ZAG AND THE COLOURED BEADS

Zag and The Coloured Beads biography
Zag and the Coloured Beads was one of many underground avant-prog acts to emerge in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This band formed in the London area in 1979 and was most active in the London free-festival scene. The band played an odd mix of classic progressive rock and the more demanding side of avant-prog with traces of jazz and post-punk. Influences cited by singer / guitarist Steve Arthur included Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, Cardiacs, Can and even Philip Glass. The band released two albums in the 1980s before disbanding in 1990 but has since reformed in 2006 with a new lineup without new studio recordings in the modern era but active on the live circuit. The related artists lists is lengthy and includes Alpha Road, Bing Organs Beastly Scrapings, The 5th Purley Girl Guides, The Milk and Honey Band, PCP, Peru, The Purple People Eaters, Ring, Riske Little Dick, Second Sight, The Topsters, The Toretz and Trotsky and The Goats.