Fusion Orchestra was a British

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 active between 1969 and 1975.Fusion Orchestra official website
FusionOrchestra.com

History

The band was formed in 1969 by Dave Bell, Stan Land, and Colin Dawson, but the more recognisable incarnation was formed when

Jill Saward Jill Saward, also known by her married name Jill Drake (14 January 1965 – 5 January 2017) was an English campaigner on issues relating to sexual violence. She was the victim of a violent robbery and rape in 1986 at a vicarage in Ealing, Lond ...

joined on vocals in 1970. They performed regularly on the British club circuit in the early 1970s, clocking up over 500 gigs at venues such as 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 wh ...

before they eventually split in 1975. Their live performances were flamboyant and Saward's reputation for erotically charged on-stage antics drew both positive and negative publicity. In 1973, the band were signed by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, ...

, and released their only album ''Skeleton in Armour''. It contained four long and complex pieces in a progressive rock vein and a shorter single, "When My Mama's Not at Home", together with four short interlude tracks. The band continued touring, but 1974 saw a series of line-up changes, and eventually lead guitarist and founding member Colin Dawson quit the band at the end of that year. The guitar duties were taken over by

Alan Murphy Alan Murphy (18 November 1953 – 19 October 1989) was a British rock session guitarist, best remembered for his collaborations with Kate Bush and Go West. In 1988, he joined the jazz-funk band Level 42 as a full-time band member, and played wi ...

, who subsequently played with Go West and

Level 42 Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on the ...

. He played with the band until their final split in mid 1975. Saward sang in several bands and later went on to join

Shakatak Shakatak is an English jazz-funk band founded in 1980 by Nigel Wright and former Wigan Casino DJ Kev Roberts. Following an initial white label release 'Steppin', the band's name was derived from a record store in Soho, London Record Shack. ...

, with whom she still records and tours. Colin Dawson and a new line-up (Fusion Orchestra 2) released a new album in 2013 called ''Casting Shadows''.Fusion Orchestra 2 – ''Casting Shadows'' (2013) album
at FusionOrchestra2.com

Personnel

''Skeleton in Armour'' (1973)

– vocals, keyboards, flute (1970–1975) * Colin Dawson – lead guitar (1969–1974) * Stan Land – rhythm guitar (1969–1974) * Dave Cowell – bass (1972–1973) * Dave Bell – drums (1969–1975)

Other members

* Mick Sluman – bass (1969–1972) * Paul Jennings – bass (1973–1975) * Martin Slavinec – keyboards (1974) * Andy Blamire – rhythm guitar (1974) *

– lead guitar (1975)

Discography

* ''Skeleton in Armour'' (

, 1973) # "Fanfairy Suite for 1,000 Trampits (Part One)" # "Sonata in Z" # "Have I Left the Gas On?" # "OK Boys, Now's Our Big Chance" # "Skeleton in Armour" # "When My Mama's Not at Home" # "Don't Be Silly, Jilly" # "Talk to the Man in the Sky" # "Fanfairy Suite for 1,000 Trampits (Part Two)" Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London June–July 1973 *''Live at the Marquee 1974'' (

Secret Records ''Secret Records limited '' is a British independent record label based in London founded in 1980. The label specialize in a number of genres including blues, reggae, rock, rock 'n' roll, psychedelic, soul and punk. The label's roster include ...

Limited, 2018) # "Beginning End" # "Sister Reno" # "Talk to the Man in the Sky" # "To a Child" # "Set in the Rock # "Spinedance + drum solo" # "Skeleton in Armour" # "Ticket to Ride" # "Whole Lotta Shakin'" Official Bootleg Series – Unreleased live concert Marquee Club 1974.

Fusion Orchestra 2

Personnel

Elsie Lovelock ''Hazbin Hotel'' is an American adult animated musical series created by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano. The series revolves around Charlie Morningstar, princess of Hell, on her quest to find a way for demons to be "rehabilitated" and allowed i ...

– vocals * Colin Dawson – guitar * Ben Bell – keyboards * Shemeck Fraczek – bass * Seex Dyer – drums

Discography

* ''Casting Shadows'' (Patchwork Studios (UK), 2013) # "Don't Forget Your Keys" # "Leaving It All Behind" # "Troubled Dreams and Fairy Queens" # "Cider Sue" # "See What We Left Behind?" # "Secret Shadow" # "Unseen, Unheard, Unfinished"

References

External links

Fusion Orchestra official website
FusionOrchestra.com
Fusion Orchestra 2 official website
FusionOrchestra2.com
Fusion Orchestra biography, discography and album reviews, credits & releases
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

Fusion Orchestra discography, album releases & credits
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Fusion Orchestra 2 discography, album releases & credits
at

Fusion Orchestra
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Fusion Orchestra biography, discography, album credits & user reviews
at ProgArchives.com
Fusion Orchestra 2 biography, discography, album credits & user reviews
at ProgArchives.com
Fusion Orchestra albums to be listened
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Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

Fusion Orchestra 2 albums to be listened
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{{Authority control British progressive rock groups Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1975