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Thread: Remember Audience?

  1. #1
    Member Musitron's Avatar
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    Remember Audience?

    Audience - House of the Hill is one of those almost forgotten album of the early 70's , that will bring you much shivers down the spine of most progheads.

    They were suppose to have a reunion gig in London (28 nov) but it postponed.

    http://www.audienceareback.co.uk/
    “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”

  2. #2
    Open post....insert foot. mpoll's Avatar
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    Nope, for some reason this band has escaped me. I'm listening to "The House On The Hill" on MOG.com right now - great stuff! I see Tony Stratton-Smith originally signed them to Charisma.

    Thanks for the recommendation, Musitron!
    "Be Well... Prog On!"

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  3. #3
    Lino
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    Yes, that's a great album. Saw them play in Hamilton about 5 years ago or so...and it was excellent! Keith Gemmell on sax is like a David Jaxon...very similar sound and style. I really enjoyed the gig. Apparently, Audience is big(ger) in Canada, and all the dates for that tour were Canadian cities only.
    In an interesting side note that I found out about later...it was because of Audience that the same promoter was able to book Peter Hammill for a solo show acouple years later. Howard from Audience is good friends with Peter and recommended Hamilton and this promoter. After that solo show, Peter brought vdgg to the same city for the same promoter.

  4. #4
    They seemed to be quite active a few years ago, with 3/4 of the original lineup (new drummer). Trevor Williams was sending out a newsletter, I sent an email and got a nice response. There was a good live album "Live & Well & Kickin' & Screamin" (or something like that) with some nice new material. Dont know what's lately become of them.

    Good as House on the Hill is, I think their masterpiece album was Lunch (more of a quirky songwriting album in the Kinks/10cc vein). But one thing I learned from that email is that the band doesn't like it much.

  5. #5
    I interviewed (via email) Keith Gemmell and Howard Werth for the VdGG book I co-wrote. Both were very helpful. Audience were indeed a Charisma band but unlike the others signed at the time, they were not managed by Strat. And they felt that they maybe weren't given the same attention by the label because of it.

    Of course, if you talk to the guys from VdGG, who were both managed by and signed to Charisma, they'll tell you that it was a double-edged sword. You definitely get a lot of mixed signals because your management is supposed to be negotiating and dealing with the record label; your management shouldn't be your record label. On the other hand, Charisma did help them out in certain situations and let them get on with things.

    VdGG and Audience played together quite a bit in '70 / '71. They did a massive tour of Germany together in '71 which was a follow-on from the massively successful "Six Bob" Charisma tour earlier that year. That tour had VdGG headlining with fellow Charisma artists Genesis and Lindisfarne opening. This tour was supposed to repeat the lucky formula a few months later on foreign soil and had VdGG headlining with fellow labelmates Audience and Jackson Heights (which featured Lee Jackson, still something of a star after his time in The Nice).

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Bucka001 View Post
    That tour had VdGG headlining with fellow Charisma artists Genesis and Lindisfarne opening.
    Weren't Lindisfarne a lot bigger than VDGG? Or had their hits not happened yet?

  7. #7
    Love Audience. Can't say much posting by phone but Lino and all the others that got to catch em a few years ago were lucky indeed!

  8. #8
    I first heard "House on The Hill" in 1973 in my sister's bedroom. My late brother had sent her a copy and we played it together all the time. Its dark moody vibe really swept me away and I've loved the record ever since. She also had "Lunch" but it was HOTH that really did (and does) it for me. It's been getting some heavy rotation here at Corbie Towers recently as my kids (15 and 13) both love it.

    Fine music always finds ears.
    "Where the light is brightest, the shadows are deepest"
    Goethe

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by bRETT View Post
    Weren't Lindisfarne a lot bigger than VDGG? Or had their hits not happened yet?
    Both Genesis and Lindisfarne became a lot bigger than VdGG (with Lindisfarne, that goes as far as the UK, but in Europe [especially Italy] it wasn't the case; in the U.S., VdGG at least has a cult following; I don't know anyone who's heard of Lindisfarne here in the States). But at the time (Jan '71) VdGG was the senior band, so much so that they appeared (before the other two) on the cover of Melody Maker as Britain's Most Fashionable Band a few months later on the strength of that tour (although, to be fair, Lindisfarne habitually went down better than both the other bands on that tour).

  10. #10
    Progga mogrooves's Avatar
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    Terrific band, although things fell off with Lunch.

    Evidently, Howard Werth was considered to replace Jimbo in The Doors.

    Keith Gemmell on sax is like a David Jaxon
    Yeah, I always thought Gemmell would make a credible replacement for Jaxson....
    Hell, they ain't even old-timey ! - Homer Stokes

  11. #11
    http://progsheet1.hypermart.net/audience.html

    A pretty good interview with Trevor Williams (one of the best bassists you've never heard!) that sheds some light on how they felt about Lunch, an album which I guess I like better than the band did! "In Accord" and "Buy Me An Island" are both great tunes and the rest are pretty cool too. I think it's a pretty good album for whimsical moods.

  12. #12
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    I like them. 'Friends, Friends, Friend' is my favorite, but I have yet to hear the s/t.

  13. #13
    Member nosebone's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by moecurlythanu View Post
    I like them. 'Friends, Friends, Friend' is my favorite, but I have yet to hear the s/t.
    Friends and House i like equally.

    never heard Lunch...
    no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone

  14. #14
    I only have / heard Lunch and like it alot. Seems like I need to give House on the Hill a listen.

  15. #15
    Tribesman sonic's Avatar
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    All their original albums through to Lunch are good IMO. I picked up a copy of Friend's Friend's Friend on vinyl in the late 80s and was hooked.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Reginod View Post
    A pretty good interview with Trevor Williams (one of the best bassists you've never heard!) that sheds some light on how they felt about Lunch, an album which I guess I like better than the band did! ".
    Nice interview but wow, he doesn't even like "Indian Summer"! At least he says something nice about "Party Games" which is my favorite track on Lunch.

  17. #17
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by moecurlythanu View Post
    I like them. 'Friends, Friends, Friend' is my favorite, but I have yet to hear the s/t.
    Finally, someone to go my way....

    I never understood those yelling genius at HotH, yet not doing so at FFF... IMHO, FFF is at least the equal if not a tad superior (and it's got an outstanding artwork too)

    The debut has some ine moments (but by no means is it as good as their 2nd and 3rd), but it's been bootlegged many times, so be careful to which reissue you choose if you want to buy it...

    Quote Originally Posted by sonic View Post
    All their original albums through to Lunch are good IMO. I picked up a copy of Friend's Friend's Friend on vinyl in the late 80s and was hooked.
    Mmmmhhh.... it seems obvious (to me anyway) that Lunch was an over-ambitious project that went quite awry...
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  18. #18
    Tribesman sonic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trane View Post
    Mmmmhhh.... it seems obvious (to me anyway) that Lunch was an over-ambitious project that went quite awry...
    I came to Lunch late . But never felt it was a bad record. It doesn't have mind blowing tracks like Priestess
    or The House on the Hill but it's alright.

  19. #19
    I'm not altogether too crazy about the rest of their output, but House is outstanding and arguably a minor, lost "proto" classic. Some very solid songwriting involved with excellent lyrics, fine performance overall - and I always liked the spike of the lead vocalist's voice. The "proto" thing could actually show for a number of interesting lead singers.

    But I assume Audience were essentially a bit too overly "rootsy" to be considered among the "traditional" progressive groups of the day; more akin to the underground, post-60s aesthetic of Quiver, Help Yourself, Global Village Trucking Co., Junior's Eyes, Man et al.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by nosebone View Post
    Friends and House i like equally.

    never heard Lunch...
    Lunch is their weakest IMHO... Friend's Friend's Friend and House on the Hill are much better.

    I believe that sax solo at the end of Raid song on Friend's Friend's Friend is one of the best in prog rock....(Starts around 4:40)


    Last edited by Progmatic; 11-27-2012 at 08:26 AM.

  21. #21
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sonic View Post
    I came to Lunch late . But never felt it was a bad record. It doesn't have mind blowing tracks like Priestess
    or The House on the Hill but it's alright.
    Well, I wouldn't say itt was a bad album per se (so I might have not written "quite" awry), but it's certainly a big disappointment aftertheir previous two excellent albums... I have a feeling the guys were out to top those albums, but simply couldn't (whether because they over-stretched themselves or lack sufficient Charisma back up is up for dicussion, though)...

    You can feel the ambitions on the Lunch project (you'd have to be deaf not to hear it), but the execution and means simply weren't up to par ...

    Most likely, that broke up the band...
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  22. #22
    I sought out FFF after falling in love with HOTH and Lunch, and I have to say that the endless sax and flute solos didn't do much for me. I was more into the band for the songwritring and the tighter arrangements, which is why I'mn a Lunch fan. (In terms of solos, "In Accord" on Lunch does more in 1/3 the time).

    I was hoping to post the wonderful Audience track "Elixir of Youth" which appeared only on the long-gone "You Can't Beat 'Em" compilation but drat, it ain't even on Youtube.

  23. #23
    I happened luckily on a still sealed vinyl copy of "House on the Hill" for $1 recently. I thought it was a beautiful album.

  24. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by Bucka001 View Post
    VdGG at least has a cult following; I don't know anyone who's heard of Lindisfarne here in the States
    But Lindisfarne did have a top 40 hit, albeit belatedly, in the States, which is more than VdGG ever managed:



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  25. #25
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bRETT View Post
    I sought out FFF after falling in love with HOTH and Lunch, and I have to say that the endless sax and flute solos didn't do much for me.
    Well, I'malways a sucker for long solos... but to call Audience's "endless" is stretchiong it beyond limits... theu haven't got a song over 8 or 9 minutes if memory serves

    Yeah, I got that 'if You Can't" compilation vinyl too...
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

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