I mean, what is classical nowadays?'
Tony Banks reflects on his role as a 21st-century classical composer.
There Can Be Only One!
Never meet your heroes, or so the saying goes, but Opeth have had a blast working with Ian Anderson on their latest, The Last Will And Testament. Bandleader Mikael Åkerfeldt and guitarist Fredrik Åkesson discuss the band's proggiest album to date, the return of the growl and why blood isn't always thicker than water.
