Fuchsia (prog. folk rock / England)

Fuchsia was a British progressive folk rock band formed in 1970. Named after "Fuchsia Groan" they released one album before disbanding. Their self titled album was featured as one of Mojo's Forgotten Classics. Their style was similar to their contemporaries Jade and Comus.

The band was formed by Tony Durant (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead vocals), while a student at Exeter University, and comprised Michael Day (bass guitar), Michael Gregory (drums, percussion). The trio was soon augmented by Janet Rogers (violin, backing vocals), Madeleine Bland (cello, piano, harmonium, backing vocals) and Vanessa Hall-Smith (violin, backing vocals) so that Durant could explore his musical ideas.

Produced by David Hitchcock the album was recorded at Sound Techniques Studios by Vic Gamm. It was released by Pegasus (PEG 8) in the UK and Kingdom (KV 6002) in France. A single advertisement in the Melody Maker and their manager's failure to arrange an often promised tour resulted in minimal sales and the demise of the band. Durant went to work in Australia with Dave Warner and later learned of the popularity of the album amongst collectors and the unlicensed re-pressings. Using his original master tapes he digitally remastered the album at Sound Practices Studios in Sydney which was released on CD.


In 2013 came the release of the CD album From Psychedelia to a Distant Place (Sound Practices 001) under the name Fuchsia II featuring a new band assembled by Durant in Australia and comprising Durant himself (guitars and vocals), Lloyd Gyi (drums, percussion), Emily Duffill (cello), Tracy Wan (violin), Lidia Bara (violin) and Jo Bara (cello), with Suzy Toomey (accordion) and Isabel Durant (backing vocals). The album gained favourable reviews in the British music press. The album contained mostly new material, although the track The Rainbow Song included a re-working of Shoes and Ships from the first album recorded forty-two years previously.


2013 also saw the release of the single The Band, a song which was written for a second album that was never recorded before Fuchsia disbanded in the 70's. In the 2013 release, The Band is performed by Swedish band Me and My Kites (named after a song on the Fuchsia debut album) with Durant on vocals.


Fuchsia (1971) - Full Album: http://youtu.be/Pt6vYF4ZxZQ

Tony Durant - acoustic & electric guitars, vocals
Michael Day - bass
Michael Gregory - drums, percussion
Janet Rogers - violin, backing vocals
Madeleine Bland - cello, piano, harmonium, backing vocals
Vanessa Hall-Smith - violin, backing vocals

Recorded At Sound Techniques, London.