Pendragon began during the  early 80's, around the same time as Marillion, Twelfth Night and IQ. Though considered  `neo-progressive (in a symphonic-rock sort of way),'  Pendragon has remained more creative and  distinctive  than the before mentioned bands. Pendragon was influenced by: Camel, Yes, early-Genesis, and Pink Floyd but later created their own mini-niche of NeoProg.

      Pendragon  began under the name of Zeus Pendragon, performing mostly  cover tunes with many line-up changes.

      In 1984 the band, with their  shortened name of  Pendragon, were discovered by Marillion's manager John Arnison.

The four song EP  `Fly High Fall Far,' was released, then a  full-length album called `The Jewel' followed in 1985. The album sports memorable and melodic  guitar solos. The band's  the line-up at the time was: of Nick Barrett (vocals, guitar), bassist Peter Gee, Nigel Harris (drums) and keyboardist Rik Carter. Though lacking the finer production skills of future albums, `The Jewel,' one of Pendragons best filled with energy & power. Song favorites  from the album are still-  "The Black Knight", and "Leviathan."

Soon after  drummer Fudge Smith (Steve Hackett) and keyboardist Clive Nolan (Shadowland, Strangers On A Train, Arena) joined the band and Pendragon released a few singles and a live album titled `9:15 Live.'

       1988's `Kowtow,'  contained some shorter, simpler songs, including  fan favorites-  "The Haunting" and "Total Recall." Songwriter Nick Barrett began to take on some serious topics, including the immorality of war in the title track "Kowtow". The band began finding a devoted live following from their concert tours.

       `The World,' released in  1991, found the band finding their own style, thanks to  Barrett's  unique and recognizable voice and his guitar work (influenced by axe-masters- Andy Latimer (Camel) and Mike Oldfield), which showcased his emotion and fluidity. The album's epic 22 minute song- "Queen of Hearts,"   proved that the band was not just another Marillion clone. During the ensuing tour, Pendragon released a raw-sounding  live album-  `The Very, Very Bootleg.'

1993's `The Window of Life,' showed greater use of melody and after a tour, the live recording- `Utrecht: The Final Frontier,' followed in 1995, with far better sound quality and production than earlier live recordings. The band performed in Los Angeles in 1995, for their  first US concert.

      `The Masquerade Overture,' released in 1996 (my favorite Pendragon album), adds more instrumental interplay (especially guitar and keyboards), some classical overtones and some better  production. The cover artwork by Simon Williams is beautiful. It's a great album for anyone who is checking out Pendragon's music for the first time.  The album sold over 60,000 copies, mostly on their own label, Toff Records.  As a follow-up, the band released a four song EP, `As Good as Gold.' A  live album (and concert video)-  `Live in Kraków,' was released after the tour.

      Because of Pendragon members working on various projects, the band didn't release a studio  album from 1996-2000, but  some compilation albums in various countries have been released.  The Polish compilation album `The History: 1982-2000' (The band appeared for the first time on French TV in 2000),  included new acoustic recordings of two Pendragon favorites and a video section.

       `Not Of This World,' their first studio release since `The Masquerade Overture,' was released on  April  2, 2001, it's concept draws directly from the experiences of guitarist/vocalist Nick Barrett's personal life over the last five years. A good album, the disk is full  of warmth, epic drama  and emotional soundscapes. It received solid reviews.  The band  will tour Europe until the end of the year and will follow with a world tour.

Pendragon Discography:

* The Jewel (1985)

* 9:15 Live (1986)

* Kowtow (1989)

* The R(B)est Of Pendragon (1991) incl. Fly High... EP

* The World (1991)

* The Very, Very Bootleg - Live In Lille, France 1992 (1993)

* The Window Of Life (1993)

* Fallen Dreams and Angels  EP (1994)

* Utrecht... The Final Frontier (1995)

* The Masquerade Overture (1996)

* As Good As Gold ep (1996)

* Live... At Last! (video) (1997)

* Live In Kraków 96 (1997)

* The Masquerade Overture (1999)

* Once Upon A Time In England Vol 1 (1999)

* Once Upon A Time In England Vol 2 (1999)

* The Round Table (1985-1998) (1999)

* The History: 1984-2000 (2000)

* Not Of This World (2001)