Comus are a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

progressive folk band who had a brief career in the early 1970s. Their first album, '' First Utterance'', has garnered them a

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

that persists to today. They reunited in 2009, and have played several festivals and released a new album called ''Out of the Coma''.

History

Comus was formed in 1969 by art students Roger Wootton and Glenn Goring, who developed their musical style performing in folk clubs in and around

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

in Kent. The band was named after '' Comus'' (a

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A mas ...

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

), and also after the name of the Greek god Comus. The band grew from an early folk duo to a six-piece ensemble; in that later form,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

came to appreciate them. They appeared regularly at his

Arts Lab The Arts Lab was an alternative arts centre, founded in 1967 by Jim Haynes at 182 Drury Lane, London. Although only active for two years, it was influential in inspiring many similar centres in the UK, continental Europe and Australia, includ ...

project in

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...

, Kent. He also invited them to be his support act in a 1969 concert at London's Purcell Rooms. Their first album, '' First Utterance'', with cover art by Wootton and Goring, appeared in 1971. The music is largely

acoustic music Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the a ...

that blends elements of Eastern percussion, early folk and animal-like vocals. The lyrics involve violence, murder, mental disorder and the mystical. Tiny Mix Tapes rated ''First Utterance'' five stars out of five. After the album, woodwind player Rob Young was replaced by

Lindsay Cooper Lindsay Cooper (3 March 1951 – 18 September 2013) was an English bassoon and oboe player and composer. Best known for her work with the band Henry Cow, she was also a member of Comus, National Health, News from Babel and David Thomas and th ...

, and the new lineup developed material for a never-released second album. No recording by this lineup would see the light of day for another 40 years. The group disbanded for a time, but Wootton, Andy Hellaby and Bobbie Watson reformed the band with new members for their second album, ''To Keep from Crying'', in 1974. A complete box set was released in 2005; this features both studio albums, their only single, "Diana", and a previously unreleased track called "All the Colours of Darkness". The liner notes feature an exclusive interview with some members of the band. They reformed for the Mellotronen Festival in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in March 2008. They have continued to perform occasional gigs, including some new material. On 13 June 2009, Comus performed for the first time in the UK in 37 years, at the Equinox Festival at

Conway Hall Conway Hall in Red Lion Square, London, is the headquarters of the Conway Hall Ethical Society. It is a Grade II listed building. History The building was commissioned by the South Place Ethical Society, which had previously been accommodated ...

. A reunion album, ''Out of the Coma'', was released in June 2012. It contains three new tracks: "Out of the Coma", "The Sacrifice" (both written by Wootton) and "The Return" (written by Goring), plus a 1972 live recording of unfinished material from their abandoned follow-up to ''First Utterance'', "The Malgaard Suite". Sputnik Music rated ''Out of the Coma'' 3.5 out of 5. Louder Sound rated it four stars out of five. The members were active outside Comus. Wootton also appears on some recordings by

Slapp Happy Slapp Happy was a German/English avant-pop group, formed in Germany in 1972. Their lineup consisted of Anthony Moore (keyboards), Peter Blegvad (guitar) and Dagmar Krause (vocals). The band members moved to England in 1974 where they merg ...

. Cooper went on to join

Henry Cow Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...

. Reed player Jon Seagroatt is also a member of free-improvising trio Red Square. Colin Pearson went on to produce hits for other artists, including " Forever Young" for Alphaville. Seagroatt and singer Bobbie Watson married in 2003.

Influence

In 1998,

Opeth Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. The band incorporates folk music, folk, blues, classical music, classical, and jazz elements into its usually lengthy compositions, as well as strong influences from deat ...

singer and songwriter

Mikael Åkerfeldt Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt (; born 17 April 1974)Mikael Åkerfeldt
, Op ...

used part of a sentence from "Drip Drip" for the title of the album ''

My Arms, Your Hearse ''My Arms, Your Hearse'' is the third studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth, released in August 1998. It was the band's first album to be released simultaneously in Europe, through Candlelight Records, and in the United States, thr ...

''. The full line was "As I carry you to your grave, my arms your hearse". The song "Moonlapse Vertigo" from Still Life contains the lyric "Across the leafy pathway," which was taken from Comus' "Diana." Another nod to Comus was given on the 2005 Opeth album '' Ghost Reveries''. The second track, "The Baying of the Hounds", was derived from a line in the song "Diana" which reads, "And she knows by the sound of the baying, by the baying of the hounds". English

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

band

Current 93 Current 93 are an English experimental music group, founded in 1982 by David Tibet. Much of Current 93's early work was similar to late 1970s and early 1980s industrial music: abrasive tape loops, droning synthesizer noises and Tibet's distorte ...

covered the song "Diana" from ''First Utterance'' on their studio album '' Horsey''. Musically, this version differs considerably from the original, with

David Tibet David Tibet (born David Michael Bunting; 5 March 1960) is an English poet, artist and musician. He is best known for the musical group Current 93, which he founded and is the only consistent member of, along with his contributions to the b ...

singing the

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

in an agonized fashion and constructing most of the song from a loop based around a vertiginous violin arrangement from the original.

Personnel

;Current members *Roger Wootton – acoustic guitar, lead vocals (1969–1972, 1974, 2008–present) *Glenn Goring – 6–12 acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide, hand drums, backing vocals (1969–72, 2008–present) *Andy Hellaby – Fender bass, slide bass, backing vocals (1969–1972, 1974, 2008–present) *Colin Pearson – violin, viola (1969–72, 2008–present) *Bobbie Watson – lead and backing vocals, percussion (1969–1972, 1974, 2008–present) *Jon Seagroatt – flute, oboe, hand drums (2008–present) ;Former members *Rob Young – flute, oboe, hand drums (1969–71) *Gordon Coxon – drums (1974) *Keith Hale – keyboards (1974) *

– bassoon (1972, 1974)

Discography

;Studio albums *'' First Utterance'' (1971) *'' To Keep from Crying'' (1974) *''Out of the Coma'' (2012) ;Live albums *''East of Sweden: Live at Melloboat Festival 2008'' (2011) *''Out of the Coma'' (2012) recorded 1972 ;Box sets *''Song to Comus: The Complete Collection'' (2005) ;EPs *"Diana / In the Lost Queen's Eyes / Winter is a Coloured Bird" (1971) ;Roger Wootton solo single *"Fiesta Fandango" / "New Tide"

References

External links

* *
2010 interview with Roger Wootton on Prog Sphere
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comus Psychedelic folk groups Progressive folk groups British folk rock groups Dawn Records artists Freak folk groups