HAZE
Despite building their reputation as a progressive rock band, Haze have always drawn on a wide variety of influences, ranging from pop, rock, folk, and metal to meandering psychedelic jams & tightly structured prog epics. Formed in Sheffield in the late 1970s by brothers Chris & Paul McMahon, they established their reputation as one of the hardest working underground bands of the ‘80s and have continued to perform regularly ever since, including weekly live-streamed concerts during Lockdown.
Their latest studio album, The Water’s Edge, was reviewed in Prog magazine: "The result is the best sounding Haze album yet, with the band free to concentrate on playing the music, and the inevitable constraints on studio time also helping to bring out the free-flowing, seat-of-the-pants improvisation which has made Haze one of the best live acts around." It’s also their fastest-selling album to date, proving that Haze’s legendary reputation is richly deserved.
www.gabadon.co.uk/haze
Full Haze back catalogue hazeuk.bandcamp.com
LIAISON
After some early line up changes, the original 3-piece version of Liaison was formed in 1981; with gigs
centred around the pubs of north and west London. They subsequently graduated to small rock clubs
and colleges and later that year featured as support to the fabled rock band Stray. The 16-date tour of
England included their first appearance at Wardour Street’s legendary Marquee club. The following
years would see the band continue to develop their songwriting skills whilst consistently performing
regularly at London’s more significant rock venues as well as universities and clubs across the country.
Following some record company interest, the band would further develop musically, drafting-in a
bass/keyboard player to become what was to be their final 4-piece line up. Being heavily influenced by
the likes of Camel and Rush, the band became a natural fit for the burgeoning progressive rock revival
of the early 80s. They performed regularly at The Marquee, opening for neo-prog peers such as IQ,
Pendragon, Solstice and Twelfth Night, eventually earning a headline of their own in January 1984.
They would at this time also be invited to feature on the progressive rock sampler LP ‘Fire In Harmony’
which was released in 1985.
Their strong guitar-based rock origins also saw them become something of a ‘crossover’ act within the
already established ‘New Wave of British Heavy Metal’ (NWOBHM) movement.
However, despite their popularity among a diverse and loyal fan-base, they suffered the common
frustrations with the music industry at the time, and finally split in 1985 in order to pursue other
musical projects; giving a final farewell performance at London’s original Marquee club on 5 th July.
During their 5-year career they also supported a number of notable bands including The Nashville
Teens, Modern Romance and Marillion.
facebook.com/LiaisonTheRockBand
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