Eloy (prog. rock / Germany)

Eloy is a German progressive rock band, whose musical style includes symphonic and space rock, the latter theme being more prevalent on earlier albums. Despite their nationality and time period, the band is not generally considered krautrock because of their sound, which has much more in common with English progressive rock groups such as Pink Floyd, King Crimson and Yes.


Founded in 1969 by guitarist Frank Bornemann, the band has endured several line-up changes, with Bornemann being the only consistent member of the group. In the 1980s, after a series of major splits in the group, Bornemann pursued a more commercial direction. Despite attracting a large following in Germany, the band never gained popularity in the United States. However, in later years, former members of the band re-joined, and in 1998 released the album Ocean 2, a return to the classic symphonic progressive rock genre for which the band was well known.
Bornemann described the origin of the name of the band thus: "The name Eloy is based on the book 'The Time Machine' by H.G. Wells. Wells describes in his book the situation of mankind about 800,000 years later, and 'Eloy' is a human race in his story. The Eloy in Wells' story have made a new start with the help of the time traveler. In a way, it was a new beginning for the human race. German rock bands in the late 1960s played mainly covers from other bands instead of playing their own compositions. Record deals for German bands were absolutely rare and German bands generally were considered to be second class bands in their own country. At that time it was a strong effort for a German band to come out with only their own compositions. It was a start into an unknown future, and from this point of view, comparable to the human race in Wells' story. That is why I got the idea to name the band 'Eloy'."

In August 2009, it was announced that Eloy would be reforming for a new album. "The strong feedback from all parts of the world, which has been around for many years, eventually reached the musicians themselves. And so Frank Bornemann, lead singer, guitarist and producer of Eloy, has brought the band together again for a 40th anniversary reunion. After a break of eleven years, they launched a new album with the title 'Visionary' aiming to recapture the spirit of the early years.


Members:

Frank Bornemann
Michael Gerlach
Hannes Folberth
Steve Mann
Klaus-Peter Matziol
Bodo Schopf


Past members:

Erich Schriever
Manfred Wieczorke
Helmuth Draht
Wolfgang Stöcker
Fritz Randow
Luitjen Janssen
Detlef "Pitter" Schwaar
Detlev Schmidtchen
Jürgen Rosenthal
Hannes Arkona
Hannes Folberth
Jim McGillivray


ELOY - The Sun Song (Live 1977)

Source: wikipedia.org