Landmarq (pronounced like "landmark"
) are a British
neo-progressive rock
Neo-progressive rock (also known as neo-prog) is a subgenre of progressive rock which 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 genre have c ...
band. Since forming in 1990, they have so far released a total of ten albums, four of which were recorded live at various concerts in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, plus two full concert DVDs.
History
Initially signing to a Dutch record company, SI Music, then forming their own label, Synergy Records, the band have established themselves within the world of
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 ...
, though their style may also extend into
album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock.
Album-orient ...
,
melodic rock
Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of p ...
,
hard rock and even a slightly
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
edge.
Vocalist
Damian Wilson
Damian Wilson (born 11 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Wilson works in the progressive metal genre and was the lead singer of Headspace and Threshold. He sang and toured with bands and projects for Star One, Ayreo ...
left the band after three albums to concentrate on his solo career and the band found a replacement in Ian 'Moon' Gould. He spent a year with the band, playing various gigs in the UK and the Netherlands, before deciding to move on. It was at this point that Landmarq decided to go for a radical change to their sound and recruited the long-time friend of the band, Tracy Hitchings, who formerly sang with Quasar.
Landmarq have played concerts in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Poland, Italy, the US and Mexico; both as support and as headliners at various festivals and music venues. The band have worked with many including
Marillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mos ...
,
Focus
Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to:
Arts
* Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film
*''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore
* ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...
,
John Wetton
John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Known for his dexterous bass playing and booming baritone voice, Wetton first gained fame in the early 1970s.
Wetton was the singer and p ...
,
Steve Hackett
Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...
,
Hugh McDowell
Hugh Alexander McDowell (31 July 1953 – 6 November 2018)[ELO and ...](_blank)
,
Nik Turner
Nicholas Robert Turner (26 August 1940 – 10 November 2022) was an English musician, best known as a member of space rock pioneers Hawkwind. Turner played saxophone and flute, as well as being a vocalist and composer. While with Hawkwind, ...
,
Annie Haslam
Annie Haslam (born 8 June 1947) is an English vocalist, songwriter and painter. She is best known as the lead singer of progressive rock band Renaissance since 1971, and for her long and diverse solo singing career. She has a five-octave vocal r ...
IQ,
Pendragon
Pendragon or ( wlm, pen dreic, ''pen dragon''; composed of Welsh , 'head, chief, top' and / '' dragon'', 'dragon; warrior'; borrowed from the Latin word , plural , 'dragon , br, Penn Aerouant) literally means 'chief dragon' or 'head dragon', but ...
,
Arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectato ...
and
Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of hit singles that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, reaching No. 1 in th ...
.
Apart from making strong in-roads into Europe and America, Landmarq have reached further territories worldwide, as far afield as Russia, eastern Europe, the Far East, and Australia through various magazine/webzine articles, interviews, radio air-play and also compilation CDs from various music magazines.
The band's first DVD was released in March 2006. Entitled ''Turbulence – Live In Poland'', it featured Landmarq filmed in concert at the Wyspianski Theatre,
Katowice
Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most populo ...
, in November 2005. The DVD was released by the Polish label
Metal Mind Productions
Metal Mind Productions (MMP) is a Polish record label founded in 1987. The label focuses on rock and heavy metal. MMP is also publisher of ''Metal Hammer'', the largest and the oldest heavy metal magazine. As a concert agency, it organises Met ...
. The DVD also comprised a wealth of bonus material including audio and video archive tracks, an interview with the band, and photo gallery.
Following an enforced break for a few years, Landmarq re-emerged in 2012 with the release of their fifth album, ''Entertaining Angels'', a 'Special Edition' double-CD set. This was followed up with "Angels On Tour", a series of live dates through 2012-2013, that saw Landmarq performing in various festivals and venues again in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
Personnel
Members
;Current members
* Uwe D'rose - guitars
(1990–present)
* Steve Gee - basses, vocals
(1990–present)
* Mike Varty - keyboards, vocals
(2005–present)
* Andy Allen - drums
(2018–present)
* Wolf Campen - lead vocals
(2018–present)
;Former members
* Dave Wagstaffe - drums
(1990-2012)
* Steve Leigh - keyboards, vocals
(1990–2002)
* Rob Lewis-Jones - lead vocals
(1990-1991)
*
Damian Wilson
Damian Wilson (born 11 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Wilson works in the progressive metal genre and was the lead singer of Headspace and Threshold. He sang and toured with bands and projects for Star One, Ayreo ...
- lead vocals
(1991-1993, 1995-1996)
* Ian 'Moon' Gould - lead vocals
(1993-1995)
*
Tracy Hitchings - lead vocals
(1996-2017, died 2022)
*
Gonzalo Carrera
Gonzalo Carrera is a Spanish keyboard player who has performed in several progressive rock bands. He is best known as a former member of the British progressive rock bands Landmarq (2002–2005) and more recently Karnataka (2005–2010).
Carrera h ...
- keyboards
(2002–2005)
* Danny Martin - drums
(2012-2017)
Lineups
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Solitary Witness'' (1992)
* ''Infinity Parade'' (1993)
* ''The Vision Pit'' (1995)
* ''Science of Coincidence'' (1998)
* ''Entertaining Angels'' (2012)
* ''Entertaining Angels - Vinyl 2-LP Set'' (2014)
Live albums
* ''Thunderstruck'' (1999)
* ''Aftershock'' (2002)
* ''Turbulence - Live in Poland'' (2006 - DVD, 2009 - CD only)
* ''RoadSkill - Live in The Netherlands'' (2015 - DVD+CD set)
Compilations
*''Origins: A Landmarq Anthology'' (2014) is a 2 disc compilation CD featuring songs taken from their debut album to their 2012 album, plus an additional brand new song, also entitled "Origins".
Other compilations
*''SI 10th Anniversary Compilation Disc'' (1991 - SI Music) was the first-ever CD featuring Landmarq. This compilation, from the band's first record label in the Netherlands, features the abridged version of "Suite: St. Helens".
*''SI (Germany) Compilation Disc Too'' (1992 - SI Music) features a track not used for first studio album ''Solitary Witness'', entitled "Borrowed Mind". This track was later included on the Japanese release of ''Infinity Parade''.
*''Progressive & Melodic Rock Vol. 1'' (1993 - SI Music) features "Terracotta Army".
*''Progressive & Melodic Rock Vol. 3'' (1994 - SI Music) features "Gaia's Waltz".
*''Master Volume Perfect Compilation Series Vol. 5'' (1994 - Zero Corp) is a Japanese compilation CD featuring "Embrace".
*''Classic Rock'' (1994 - SI Music) features "Embrace".
*''Hard Rock Magazine Ltd Edition'' (1996 - CNR Music) features "Cutting Room" and "Bed Of Nails".
*''Mellotron 20'' (1998 - CD Sampler) is a compilation CD from ''Mellotron'' magazine (Argentina) featuring "The Overlook", taken from ''Science Of Coincidence''.
*''Music From The Underground'' (1998 - sysy) is a compilation CD from German magazine ''Eclipsed'' featuring "The Vision Pit" from ''Science Of Coincidence''.
*''The Hawke Chill-Out Sessions'' (2006) is a CD compiled by radio presenter and DJ Terry Hawke, with artists he has featured on his show on
Harborough FM
Harborough FM (HFM) is a community radio station covering Market Harborough, South Leicestershire and North Northamptonshire in England.
HFM was originally formed in November 1994 with the aim to provide a local FM radio station for Market ...
. It includes the track "Heritage" from ''Aftershock''.
*''Mellotron 35 - Decimo Anniversario'' (2006 - CD Sampler) is a 10th anniversary compilation CD from ''Mellotron'' magazine featuring "Thunderstruck", taken from ''Turbulence - Live in Poland''.
DVDs
* ''Turbulence - Live in Poland'' (2006)
* ''RoadSkill - Live in The Netherlands'' (2015)
References
External links
Official website*
{{Authority control
British progressive rock groups