Mach One 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 ...

band, founded in 1980 by a group of students attending Burlington Danes High School in West London. After a series of studio demos, school gigs and lineup changes, the band attracted the attention of Keith Goodwin (notable as publicist for

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Rod Argent Rodney Terence Argent (born 14 June 1945) is an English musician. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Argent came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the keyboardist, founder and leader of the rock band the Zombies, and went on to form the ba ...

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, in the 1970s, and

Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog 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 mo ...

in the 1980s) who represented them through 1983-85. During this time Mach One embarked on a series of live shows at pubs and clubs around London, and universities across England, while releasing two albums, ''Six of One'' and ''Lost for Words'', that featured prominently in underground progressive rock fanzines (such as the Genesis Fanzine called ''Afterglow'') and specialist

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 ...

catalogues. However, in the more mainstream press they received mixed reviews for their second album, including a humorous 1-star review by

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in Sounds (a British music paper), although their live show was given a positive write-up in the same paper a few weeks thereafter by journalist Gareth Thompson. In 1984 they established a residency at The Cafe Emil in Kensington, London, one of the few places where they regularly sold out. Any success beyond this eluded them, and when

Pinnacle Records Pinnacle Entertainment was an entertainment group based in the United Kingdom spanning many divisions and primarily known as one of the UK's leading independent record labels and distributors. History In 1996, Windsong/Pinnacle was purchased by ...

, their main distribution company, declared bankruptcy the band decided to call it a day. The band briefly reformed in 1985 as a smaller three-piece to record material for a new concept album titled ''Could This Have Been Our Prehistory''. Although this has yet to be released officially, they did play the whole album live in its entirety at a few gigs in London but there was no plans to continue beyond that. Later that summer they were asked to play a last minute support gig at London's famous

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but it was the last time they were ever to play live.

Line-ups and the neo-progressive movement

Mach One were one of a small number of British bands formed during the early 1980s, including

, Pendragon, IQ,

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and Janysium, that was associated with the Progressive Rock revival of that decade, often referred to as the "Neo Progressive Rock Movement". The initial Mach One lineup founded by brothers Tim and Geoff Sprackling was more aligned with a straightforward rock style, with influences by the likes of

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

. The final lineup changes introduced yet more influences such as

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 ...

and

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from new singer Steve Fisher, and the styles of blues and funk from bassist Jon Bankes. The overall effect of these varied influences appeared to cause consternation amongst some of the more traditional progressive rock fans.

Band members

1985 line-up

* Tim Sprackling – keyboards * Geoff Sprackling – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass * Peter Matuchniak – rhythm and lead guitar, bass, backing vocals

1983-84 line-up

* Tim Sprackling – keyboards * Geoff Sprackling – lead guitar * Peter Matuchniak – rhythm guitar * Simon Strevens – drums, backing vocals * Steve Fisher – lead vocals * Jon Bankes – bass, backing vocals

1981-82 line-up

* Tim Sprackling – keyboards * Geoff Sprackling – lead guitar * Peter Matuchniak – rhythm guitar * Simon Strevens – drums, lead vocals * Martin Polley – bass

1980 line-up

* Tim Sprackling – keyboards * Geoff Sprackling – lead guitar * Martin Polley – bass * Dave Polley – drums * Steve Whalley – rhythm guitar, lead vocals

Discography

Albums

* ''Studio Sessions'' (cassette) (1982) * ''Six of One'' (cassette) (1983) * ''Lost for Words'' (LP) (1984) (distributed via

* ''Could This Have Been Our Prehistory'' (CD) (1985) (pending release)

Compilations

* ''

An Ancient Lie ''An Ancient Lie'' is a compilation of prior releases by the British progressive rock band Mach One. Released in 2002, it included songs like "Into The Pit" from their 1983 LP release '' Lost For Words'' (distributed via Pinnacle Records Pinn ...

'' (CD) (2000) (compilation from 1981–1984)

References

Bibliography

* Lucky, Jerry. ''The Progressive Rock Files''. Burlington, Ontario: Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc (1998), 304 pages, (paperback). Gives an overview of progressive rock's history as well as histories of the major and underground bands in the genre. Mentions the release of Mach One's LP ''Lost for Words'' in the 1983-84 chapter.

External links

Official Mach One MySpace pageOfficial Janysium MySpace pageProGGnosis review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mach One (Band) British progressive rock groups Musical groups established in 1983