Mother Black Cap to Symphonic - Progressive Rock Music Forum

www.motherblackcap.co.uk

3 albums 2006-2013 and they are back to record a new album

New album 'Caveman TV' was released on 28th Sept 2023: https://motherblackcap.bandcamp.com/album/caveman-tv.

Album is also on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0G0QWBbGhFIUBzvCQHPJIS.

And YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m7p9WgrYqcdGuxsEUDFH5GeumTBj9pFmI.

Two previous albums 'The English Way' (2013) and 'Energy' (2009) are also on Bandcamp.

I don't personally consider this band to play Symphonic Prog (though I've been wrong many times before when it comes to selecting sub genres lol! Embarrassed

). I do reckon they are a fine Crossover/Neo prog act though, and should be an easy addition to the site in one or other of those two categories.

As previously suggested, there is plenty of information available on the Internet for them, starting with https://www.motherblackcap.co.uk/.

All albums are on AwesomeProg (apart from an album of covers they recorded in 2010 called 'All Covered Up', which consists of three Pink Floyd covers, plus some well-known mainstream songs that they also used to play in their live set back in those days by artists such as Argent, The Who, Tom Jones, Slade and David Bowie).

Edit: Added the listening link to 'Caveman TV' on YouTube Music.

Edited by yam yam - November 15 2023 at 19:49

^ Thanks Louis. Thumbs Up

If this band does get eventually evaluated and approved by the Symphonic team, then Louis will no doubt write his own biography for their page, but now that the Neo (and possibly Crossover) teams are involved then something will probably need to be provided here for them to work with before the evaluation will be allowed to take place.

So, here's a summary of the band's history which can either be used 'as is' as a biography, or adapted in some way by those teams:

MOTHER BLACK CAP are a progressive rock band formed in 2004 by long time friends, guitarist Martin NICO and Keyboardist Bob CONNELL, and based in Norfolk on the east coast of England. The initial line-up was completed with the addition of David NEWSON on bass and vocals, and John HUGHES on drums. The band's unusual name was suggested by drummer John HUGHES, and was inspired by the Notting Hill, London, fictional pub of the same name which was featured in Bruce ROBINSON's 1987 film 'Withnail & I'. The real name of The Mother Black Cap pub featured in the movie was The Tavistock Arms, and it was sadly demolished in 2010 to be replaced by a block of luxury flats.

MOTHER BLACK CAP have been a gigging band since early 2005, taking on Jamie AMIS as their lead vocalist and releasing their first full length album 'In the Comfort of Your Own Home' in 2006. Jamie left the band in 2008 and was replaced by Iain JACKSON, with this new line-up releasing the band's sophomore album 'The English Way' in 2009. Drummer John HUGHES left the band shortly afterwards, and was replaced by Callum CONNELL in 2010, who in turn was replaced by Neil HOLMES in 2011. The band's third album 'Energy' was another 2 years in the making, being finally released in 2013. The band then broke up in 2015, and remained on hiatus for three years until 2018, with just the two founding members remaining.

Since their formation in 2004, they had played 133 gigs in their various line ups, from local pubs to playing alongside some of the greats. The final three shows of their 2014 farewell tour were at the Kings Head in Lingwood, Norwich, UK on Saturday 25th October, the Stanford Arms in Lowestoft, UK on Saturday 8th November, and finally the Acle Beer Festival near Norwich on Saturday 29th November.

Then, in January 2018, with Andy 'Fizz' BYE having already joined the band on bass and vocals, the search began for another new drummer, and Dave NEILSEN was recruited to complete the new line-up, allowing MOTHER BLACK CAP to once again take their brand of progressive rock back out onto the stages of the UK festival circuit. Their live show has always been entertaining - combining talented musicianship and great songs with light and video projections and lots of tongue in cheek humour.

The rejuvenated line-up then decided in 2019 that it was about time that they recorded another album, but they didn't head into the studio to start what turned out to be a long process of making the album until July 2021, due in part to the restrictions imposed on them by the Covid-19 pandemic. Eventually named 'Caveman TV', it is a concept album containing soaring guitars, big keyboards, an orchestra, a church organ, long pieces, short pieces, reflective acoustic bits, prog pomp and bombastic finales.

The album was released digitally on 28th September 2023, and on CD a few weeks later (week commencing 23rd October). In the process of making the album, drummer Dave NEILSEN stepped down from the band to be replaced by Martyn 'Mac' McCARTHY, who officially joined in 2023, having previously stood in on drums for the band on several occasions over recent years.

MOTHER BLACK CAP's musical style has been described by critics as a nod to the past greats such as PINK FLOYD, GENESIS and FOCUS, but also influenced by the newer 'Neo Prog' movement which was started by bands such as MARILLION and IQ in the early 1980s. The band have built up a loyal following across East Norfolk over the years, and have played at numerous festivals alongside well-known artists such as HAWKWIND, URIAH HEEP, FOCUS, STRAWBS & CURVED AIR.

They have played three times at London's premier prog venue, The Peel (aka The Robert Peel), formerly at Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey, but which sadly closed in March 2014, as well as the Cambridge Rock Festival and the UK's premier prog rock event, HRH Prog. They have also performed for the Classic Rock Society. Their albums have sold to 20 different countries around the World, and their music can be regularly heard on Internet radio stations and in progressive rock podcasts.

Edit: I guess we will need to add some photo links here too to comply with the current new suggestion guidelines, so here's a choice of three:

https://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/resources/images/14969055.jpg (the final 2014 line-up before the band's 3-year hiatus):

A line up from circa 2019 taken from the band's own website:

And finally a really good photomontage made up of four shots of the individual band members taken at the Cambridge Rock Festival, July 26th 2019 by Sally Newhouse of Punkrocksal Media:

That photomontage has Sally Newhouse's copyright stamp on all four of the component photos, but the band allow it to be shared quite freely on Facebook, and Discogs have used a (much shrunken) copy of it on their page for the band.

Edit 2: Here's another image combining the first two photos into a 'now and then' representation of the band:

The photos in this image were taken in 2014 and (probably) 2019.

Edited by yam yam - November 16 2023 at 19:22

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mbzr48 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Discography Auditor Joined: February 11 2011 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 2007	Post Options Post Reply Quote mbzr48 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Mother Black Cap to Symphonic Posted: February 18 2019 at 08:53
	www.motherblackcap.co.uk 3 albums 2006-2013 and they are back to record a new album

rdtprog Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Heavy, RPI, Symph, JR/F Canterbury Teams Joined: April 04 2009 Location: Mtl, QC Status: Offline Points: 5145	Post Options Post Reply Quote rdtprog Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: February 20 2019 at 05:33
	we have a lot of info on this band but not many samples. Maybe with the new album. Sent to our team
	Music is the refuge of souls ulcerated by happiness. Emile M. Cioran

yam yam Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: June 16 2011 Location: Kerberos Status: Offline Points: 5823	Post Options Post Reply Quote yam yam Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: November 15 2023 at 07:29
	New album 'Caveman TV' was released on 28th Sept 2023: https://motherblackcap.bandcamp.com/album/caveman-tv. Album is also on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0G0QWBbGhFIUBzvCQHPJIS. And YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m7p9WgrYqcdGuxsEUDFH5GeumTBj9pFmI. Two previous albums 'The English Way' (2013) and 'Energy' (2009) are also on Bandcamp. I don't personally consider this band to play Symphonic Prog (though I've been wrong many times before when it comes to selecting sub genres lol! ). I do reckon they are a fine Crossover/Neo prog act though, and should be an easy addition to the site in one or other of those two categories. As previously suggested, there is plenty of information available on the Internet for them, starting with https://www.motherblackcap.co.uk/. All albums are on AwesomeProg (apart from an album of covers they recorded in 2010 called 'All Covered Up', which consists of three Pink Floyd covers, plus some well-known mainstream songs that they also used to play in their live set back in those days by artists such as Argent, The Who, Tom Jones, Slade and David Bowie). Edit: Added the listening link to 'Caveman TV' on YouTube Music. Edited by yam yam - November 15 2023 at 19:49

rdtprog Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Heavy, RPI, Symph, JR/F Canterbury Teams Joined: April 04 2009 Location: Mtl, QC Status: Offline Points: 5145	Post Options Post Reply Quote rdtprog Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: November 15 2023 at 14:09
	I will send it to the Neo Prog first
	Music is the refuge of souls ulcerated by happiness. Emile M. Cioran

yam yam Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: June 16 2011 Location: Kerberos Status: Offline Points: 5823	Post Options Post Reply Quote yam yam Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: November 15 2023 at 16:15
	^ Thanks Louis. If this band does get eventually evaluated and approved by the Symphonic team, then Louis will no doubt write his own biography for their page, but now that the Neo (and possibly Crossover) teams are involved then something will probably need to be provided here for them to work with before the evaluation will be allowed to take place. So, here's a summary of the band's history which can either be used 'as is' as a biography, or adapted in some way by those teams: MOTHER BLACK CAP are a progressive rock band formed in 2004 by long time friends, guitarist Martin NICO and Keyboardist Bob CONNELL, and based in Norfolk on the east coast of England. The initial line-up was completed with the addition of David NEWSON on bass and vocals, and John HUGHES on drums. The band's unusual name was suggested by drummer John HUGHES, and was inspired by the Notting Hill, London, fictional pub of the same name which was featured in Bruce ROBINSON's 1987 film 'Withnail & I'. The real name of The Mother Black Cap pub featured in the movie was The Tavistock Arms, and it was sadly demolished in 2010 to be replaced by a block of luxury flats. MOTHER BLACK CAP have been a gigging band since early 2005, taking on Jamie AMIS as their lead vocalist and releasing their first full length album 'In the Comfort of Your Own Home' in 2006. Jamie left the band in 2008 and was replaced by Iain JACKSON, with this new line-up releasing the band's sophomore album 'The English Way' in 2009. Drummer John HUGHES left the band shortly afterwards, and was replaced by Callum CONNELL in 2010, who in turn was replaced by Neil HOLMES in 2011. The band's third album 'Energy' was another 2 years in the making, being finally released in 2013. The band then broke up in 2015, and remained on hiatus for three years until 2018, with just the two founding members remaining. Since their formation in 2004, they had played 133 gigs in their various line ups, from local pubs to playing alongside some of the greats. The final three shows of their 2014 farewell tour were at the Kings Head in Lingwood, Norwich, UK on Saturday 25th October, the Stanford Arms in Lowestoft, UK on Saturday 8th November, and finally the Acle Beer Festival near Norwich on Saturday 29th November. Then, in January 2018, with Andy 'Fizz' BYE having already joined the band on bass and vocals, the search began for another new drummer, and Dave NEILSEN was recruited to complete the new line-up, allowing MOTHER BLACK CAP to once again take their brand of progressive rock back out onto the stages of the UK festival circuit. Their live show has always been entertaining - combining talented musicianship and great songs with light and video projections and lots of tongue in cheek humour. The rejuvenated line-up then decided in 2019 that it was about time that they recorded another album, but they didn't head into the studio to start what turned out to be a long process of making the album until July 2021, due in part to the restrictions imposed on them by the Covid-19 pandemic. Eventually named 'Caveman TV', it is a concept album containing soaring guitars, big keyboards, an orchestra, a church organ, long pieces, short pieces, reflective acoustic bits, prog pomp and bombastic finales. The album was released digitally on 28th September 2023, and on CD a few weeks later (week commencing 23rd October). In the process of making the album, drummer Dave NEILSEN stepped down from the band to be replaced by Martyn 'Mac' McCARTHY, who officially joined in 2023, having previously stood in on drums for the band on several occasions over recent years. MOTHER BLACK CAP's musical style has been described by critics as a nod to the past greats such as PINK FLOYD, GENESIS and FOCUS, but also influenced by the newer 'Neo Prog' movement which was started by bands such as MARILLION and IQ in the early 1980s. The band have built up a loyal following across East Norfolk over the years, and have played at numerous festivals alongside well-known artists such as HAWKWIND, URIAH HEEP, FOCUS, STRAWBS & CURVED AIR. They have played three times at London's premier prog venue, The Peel (aka The Robert Peel), formerly at Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey, but which sadly closed in March 2014, as well as the Cambridge Rock Festival and the UK's premier prog rock event, HRH Prog. They have also performed for the Classic Rock Society. Their albums have sold to 20 different countries around the World, and their music can be regularly heard on Internet radio stations and in progressive rock podcasts. Edit: I guess we will need to add some photo links here too to comply with the current new suggestion guidelines, so here's a choice of three: https://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/resources/images/14969055.jpg (the final 2014 line-up before the band's 3-year hiatus): A line up from circa 2019 taken from the band's own website: And finally a really good photomontage made up of four shots of the individual band members taken at the Cambridge Rock Festival, July 26th 2019 by Sally Newhouse of Punkrocksal Media: That photomontage has Sally Newhouse's copyright stamp on all four of the component photos, but the band allow it to be shared quite freely on Facebook, and Discogs have used a (much shrunken) copy of it on their page for the band. Edit 2: Here's another image combining the first two photos into a 'now and then' representation of the band: The photos in this image were taken in 2014 and (probably) 2019. Edited by yam yam - November 16 2023 at 19:22

kev rowland Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Reviewer Joined: November 18 2005 Location: New Zealand Status: Offline Points: 2150	Post Options Post Reply Quote kev rowland Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: April 20 2024 at 22:28
	Approved by Neo, I have just loaded them onto PA
	All five volumes of The Progressive Underground now available https://www.amazon.com/Kev-Rowland/e/B07RJVRB2X