Gnidrolog


Gnidrolog was a British progressive rock band, with a sound that was compared with better known bands such as Van der Graaf Generator, Jethro Tull and Gentle Giant.

History

The band was founded in 1969 by twin brothers Colin and Stewart Goldring, who were joined by drummer Nigel Pegrum from Spice and Peter "Mars" Cowling on bass. John Earle joined the band on sax and flute for their second album. They came up with the strange band name by reversing and slightly rearranging the brothers' surname, adding in an extra 'o'. In May 1972, the British music magazine NME reported that Gnidrolog was to appear at the Great Western Express Lincoln Festival on 26 May that year. Other acts to perform in the Giants of Tomorrow marquee included Budgie, Skin Alley, Tea & Symphony, John Martyn, and Warhorse. In 1972, Gnidrolog released both their first and second albums, In Spite of Harry's Toe-Nail and Lady Lake, before disbanding due to a lack of commercial success. Despite having played gigs with fairly well known acts such as David Bowie, Colosseum, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Wishbone Ash, Soft Machine, and Magma in their brief career, they have always remained relatively obscure.
Cowling began working with Pat Travers in 1975, and was able to achieve a respectable amount of success during his long relationship with Travers.
After disbanding, Nigel Pegrum joined Steeleye Span, while the Goldring brothers formed the punk rock band the Pork Dukes in 1976, and later went on to do session work, as did other members. After a break of 27 years, they got back together in 1999, and released their third studio album entitled Gnosis in 2000. John "Irish" Earle went on to be a successful musician, playing with artists such as Thin Lizzy, Ian Dury and the Clash.

Personnel