Jadis
Jadis are a melodic rock band hailing from the south of England. They became a full-time gigging outfit when they supported IQ on their 'Nomzamo' tour of Britain and Europe. They then supported Marillion on their 'Clutching At Straws' UK tour, culminating in three nights at London's Hammersmith Odeon.
A period of extensive touring then followed, in which Jadis played over 150 gigs in pubs and clubs throughout Britain, building up a substantial following and building up to a sold out debut headline at London's prestigious Marquee Club. On the recording front, the band issued several demo-tapes produced by Steve Rothery of Marillion, which proved very popular with Jadis' growing audience.
Gary was forced to reorganise the line-up, soon recruiting keyboard player Martin Orford and John Jowitt from IQ and then a chance meeting with drummer Steve Christey led to him also joining the band.
Following the release of ‘More Than Meets The Eye’ in 1992, the album quickly won critical acclaim from around the world. This included recommendations and air play on BBC Radio One from both Alan Freeman and Tommy Vance, and rave reviews in the European music press. The readers of the influential SI magazine in Holland voted it album of the year.
Recording of the follow up second album ‘Across The Water’ commenced in January 1994, and after almost three months of painstaking work, ‘Across The Water’ was released, selling out of the initial run in just 7 days. In early 1995, new material was written at a pace, and in early 1997 Jadis produced their third album, Somersault. Following an amicable split from the GEP label, the band released this album themselves, distributed via Steve Rothery's Dorian Music label. This new work received very positive reviews throughout the world. A series of European gigs followed soon after, including the German Progressive Rock Festival and headline billing at the two day UK Classic Rock Society Festival.
As a result of the success of these gigs, the band decided to release the eagerly awaited live album, entitled ‘As Daylight Fades’. This live album encapsulates the bands live energy and musical prowess, with stage favourites drawn from three albums, primarily recorded at the unforgettable 1996 Annual 'Garden Gig' with Martin Orford returning for a special guest appearance. Released by the band themselves, ‘As Daylight Fades’ continued to sell well and opened up new areas for the band, particularly Japan and South America. Soon after the release of the live album, Jadis again fell prey to a change of line-up. A short but successful tour of the UK, Holland and Belgium followed in October 1998, again culminating in headlining the UK Classic Rock Society Festival. New territory was chartered at the end of the years, when Gary and Martin were invited to perform some acoustic dates, featuring Jadis and IQ favourites, in Chile.
In 2000, the band recorded their fourth studio album, Understand, with John Jowitt returning to recomplete the line-up. Following release, the band proceeded to tour playing some very well received gigs in Holland, Germany, Belgium and the Baja Festival in Mexico. This extensive tour culminated in a blistering two-and-a-half-hour performance at the Annual Garden Gig in July 2001, which was recorded and released as ‘Alive Outside’ the following November. As a further treat, 2001 also saw the release of 'MediumRare', a rarities CD containing re-mastered versions of Jadis EP's 'Once Upon A Time' and 'Once Or Twice' together with previously unreleased live and demo tracks.
2002 saw yet more gigs played and the band started writing for the next studio album. The recording of Fanatic, their fifth studio album, was completed early in 2003 and the album was released on the well known InsideOut label in April. A supporting tour through Europe then followed, seeing gigs played in a number of countries, including Poland, Germany, Holland and the UK. During this tour the live DVD ‘View From Above’ was recorded and subsequently released in September 2003. A combination of the album Fanatic and old favourites feature on the DVD, providing a superb history of the band in a live environment.
2004 sees the band pick up where 2003 left off, with yet more gigs through Europe, in support of Fanatic and then off to the United States to headline the ROSfest festival where they played to a capacity crowd in Philadelphia's Colonial Theatre.
In 2006. the band released their sixth studio album 'Photoplay', showcasing the band's more guitar driven side to much critical acclaim. Bass player Andy Marlow joined the band in 2007 and has played on the more recent albums ’See Right Through You’ in 2012 and ’No Fear of Looking Down’ in 2016.
Their latest 'More Questions Than Answers' was released in June 2024, followed by a brief tour in Europe and UK.
