Nektar
"Fortyfied"
Apr 30, 2009
Treacle
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NOTES
By CD Baby
We’d been looking forward to the night for weeks – had our tickets on the mantelpiece for months! Somehow, we felt that maybe something would happen to ruin it all, but the day had finally dawned and here we were, holding our breath, killing time in coffee shops, wandering the streets of London, surely tonight we’d get to see Nektar together for the first time.
We were there in plenty of time. Slowly the hall filled. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was surprised at how special it all felt. Just watching the audience gather it occurred to me that we all shared a common bond, we’d all found out this place, to share this moment with the music that we all love. I wondered if the band felt it too. There was a terrific atmosphere building in that place as people met, chatted and laughed together – so friendly.
Pretty soon it was full to the rafters, and we were right at the front – the band would be close enough to touch!
And so, they filed quietly onto the stage to loud applause. Roye said a quick ‘hi’ and launched . . . . . A Tab in the Ocean . . . . so familiar, but loud, and clear, and live, and HERE, and absolutely spot on! As the song closed there was the briefest of pauses . . . . then the crowd simply roared. I think even the band was surprised. A special moment this, it was a welcome that surely Nektar would never forget, I know I won’t. It was heart-felt.
The whole night was magical. The music that means so much, that I thought we’d never get to see live in London, was superb. The band gave us everything, they worked so hard with such energy. As I looked around at some of the faces, everyone was beaming smiles or eyes closed - lost in the music, lost in the moment. At the start of the evening, I’d secretly hoped to hear my new favourite, and sure enough even my wish was granted as the band played Where are you Now, beautifully, and just for me (I think).
Nektar, this was not just a gig for any of us I think. Thank you for the songs, and thank you for making such a powerful memory for so many of us who continue to listen to them.
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CD1
1 Tab in the Ocean (Alan Freeman, Derek Moore, Ron Howden, Roye Albrighto) 14:39
2 Cryin' in the Dark (Alan Freeman, Derek Moore, Ron Howden, Roye Albrighto) 5:46
3 King of Twilight (Alan Freeman, Derek Moore, Ron Howden, Roye Albrighto) 4:18
4 Dream Nebula (Alan Freeman, Derek Moore, Ron Howden, Roye Albrighto) 4:32
5 Desolation Valley (Alan Freeman, Derek Moore, Ron Howden, Roye Albrighto) 5:18
6 Waves (Alan Freeman, Derek Moore, Ron Howden, Roye Albrighto) 3:11
7 Rememeber the Future, Pt. 2 (Alan Freeman, Derek Moore, Ron Howden, Roye Albrighto) 18:47
8 Doctor Kool (Roye Albrighton) 10:10
9 King of the Deep (Roye Albrighton) 9:07
CD2
1 Where Are You Now (Roye Albrighton) 9:40
2 Day in the Life of a Preacher (Alan Freeman, Derek Moore, Ron Howden, Roye Albrighto) 5:26 3 Mr. H Alan (Freeman, Derek Moore, Ron Howden, Roye Albrighto) 9:16
4 Recycled, Pt. 1 (Alan Freeman, Derek Moore, Ron Howden, Roye Albrighto) 17:29
5 The Debate (Roye Albrighton) 8:20
6 Man in the Moon (Roye Albrighton) 8:45
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Roye Albrighton Vocals, Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Roye was born in Coventry and has been playing guitar / singing and writing since the age of 12 and up until November 1969 had played with several acts including a short stint with the London version of the musical "Hair". Shortly after this he moved to Sweden where he joined the band Outsiders and it was there at a nightclub in Gothenburg that he met and played a short jam with Jimi Hendrix. This changed the course of Royes musical direction and he went on to co-found the band Rainbows back in the UK.
During a tour of Germany and eventual seven-night residency in the Top Ten Club in the late 60’s in Hamburg Germany, Roye and Ron met for the first time and there lies the beginnings of Nektar.
Roye's trademark unique vocals and instantly recognisable guitar playing style were and still are integral trademarks of the Nektar sound. Roye appears and is an integral part of all of Nektars original releases up to 1976- Journey to the Centre of the Eye -A Tab in the Ocean - Sounds Like This.....- Sunday Night at the Roundhouse - Remember The Future - Down to Earth - Recycled - Live in New York - More Live in New York and many more since.
In the quiet years of effective inactivity for Nektar between 1976 and 2002, He worked with several different bands including Snowball (a jazz rock outfit) Quantum Jump (a kind of Pseudo 10cc) and eventually the more poppy Grand Alliance before calling it a day.
After many years of inactivity and several attempts to pull the old band back together, it wasn’t until 2002 that this came to fruition with the offer of performing at the Northeast Art rock Festival (NEARfest) in June of that year. Since then Nektar have gone from strength to strength with the new line-up of Howden / Albrighton / Dembo and Hughes, recording a new studio album “Evolution” in 2004. 2007 sees a stunning new dawn for the band with a globally supported release of "Book of Days", and an expanded line-up for live and future studio work.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Roye is never satisfied with sticking to one style of music, moreover he tries to bring something new into play every time he ventures out onto the stage or into the studio, this way he believes it keeps the mystique of Nektar fresh that seems to lend itself to generations old and new.
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Ron Howden Vocals, Drums & Percussion
Born in Sheffield England and now living in New Jersey USA, Ron worked with many bands from his home town before leaving England in 1964 with the band the Rockin Berries. They played army bases in France and this eventually led to meeting up with Derek (Mo) Moore and forming the band the Upsetters playing the US army bases in Germany.
Ron then went to Greece where they recorded a cover version of the hit Sunny and did several TV and club shows before returning to Germany where they supported many acts including the Everly Brothers / The Platters and Bill Lawrence amongst many of the American bands touring in Europe at the time. About that time Ron met Allen (taff) Freeman and formed the band Prophecy which was the predecessor to Nektar.
They started playing a lot of clubs in Germany for two week periods mostly near the army bases. It was shortly after this at the Star Club in Hamburg that Ron bumped into Roye Albrighton who was with his band Rainbows at the Top Ten Club around the corner.
After the departure of Prophecy’s guitarist Colin, Roye was asked to come over to Germany to join them, and so after a quick change of name, Nektar was born.
Ron has always been an integral founder member of Nektar. He appears on all of Nektars albums with the exception of Man in the Moon [1980] and Prodigal Son [2001]. Everything else bears the unique stamp of Ron Howden. Ron actively keeps his hand in playing live whenever he can with whoever he can.
As a musician Ron Howden is unique, as a drummer he is unmistakable. To watch him perform on his instrument is like watching a fine tuned well balanced timepiece, and Nektars music would not be what it is today without his expert touch.
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Klaus Henatsch Keyboards, Vocals
My very first musical passion at the age of 11 were The Beatles with their albums “Rubber Soul” and “Sgt. Pepper”. When I started playing the piano two years later, the urge arose to become musically active myself.
At the age of 16 I played my first gig with my band “Stunk Band”. We developed ‘cult status’ around Göttingen in the mid seventies. Our idols were Yes, Gentle Giant and Deep Purple. My heroes at the time and until now were: Brian Auger, KeithEmerson, George Duke, Jan Hammer and of course, Jon Lord. Also, because of his vocal qualities, Paul Carrack, who I admired as member of Warm Dust and last but not least Don Airey, now keyboard player with Deep Purple, who I then saw playing with Colloseum II.
But there was certainly another band which we truly admired: Nektar. They frequently played in our area and what unforgetable moments we had: Their unique light shows, wow… what a trip!!
After finishing school I worked as a male nurse, followed by attending to civilian service in Hamburg 1978. Obviously my passion for Rock’n Roll was even stronger…and I started my career as a professional musician with the Jutta Weinhold Band, playing heavy Rhythm’n Blues, later on working for Klaus Schulze’s IC Label as a studiomusician.
After moving to Hannover in 1983, I played with the Krautrockband Jane with PeterPanka. During the nineties I had my own poprock project Two are One and worked with Klaus Hess’ Mother Jane. In the mid nineties, after becoming the pianoplayer for Big Mama & The Golden Six I developed a strong interest in Gospel music, which was to become my passion even until now.
In 1998 we reunited the Jutta Weinhold Band, which I mainly ignited and produced. Due to an offer in 2002 Jutta decided that she would rather turn to Metal.
Since then Gospel with Big Mama has been my main focus and, amongst others, featuring Johnny Logan whom I accompanied on the piano.
All bands/projects earlier mentioned produced records, in the case of Big Mama also a live DVD.
In addition to this I contributed towards many studio recordings in Hannover.
Nevertheless my love for hardrock as well as progrock never ceased, the main reason why I am truly looking forward to this new challenge with Nektar. It seems to me thatstarting in my youth the course of my musical development becomes full circle.
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Peter Pichl Bass, Vocals
I started listening passionately to music around the age of 12 with bands like Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep and Pink Floyd.
At age 15, there arrived other bands and their albums like Santana, Jimi Hendrix, CSN&Y and of course ... Nektar.
Then my interests became more and more extended to some jazzy stuff like Softmachine, Return to Forever, Weather Report, John McLaughlin and a lot of artists from the ECM label like Eberhard Weber, Pat Metheny, Terje Rypdal, Ralph Towner, Jan Garbarek.
Joni Mitchel also became an important part of my life, not least because of the genious bass playing of Jaco Pastorius.
The artists I have mentioned here are more or less the music that I am still listening to and enjoy it until today.
At 18 I had my first real concert engagements with a band called “Eisland” who were a mixture of Gentle Giant and Supertramp, and at age 21, I then decided to turn pro.
Since then I have played and recorded with so many different artists, it’s hard to remember them all, however, I couldn’t think of anything else I would rather do with my life than play music.
I am playing or recording on a regular basis with the likes of Running Wild, Uli Jon Roth, Heinz Rudolf Kunze, Yargos, Jutta Weinhold, Steinwolke, Hannes Bauer, and of course now Nektar.
My playing can be heard on many CD’s (around 25 to date) and hopefully many more to come.
I have always been a lover of the Fender Jazz bass and at the moment I am playing a custom built 5 string by Ralph Boerjes, this is my main instrument, although I do sometimes use an Ibanez fretless 5 string.
I also love the stand bass, and have been known to play this on occasion.
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BIOGRAPHY
by Bruce Eder
Formed in Germany in 1969, Nektar was a quartet of Englishmen who met in Germany and, for a little while in the early to mid-'70s, seemed like they might take American rock by storm. It was mostly hype, and by 1975 their big moment had already passed, although they lingered on until the end of the decade.Allan Freeman (keyboards, vocals), Roye Albrighton (guitar, vocals), Derek Moore (bass, Mellotron, vocals), and Ron Howden (drums) all came to Hamburg from England in 1965 as members of different bands. They met in 1968 at the Star Club, where they discovered some common ground in the Beatles as well as early rock & roll, but were drawn to the more experimental sounds just beginning to emerge on the rock scene. A year later they formed Nektar and began working at combining these influences into an effective whole. By 1970, with a light show (designed and operated by unofficial fifth member Mick Brockett) added to their stage act, they began attracting a growing following in Germany.They were signed to the Bellaphon label in 1971 and released their debut album, Journey to the Center of the Eye, a year later. Their second album, A Tab in the Ocean, followed later the same year, and achieved a cult following as a direct import. Their extended songs, usually involving extensive variations on the same theme, found a growing audience in an era dominated by the sounds of Emerson Lake & Palmer and Yes. Nektar's sound, built around guitar, electronic keyboards, and bass, was far more gothic, with dense textures that didn't always reproduce well on stage — the fans didn't seem to notice. On radio, however, their music filled in large patches of time and attracted listeners ready to graduate from Iron Butterfly and Vanilla Fudge, and seeking a recreation of the drug experience in progressive rock.Their third album, Remember the Future, released in Germany in 1973, was the group's breakthrough record. The title track, broken into two side-length halves, took up the entire record, and became a favorite of FM radio in 1974. The album was followed later in 1973 by Sounds Like This, which was made up of shorter, simpler songs, but it was eclipsed in the United States by the American release of Remember the Future on the Passport label, their first U.S. release. When the group made their New York debut at the Academy of Music on September 28, 1974, Remember the Future was still the only one of their albums available officially in the United States. An indication of their stage presence and the nature of their act can be gleaned from the fact that between the wattage of their instruments and their light show, they blew the power at the Academy of Music upon taking the stage. Their next album, Down to Earth (1974), featured ten support musicians and singers, among them P. P. (Pat) Arnold, but it didn't attract nearly the radio play of Remember the Future. Their next album, Live at the Roundhouse (1974), was cut live at the London venue, and didn't include "Remember the Future" among its tracks. They maintained a devoted and significant cult following in America as well as Germany, and their German label later released two double live albums from concerts in New York (which, between them, included two versions of "Remember the Future Part I" and two versions of "Part 2"). Ironically, Passport Records never released either album in the United States.Albrighton was gone by Magic Is a Child (which featured one of the worst punning titles ever, "Eerie Lackawanna"), replaced on guitar by Dave Nelson, and synthesizer virtuoso Larry Fast joined the line-up for this album. The release of a double-LP best-of anthology in 1978 heralded the end of the group's run of success, although they did get one subsequent release, Man in the Moon, with David Prater on drums, issued in 1980.
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