​The Lifesigns album is now available and features John Young, Nick Beggs, Frosty Beedle and Steve Rispin.

Guests: Steve Hackett, Thijs Van Leer, Robin Boult and Jakko Jakszyk.
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A new style of Prog for 2013. 

Seamless and almost commercial in its aspirations, it changes time, it changes key - but you would hardly notice. 

The album is full of melodic innovation but still has tunes that will stay in your head long after you finish listening ...

Don't take our word for it - there are now over 40 reviews on Amazon alone which will hopefully tickle your musical taste buds.
Music that gives us much needed optimism in these trying times.
A new light in the progressive firmament.

 

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John Young  Keyboards, Lead Vocals​



John Young (birthday 31 May) is a British progressive rock keyboardist and singer from Liverpool.  John spent his early years with the Liverpool Cathedral Choir where he was classically trained on the keyboard and voice.  He mainly played in semi-pro jazz rock bands until the mid-1980s, his first major break coming in 1985 when he auditioned and became part of Uli Jon Roth's band (ex-Scorpions).  After the World Tour, John spent his time doing studio and session work with artists as diverse as Steeleye Span and Bon Jovi.  John went on to play with the MTV band in London, during which time he met John Wetton who asked him to join Asia for two European tours.  Shortly after , he joined Paul Rodgers and Kenny Jones in a short-lived band called The Law, and they played one show at The National Bowl in Milton Keynes with Bryan Adams and ZZ Top.

 

John joined Bonnie Tyler in the mid-1990s and has since worked with her all over the world.  In 2001, he joined the Scorpions for a world tour to promote their Acoustica album.  In the same year he was co-writing the Fish album Fellini Days with John Wesley and also appearing on the resulting live album Fellini Nights.  John has also worked as part of the regenerated Greenslade, appearing on the albums Large Afternoon and Live 2001.
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In 2002, John formed his own band and released albums Life Underground and Significance.  The John Young Band continue to play and have a fairly fluid line-up depending on the availability of its various members.
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John has worked with Jon Anderson of Yes, and the first product of that union saw Jon touring Europe and playing the song 'Sooner (Than Later),' a track co-written with John.  His most recent work has seen him as keyboard player with The Strawbs on their Canada / UK tour in November / December 2010 alongside Dave Cousins, Dave Lambert, Chas Cronk and Tony Fernandez.
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Although things have been relatively quiet on the John Young Band front, a limited number of gigs have already taken place during 2013 with more in the near future.  In the meantime work continues on a new John Young Band album and is likely to include several tracks first played during recent gigs.  The new album is hoped to be released sometime in 2013.
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Just to ensure that the pressure was never off, John has also completed many albums of instrumental music, the latest being Financial Meltdown,  a semi-classical album in the vein of Political Agenda and Scientific Breakthrough.   Music from these albums varies from semi-classical to jazz and ambient to world,  and is often heard on TV programmes such as CNN's coverage of the war in Iraq, the BBC programme Coast, The Jay Leno Show and the Obama election campaign!

Nick Beggs Bass, Stick, Backing Vocals​

Nick Beggs (birthday 15 December ) was born Nicholas Beggs in Winslow, Buckinghamshire.  Nick is an English musician, noted for playing the bass guitar and Chapman Stick, and was a member of Kajagoogoo, Iona, and Ellis, Beggs & Howard.  Nick's first band Johnny and the Martians (formed when he was 10) consisted of two friends on trumpet and acoustic guitar with Nick on drums.  He attended Linslade Secondary School and Cedars Upper School.  After attending art school, in 1979 Nick formed the band Art Nouveau with Steve Askew, Stuart Croxford Neale and Jez Strode.  Chris Hamill (Limahl)  joined in 1981 and at Nick's suggestion the band was renamed Kajagoogoo.  The release of the first single 'Too Shy' in January 1983 saw the band on a promotional tour as the record reached No. 1 in seven European countries, including the UK.
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Between 1985 and 1987 Nick concentrated on writing with various other songwriters and finally formed Ellis, Beggs, & Howard in March 1987.  The band split in 1989 after enjoying a hit single titled 'Big Bubbles, No Troubles' in Germany and Holland.  1990 saw Nick joining the progressive folk band Iona with whom he later recorded two albums, The Book of Kells and Beyond These Shores.

Nick continued working with various artists and bands including Alphaville, Belinda Carlisle, Emma Bunton (on her album Life In Mono) and John Paul Jones , Led Zeppelin’s bass player.  In 1996, Nick met Howard Jones on a flight from the United States and a friendship was established, with Howard inviting Nick to tour as part of his band.  During this time Nick also worked with bands and artists such as ABC, China Crisis, Cliff Richard, Curiosity Killed The Cat, D:Ream, Engelbert Humperdinck, Gary Numan, Go West, Kim Wilde, Maddy Prior, Mark Shaw, Michael Bolton, Midge Ure, Nena, Nick Heyward, Polysics, Right Said Fred, Seal, Steve Hackett, Steve Howe, T'Pau, Then Jerico, Tom McRae, Tony Hadley, Toyah Willcox and Warren Cuccurullo.

In 1992 Nick went on to work as an A&R Manager for Phonogram Records, becoming a contributor to various guitar publications as a staff writer.

Nick has also recorded and released two solo albums, Stick Insect (2002) and The Maverick Helmsman (2004), and will release a new solo stick album, The Darkness in Men's Hearts (Burning Shed), in 2013. 

Nick is currently a member of Steven Wilson's touring band in support of Wilson's two solo albums, Grace For Drowning and The Raven that Refused to Sing; Nick also plays on these albums.  He has also found time to write, illustrate and publish Dangerous Potatoes, 13 books of short stories for children.  In addition, he has created two comics titled Steven WIlson's Day Off and Steven Wilson and the Guitar of EPIJ, the latter of which will be released shortly.

Martin 'Frosty' Beedle   Drums and Percussion​

Steve Rispin   Engineer and Producer​