Twelfth Night
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=111724
Printed Date: March 06 2025 at 10:16
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Twelfth Night
Posted By: -B-
Subject: Twelfth Night
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 06:34
| New forum member here and really enjoying the content, will likely touch on topics already discussed in past but here goes. Was wondering if there is any love for Twelfth Night hereabouts? As a teenager I was blown away with the Art and Illusion album but if honest enjoyed all their output with both singers. Interested in anybody's recollections.....Reading Festival, Marquee gigs etc |
Replies:
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 06:51
Hi. Welcome to PA  I have Art & Illusion, but that's all by Twelfth Night. Must admit, I've not listened to it for many years, but enjoyed it at the time, along with other neo acts like Pallas and IQ, although I enjoy classic prog far more. I remember TN being very good musicians. Don't worry about touching on topics already discussed. It happens, even among established members at times I hope you enjoy the forum experience!------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: -B-
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 08:02
| Cheers man, don't get me started on IQ and Pallas or we will be here all day!! I have a pretty varied and wide taste in most versions of all things prog (and beyond). Was why this place appealed, looking foward to being aboard! |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 09:19
|
Welcome a-B-oard. I expect that there would be some here who some them live in the day, but this place hasn't been as busy of late due to Captcha "are you a robot?") posting issues.... Not that it's been giving me much problem. I'm not big on Neo-Prog on the whole, although there certainly is NWOBPR stuff I like (the New Wave of British Prog Rock). I do like Twelfth Night's debut, Fact and Fiction and I enjoy the New Wave influence. For that matter I like Pallas debut and early IQ can be good for me. I didn't get to know Twelfth Night band at all until the 2000s and not being in the UK, I never saw them live. I wonder if Lazland and/or Hercules have? Other than Fact and Fiction, I haven't explored the band too much (a little off the instrumental live album, Live at the Target). |
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 10:04
|
In response to Greg, no, I never did get to see Twelfth Night in the day, but enjoyed Fact & Fiction, and, somewhat of a rarity amongst members, the self titled album. There is, however, a reason why they did not last the course, unlike IQ, Marillion, and Pallas, and that was they simply were not as good, I am afraid. Plenty of promise, but ultimately unfulfilled. ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org Now also broadcasting on www.progzilla.com Every Saturday, 4.00 p.m. UK time! |
Posted By: noni
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 10:51
| Another good album is Live at Target... I have all their albums and the track The Collectors item is just stunning. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 10:57
|
Thanks for responding, Steve. And re-reading my post I see that I erroneously claimed that Fact and Fiction is a debut. I caught my error when composing it but still failed to correct it. I think the thing with IQ is that they evolved well. It did sort of start off sounding like a Genesis clone, which is fine since I like Genesis, but changed over time. I think that the original singer of Twelfth Night must have put some people off, and the music is not as intricate and nuanced as IQ, methinks. By the way, I said, I'm not that big on Neo-Prog, although I've long liked some albums in that category, but when I was listening to at first when I was most into really experimental music, and melodic music actually sounded odd to my ear. These days I'm more into consonance and less into dissonance. I've actually been enjoying Fish era Marillion a lot of late, plus some Hogarth. I always liked early IQ, mind you, and always liked various music by Marillion. Interests should always be expanding, methinks. |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 11:35
|
I live "across the pond" so I never got to see them. (They did get invited to play at the last NEARfest in 2012, but I wasn't able to get over there.) Of all the neo-progressive bands, Twelfth Night-with-Geoff-Mann-as-singer are far and away my favorite. While IQ and Marillion were emulating Gabriel/Collins-Genesis, TN had their own style. Geoff's vocals were ace. His lyrics were genuine poetry. "Creepshow" remains one of the best songs I've ever heard. "We Are Sane," "The Ceiling Speaks" and the epic "The Collector" are more proof that Geoff was the real deal. TN with Sears as vocalist just doesn't hit anywhere near as hard. Art & Illusion has its moments, but after the sheer genius/madness of Smiling at Grief & Fact and Fiction — punctuated by the astonishing Live and Let Live — Sears-TN just sounds flat. (The 1986 self-titled album should not ever be mentioned again after this mention!  )TN also have that great early instrumental offering, Live at the Target. A band that has worn many hats! One interesting item that may have gotten past you is the official 2007 2CD compilation Voices in the Night, which contains 28 songs that feature all the vocalists TN has had: Electra McLeod, Ian Lloyd Jones, Axe, Martyn Watson, Andy and Geoff. It even has a version of Geoff's song "Piccadilly Square" sung by Andy. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
-B- wrote:Posted By: The.Crimson.King
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 11:53
I love all the Twelfth Night material with Geoff Mann, don't really
care for the early years when they were instrumental and don't like the
post-Geoff stuff with Andy Sears. Anyway, "Live and Let Live" is one of
my fave prog live albums of all time (especially the 2CD release a few
years ago with all the bonus tracks). There's a great youtube vid of a
live Sequences performance with Geoff from the '83 Reading Festival...if
anyone's curious about Twelfth Night, check out the video...if you
don't like this don't bother with anything else they've done...but if
you like it, there are several albums you'll want to put on your list  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl-J3fCQB1k" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl-J3fCQB1k ------------- https://wytchcrypt.wixsite.com/mutiny-in-jonestown" rel="nofollow - Mutiny in Jonestown : Progressive Rock Since 1987 |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 13:27
| I used to have "fact and fiction" a long time ago. It's a great album and not your typical "neo prog." I think it came out right before most of those bands got popular so the typical neo sound was not yet fully established. |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 13:40
I am here all day!  I've seen IQ a few times in relativelty recent years. Excellent live band. As for Pallas I never realy got into them beyond The Sentinal. The Cross and the Crucible aint bad. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: Cosmiclawnmower
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 14:34
|
Hi B I saw TN in 1984 on the 'Art and Illusion' tour but wasn't a big fan of Andy Sears vocals (or the Mullets!) but had had contact with the band in the Geoff Mann days through an old friend who went to Reading University. He used to see them a lot and sent me flyers and posters etc and even got my copy of 'Fact and Fiction' autographed by the whole band. I really liked TN with Geoff Mann and I know he was slated in the day as an awful singer but he had a passion, brutal intensity in performance yet a sensitive human with personal integrity. The lp had something very different to the rest but was marred by poor production. 'Live and let live' is an excellent lp, its a shame GM left and of course very tragic that he died so young. I saw all the NWOBPR bands and still have signed copies of 'Script', 'Sentinal', 'Fly high fall far' and 'Lush Attic'.. but lost interest in most of them after that though have see all again in relatively recent years.. i'm afraid the only one which impressed me was IQ ------------- |
Posted By: Cosmiclawnmower
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 15:20
 ------------- |
Posted By: noni
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 15:31
| One of my favourite bass players is Clive Mitten. |
Posted By: Cosmiclawnmower
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 15:48
 ------------- |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 16:42
|
What? That's ridiculous. 
You're only missing a signed copy of The Jewel. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 21:14
|
Fact And Fiction - one of the top 'Neo' Prog albums out there !! |
Posted By: geekfreak
Date Posted: August 16 2017 at 23:58
|
ooooooooooooooooh yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees! totally awesome PROG!!!! ------------- Friedrich Nietzsche: "Without music, life would be a mistake." Music Is Live Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. Keep Calm And Listen To The Music… < |
Posted By: -B-
Date Posted: August 17 2017 at 07:54
|
Interesting comments and recollections, am seemingly in a bit of a minority ref the Sears years I guess. In particular the XII album with possibly the most entertaining vinyl pull out I have ever seen! I enjoyed a lot of the so-called Neo bands of the time but TN to me always seemed a little less derivative with the angular guitar attack and the underpinned contemporary arrangements. (albeit in an 80's style). Good times and amazing how these bands were my compass for looking into other elements of prog. I even had a fierce mullet (no regrets!!!) ------------- Carbon Based Lifeform |
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: August 17 2017 at 08:46
I enjoyed the self titled album as well. I did not get to see the band live, about the only band of that era I missed. Some very good reminisces on the thread, though  ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org Now also broadcasting on www.progzilla.com Every Saturday, 4.00 p.m. UK time! |
Posted By: timbo
Date Posted: August 17 2017 at 12:17
|
I saw them at Huddersfield Poly back in about 1984. Can't remember if it was Geoff or Andy now. Great show, although not well attended. I used to have Fact and Fiction on cassette, and still have Live at the Target on 12", but it's probably had one playing in the last 30 years. I got it out a year or so ago, thinking "I used to really like them", but sadly my taste has changed and I couldn't get into them again. Probably it's a bit of an "angry young men" album, while I'm now a mellow middle aged man. I saw a few neo-prog bands around the same time - Marillion, Pallas, IQ, and I have pretty much the same opinion of them, too. Tim |
Posted By: Cosmiclawnmower
Date Posted: August 17 2017 at 13:27
If you read the Malcolm Dome / Kerrang review on the R/H side of Marquee gig flyer I posted you will see what I mean and he wasn't the only dumbchuck who had that view.. its certainly not mine. Er, yes.. 'Fly High, Fall far' was the Pendragon mini-lp which came before the jewel (which I do have but signed ).. I only worked in music (stage crew) for just under 2 years in my late teens but got to know a few people.. I also helped a local band out who had a brief support slot with Pendragon in 1983.  ------------- |
Posted By: Cosmiclawnmower
Date Posted: August 17 2017 at 13:37
I should have said that I did and still do like the Art & Illusion mini-lp! I think the tracks were mostly written in GM's time but obviously utilized AS on vocals.. but the Clive Mitten instrumental 'Crab' was composed during the recording.. or maybe i'm talking B*****ks (again) I cant quite remember- I'm sure if I am someone will put me right  Oh and despite what I said about Mullets, I too (for a while) sported a mighty one (with beady braidy bits too yuch!!)  ------------- |
Posted By: Blaqua
Date Posted: August 18 2017 at 06:16
|
Fact and Fiction is as far as I know their best record, with Human Being being excellent. |
Posted By: Progmind
Date Posted: August 19 2017 at 17:43
|
Really love Live At the Marquee, incredible and energetic perfomance by the band. |
Posted By: scruffydragon
Date Posted: August 20 2017 at 13:39
| Don't remember them from the 80's.I found out about Twelfth Night rather late sometime in the early part of the 90's. An old girlfriend gave me a tape of their music. But I didn't stay long with this girl so did not really play the tape too much. I think at the time I was more into Pendragon and Marillion which somewhat overshadowed Twelfth Night a bit. |
Posted By: lostrom
Date Posted: August 29 2017 at 07:31
|
Marillion, Twelfth Night and IQ were the best three neo prog band in the early eighties. ------------- lostrom |
Posted By: noni
Date Posted: August 29 2017 at 07:46
Agree on your selection. Have to include Pendragon and Pallas... I love all five bands, but Marillion were never that consistent for me over the years as a band.
|
Posted By: noni
Date Posted: August 29 2017 at 07:49
| Shame there's not enough Twelfth Night videos on YouTube... Specially their last DVD they made. |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: August 30 2017 at 01:07
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Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: August 30 2017 at 11:34
|
^"Creepshow" is TN's defining moment. A stunner! ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Cosmiclawnmower
Date Posted: August 30 2017 at 13:27
 Something from the VERY early days!!
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Posted By: REFaust
Date Posted: September 07 2017 at 10:50
|
I love 'Live and Let Live' and did see the band around 1984 with Sears when they played supporting Pallas I belive at Hammersmith Odeon My take on why they didn't rival Marillion in popularity is that they were weaker in the keyboard area. Mostly pad sounds and very much underdog to the guitar and six string bass, although it did make them different to other neo-prog bands. I belive Clive Mitten even played keys on Fact and Fiction as their keys player left for a while? R E |
Posted By: Kingsnake
Date Posted: September 08 2017 at 01:49
|
Twelfth Night is the only neoprog band who combined new wave and prog. I've heard proghaters who like Twelfth Night because of their new wave-sound. On the other hand a lot of proggers don't like Twelfth Night because they are too straight forward in their songwriting.
|
Posted By: noni
Date Posted: September 08 2017 at 05:55
I find this rather weird how they feel... I like the fact they were very original in sound and never tried to copy anyone.
|
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: September 08 2017 at 10:54
Correct. Clive covered on keys because Rick Battersby left. Rick returned for the shows, and the next album, Art & Illusion. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Cosmiclawnmower
Date Posted: September 08 2017 at 11:29
If you listen to some very early IQ they were trying to incorporate some more new wave type sounds too.. but it was more self-conscious with them.. at least with Twelfth Night it was entirely unconscious.. I think this was why they received a certain amount of flack about their style and production values. But for me 'Fact and Fiction' has something more from the heart and has an element of social and political conscience which was lacking in most other of the genre at that time (ok, Marillion had 'Forgotten sons'..) ------------- |
Posted By: condor
Date Posted: September 08 2017 at 16:04
| Reminds me of Porcupine Tree (at last!), but Italian |
Posted By: Cosmiclawnmower
Date Posted: September 10 2017 at 14:47
Italian??  They come from Reading!------------- |
Posted By: Kingsnake
Date Posted: September 10 2017 at 15:34
| TWelfth Night are as english as they come... |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: September 10 2017 at 16:53
|
TN with Geoff were way better than PT...just MHO. Geoff was the best lyricist of all the neo songwriters. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Cosmiclawnmower
Date Posted: September 11 2017 at 14:32
Given the choice between Reading and (generally anywhere in) Italy it would be an easy decision... ------------- |