Solstice are an English
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 ...
,
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
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*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
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*** Folk metal
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* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
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rock band formed in
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...
in 1980. They are led by guitarist Andy Glass, who is the sole founding member still in the band.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
described the group as a "
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 ...
band with heavy folk and
new age
New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
touches".
History
The band formed in 1980, and performed BBC sessions and received national music press coverage before splitting in 1985 (with one guest appearance in 1986). Their only album release in this period was 1984's ''Silent Dance''.
Interest generated by a CD reissue of ''Silent Dance'' led to a reunion in the nineties with two studio releases, ''New Life'' and ''Circles'', and a live album, ''The Cropredy Set''.
[
Guitarist Andy Glass once more put the band on hold in order to focus on band 3sticks. A DVD release of the Cropredy performance preceded another reunion in 2007, with the entire back catalogue being remastered and issued in expanded "Definitive Edition" form. The band then toured the UK and, for the first time, mainland Europe. In Spring 2022, Solstice undertook an extensive tour of the UK and mainland Europe in support of the Sia album. They also previewed a track from their then-to-be-released seventh studio album. Anyone pledging to pre-order the as yet unnamed album also received a free download of "Solstice Live at MK11" - a digital only live album recorded at the Crauford Arms in Wolverton, Bucks, UK on two nights in September 2021.
The new album, entitled Light Up, was launched at a one-day festival, also called Light Up and staged at the MK11 venue on 6 November 2022. Pre-ordered copies of the CD version were available at the show and had been distributed the previous week. The band toured extensively to support Light UP into 2023 whilst at the same time previewing new tracks for a third album in the Sia / Light Up Trilogy, as originally conceived by Andy Glass. The tour included a slot at ]Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
as well as regional shows in Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''.
Colchester occupies the ...
, Wavendon, Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...
, Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...
, a return to the Cropredy Festival with a mid-afternoon slot and opened the final day of Towersey Festival in Venue 65. The album received extensive critical acclaim in the music press and online.
Band members Andy Glass, Peter Helmsley, and Jenny Newman also work together in the band "3 Sticks".
Members
Current
*Andy Glass – guitars
*Jess Holland – vocals
*Peter Helmsley – drums
*Steven McDaniel – keyboards
*Jenny Newman – violin
*Robin Phillips – bass
*Ebony Buckle – backing vocals, additional keyboards
*Dyane Crutcher – backing vocals
Former
*Emma Brown – vocals
*Ken Bowley – bass
*Clive Bunker
Clive William Bunker (born 30 December 1946) is a British drummer. He is best known as the original drummer of the rock band Jethro Tull, playing in the band from 1967 until 1971. Never a self-professed technical drummer, Bunker engaged with ...
– drums
*Barbara Deason – vocals
*Marc Elton – violin, keyboards
*Mark Hawkins – bass
*Heidi Kemp – vocals
*Sandy Leigh – vocals
*Shelley Patt – vocals
*Sue Robinson – vocals
*Jen Sanin – vocals
*Craig Sunderland – bass
*Martin Wright – drums
Discography
Studio albums
*''Silent Dance'' (1984)
Live albums
*''The Cropredy Set'' (2002)
*''Kindred Spirits'' (2011)
*''Live in Veruno'' (2022)
* ''Return to Cropredy'' (2024)
Compilation albums
*''Pathways'' (1998)
*''The Beginners Guide To Solstice'' (2023)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
English progressive rock groups
Musical groups established in 1980
1980 establishments in England
Neo-progressive rock groups