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The obscure band Fuchsia, named after a character from Mervyn Peake's novel „Gormenghast“, was primarily a project by guitarist and singer Tony Durant, who founded it with his fellow students Michael Day (b) and Michael Gregory (dr, perc) while they were studying at the University of Exeter in 1970. Influenced by his love of classical music, he began experimenting with musical themes, adding classical string parts as an integral component to rock and folk rock elements. For this, he hired an all-female string ensemble consisting of his fellow students Janet Rogers (vln, voc), Madeleine Bland (cel, p, harm, voc) and Vanessa Hall-Smith (vla, voc).
In 1971, the sextet recorded their first and only eponymous album on the short-lived Pegasus label, produced by David Hitchcock. The result was a completely new and original mix of progressive rock, folk rock and classical music. Extremely melodic songs with unusual, complex structures full of tempo and rhythm variations form the basis for dreamy vocals and imaginative narratives. Due to a lack of promotion by the record company and the cancellation of a promised tour, the album went completely unnoticed. They didn't receive a record deal for their next LP and therefore disbanded later that same year.
Almost unnoticed at the time, this rare album is now considered a lost and valuable gem of experimental British progressive rock.
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