Jadis are a British

neo-prog Neo-progressive rock (commonly abbreviated neo-prog) is a subgenre of progressive rock that developed in the UK in the early 1980s. The genre's most popular band, Marillion, achieved mainstream success in the decade. Several bands from the ge ...

group. They play guitar-driven rock with the use of synthesisers to add depth and atmosphere, and an emphasis on melody. They were previously signed to

InsideOut Music Inside Out Music is a German progressive rock record label originally based in Kleve, North Rhine-Westphalia, and dedicated to the publication of progressive rock, progressive metal and related styles. In 2009, it formed a partnership with Centu ...

. The name Jadis is taken from the novel ''The Magician's Nephew'' by

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

. The same character appears as the White Witch in ''The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe''

History

Jadis were formed in 1982 and in 1987 self-released the cassette ''Jadis'', which was produced by Marillion's

Steve Rothery Steven Rothery (born 25 November 1959) is an English musician who is the original guitarist and the longest continuous member of the progressive rock band Marillion. Outside Marillion, Rothery has recorded two albums as part of the duo The Wis ...

. In

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, ''More Than Meets the Eye'' was released and was received well in the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

scene. Jadis are led by Gary Chandler (

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

), although generally the whole group are given songwriting credit. Other original members of the band were Trevor Dawkins (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

), Pete Salmon ( keyboards) and Paul Alwin (

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

), who was replaced by Mark Law in July 1988. Later members were

Martin Orford Martin Orford (born 10 June 1959, Bitterne, Southampton) is an English keyboard player and singer. He is best known as the founder of progressive rock bands IQ and Jadis. He also worked with former King Crimson, U.K. and Asia bassist John Wetton ...

( keyboards),

John Jowitt John Jowitt is a British bass guitarist known for his work with several neo-prog bands such as Ark, IQ, Arena, Jadis and Frost*, as well as filling in for Trevor Bolder in Uriah Heep in 2013. He has been awarded the British Classic Rock Socie ...

(

) and Steve Christey (

). Orford and Jowitt were also members of IQ during that time. In the late 1990s, Orford and Jowitt left the band for a while and were replaced by Mike Torr ( keyboards) and Steve Hunt (

), but they returned for

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

's ''Understand''. After completing their album ''Photoplay'' in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, Orford left the band for a second time because he retired from the music industry. He was replaced with Italian session pianist/keyboardist Giulio Risi but has since rejoined. The same year, Jowitt also left the band again, and was replaced with session player Andy Marlow. The band released the album ''See Right Through You'' in 2012, followed by ''No Fear of Looking Down'' in 2016. After two compilations the album ''More Questions Than Anwers'' was released in 2024. The band are based in Southampton.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Jadis'' (LP, 1989) * ''More Than Meets the Eye'' (1992) * ''Across the Water'' (1994) * ''Somersault'' (1997) * ''Understand'' (2000) * ''Fanatic'' (2003) * ''More Than Meets the Eye'' (Special Edition) (2005) * ''Photoplay'' (2006) * ''See Right Through You'' (2012) * ''No Fear of Looking Down'' (2016) * ''More Than Meets the Eye'' (25th Anniversary Edition) (2017) * ''More Questions Than Answers'' (2024)

EPs

* ''Once Upon a Time'' (1993) * ''No Sacrifice'' (1994) * ''Once or Twice'' (1996) * ''Racing Sideways'' (Promotional CD to support the "Understand" Album) (2000) * ''The Great Outside'' (Promotional CD to support the "Fanatic" Album) (2003)

Live and compilation albums

* ''As Daylight Fades'' (1998) (live) * ''Medium Rare'' (2001) (compilation of two earlier EPs, ''Once Upon a Time'' and ''Once or Twice'', plus some additional tracks) * ''Alive Outside'' (2001) (live) * ''Starting Point'' (2017) * ''Medium Rare II'' (2019) * ''Live Snapshot'' (2025)

Videos/DVD

* ''View From Above'' (2003)

References

External links

Official website
* * {{Authority control English progressive rock groups Neo-progressive rock groups Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups from Southampton Metal Mind Productions artists Inside Out Music artists