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The
first incarnation of Renaissance was formed in 1969 by Jim McCarty
(drums) and Keith Relf (guitar/vocals), both formerly with the Yardbirds.
Together with Keith’s sister Jane Relf on vocals, pianist John Hawken
(formerly of the Nashville Teens), and bassist Louis Cennamo, this
line-up soon produced a classically tinged album unsurprisingly entitled
Renaissance, which also
featured elements of jazz, folk and eastern influences. The album was
moderately successful, charting at no. 60 in the UK, and on the live
circuit, the band were able to play at major venues, particularly in the
USA. A
second album Illusion followed in 1971, featuring the same line-up, although
it was not released worldwide until 1973. Significantly two songs from Illusion
featured lyrical contributions from Cornish poetess Betty Thatcher, who
was to contribute to future Renaissance albums. By the time the album
was released, the original line-up had all but ceased to exist. Jim
McCarty was first to leave, with Keith Relf and Louis Cennamo soon
following to pursue a heavier direction with the band Armageddon. Before
leaving though, McCarty did bring his friend Michael Dunford into the
band in an attempt to keep it going. Guitarist and songwriter Dunford
had previously worked with John Hawken in the Nashville Teens, however
Hawken soon quit the band to join Spooky Tooth and eventually The
Strawbs. Although the band managed a European tour in 1970, by the end
of that year, not a single member of the original line-up remained. John
Hawken’s replacement on keyboards was John Tout, and although the band
briefly tried an American singer called Binky Cullom, a permanent
replacement for Jane Relf came in the form of the brilliant young
classically trained singer Annie Haslam. Bizarrely, McCarty and Keith
Relf were still active behind the scenes at this point and presided over
Annie’s audition. In 1972, the line-up consisted of Annie Haslam,
Michael Dunford and John Tout, together with vocalist Terry Crowe,
drummer Terry Slade, and bassist Neil Korner. The band toured
extensively in Europe, and during this period a succession of bass
players came and went including John Wetton, later to achieve worldwide
fame with Asia and UK. By 1973, McCarty and Relf had relinquished their behind-the-scenes role in Renaissance, and Miles Copeland had taken over as the band’s manager. Copeland advised holding more auditions, and a permanent bass player was eventually found in Jon Camp, with Terry Sullivan taking over as the new drummer. The
‘classic’ Renaissance line-up was almost complete save for Michael
Dunford taking a mainly compositional role in the band at this stage,
and various guitarists were used as the band toured extensively. Indeed,
the first album in 1972 by this line-up Prologue
featured songs by Dunford with lyrics by Betty Thatcher in addition to
two Dunford instrumentals and also earlier collaborations between Keith
Relf and Thatcher. Prologue was relatively successful and its successor Ashes
Are Burning even more so, with its use of an orchestra, a guest
appearance by Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash, and a generally more acoustic
sound. Even more significant was the return of Michael Dunford as the
band’s guitarist, even though strangely his name did not appear on the
prematurely-printed sleeve notes. By
1975 the band’s profile had begun to reach a new high, aided by a new
deal with Sire Records and a new album Turn
Of The Cards. This
album received heavy airplay on both sides of the Atlantic, and
Renaissance were soon playing some decidedly high profile shows
including London’s Royal Albert Hall (with the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra), and a three night sell-out at New York’s Carnegie Hall
with the New York Philharmonic, which was recorded and later released as
a double live album. These shows were staged to promote the very
well-received and classically influenced 1976 album Scheherazade
and Other Stories. A
move to the giant Warner Brothers label soon followed, resulting in the Novella
album in 1977, which featured shorter songs and a more electric sound
partly due to Jon Camp becoming more involved in the songwriting. Annie
Haslam also found time to produce a solo album Annie
In Wonderland in collaboration with Roy Wood. As
Punk Rock rode high in the charts and dominated the media, one could be
forgiven for thinking that 1978 would not be a good year for
Renaissance, but nothing could be further from the truth. The band
enjoyed a huge Top 10 hit in the UK charts with the song
Northern Lights, and the follow up single Back Home Once Again (which was also used as a TV show theme)
also did well. Both tracks appeared on the album A Song For All Seasons,
which enjoyed major sales and airplay. Renaissance were not afraid to
have a pop at the punks either, and some widely reported and quite
barbed comments about the New Wave did nothing to harm the band’s
profile. By
contrast, the next album Azure
d’Or was not particularly successful. The musical tide was now
changing fast and in an attempt to make the band sound more
contemporary, the symphonic epics had made way for shorter tracks and
synthesisers, which was not popular with many fans. A further blow came
in 1980 when John Tout decided to leave the band, closely followed by
Terry Sullivan. Annie
Haslam, Michael Dunford and Jon Camp nonetheless decided to carry on,
and with Peter Gosling on keyboards and Peter Barron on drums, they
recorded Camera
Camera in 1981, which was well received by the critics. Not so
well received was the 1983 follow-up Time
Line which although containing some excellent pop songs, failed
to impress the band’s supporters. Although the tour to support the
album was successful, by the end of 1984, the band no longer had a
record deal. Although Annie and Michael Dunford continued to tour as an
acoustic group using American musicians for backup, Renaissance finally
disbanded in 1987. In
the ensuing years, much of the Renaissance back catalogue became
available on CD, and there were also been live CD releases and a
rarities compilation Songs
From Renaissance Days. Annie Haslam continued to enjoy success
with her solo releases and Michael Dunford continued to write, and
though they were by now living on opposite sides of the Atlantic, they
collaborated in 1998 to promote a proposed stage musical version of Scheherazade.
This collaboration soon assumed an even more ambitious nature, as work
began on recording a new CD together with Terry Sullivan and John Tout,
with Roy Wood producing and sharing bass duties with Alex Caird. Initial
sessions took place in Terry Sullivan’s studio in the New Forest, with
work being completed in Astra Studios, Canterbury. John Tout was
unavailable for the later sessions, but a very able and permanent
permanent deputy was soon found in the shape of Mickey Simmonds,
formerly with Camel, Mike Oldfield and Fish. With the release in Europe
of Tuscany scheduled for October 2001, a new era seems ready to
unfold for Renaissance, and it is to be hoped that the band will play
some live shows in 2002.
The
following Renaissance CD is available through G.E.P. Limited: |
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