Prelude

Prelude were originally formed by Brian Hume and fellow guitarist/vocalist Ian Vardy in 1970 in their native Gateshead in the North East of England. The pair had worked together since they’d left school and had actually made their recording debut under the name of Carnival as far back as 1967 when they issued a version of Paul Simon’s ‘Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine’. They persuaded Irene Hume to join them in 1971 and under the name of Trilogy, started to play local folk clubs in the Newcastle area.
After building a reputation on the regional circuit, Trilogy were invited by the local Abreaction label to contribute to a various artists showcase EP entitled ‘Hart Rock ‘71’. The Hume/Vardy composition ‘I Know You Well’ gave early indication of the group’s classy harmonies and accomplished songwriting, and it was this track, together with an appearance on the Rubber Records anthology of Northern folk acts, ‘Take Off Your Head And Listen’, which led to a one-off singles deal with the Decca label.
Ditching the name Trilogy in favour of the more evocative Prelude, the trio released ‘Edge Of The Sea’ b/w ‘Looking For Indians’ in March 1972. However this proved something of a false start, and it was only when they moved to the more adventurous Dawn label in the summer of 1973 that Prelude’s career began to take off.
Their first single ‘Out There’ was released in September 1973, but was issued primarily as a trailer for the debut Prelude album, which appeared on Dawn the following month. ‘How Long Is Forever’. Prelude were heavily influenced on both a musical and lyrical level by American harmony-based soft rock acts like Simon and Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell and, most of all, Crosby Stills Nash and Young. However the stand out track of the album was an inspired adaptation of ‘After The Goldrush’, on which Irene’s lead vocal emphasised the latent hymnal qualities of Neil Young’s back-to-the-land lament.
“We were standing at a bus stop in Stocksfield and we just started singing it. There was no particular reason, it was just a nice song. The way we do it now is really no different from the way we did it at the bus stop. We included it in our act and it went down really well – even the rowdier clubs listened to it”. So said Brian Hume in January 1974 as he tried to explain the unexpected chart success of his band Prelude’s cappella version of the Neil Young composed ‘After The Goldrush’. “We certainly never thought of it as a possible single”, he said, “in any case we always thought of ourselves as an album group rather than making singles and included the song on the album ‘How Long Is Forever’ as an afterthought”.
‘After The Goldrush’ was duly issued as a single in November 1973. Following live Prelude performances on both Capital Radio and Radio One, it quickly became a worldwide success, reaching the top 20 in the UK, No 12 in the USA and No1 in both Canada and Australia.
The group were committed to live work, notably a support slot on a nationwide Ralph McTell tour, followed by a headlining European jaunt that took in Holland, Belgium and Germany, and were unable to find time to record an immediate follow up. The next release, an adaptation of the Beatles ‘Here Comes The Sun’ wasn’t released until July 1974.
The second Prelude album ‘Dutch Courage’ was issued in December 1974, the same month Ralph McTell’s ‘Streets Of London’ on which the group guested as backing vocalists, entered the charts. Two of the stronger tracks ‘Dear Jesus’ and ‘Fly’ were issued as A-sides. For sound commercial reasons, the American issue of the album was retitled ‘After The Goldrush’, adding the title track to the running order.
During this period the group toured the college and university circuit, their grass roots popularity proving a significant factor in Dawn’s decision to commission a third Prelude album. Issued in October 1975, ‘Owlcreek Incident’ some claim to being considered Prelude’s finest album, and included the single ‘A Love Song’– delicate harmonies, electric/acoustic rhythms and sympathetic string arrangements, supported by a clean production sound and tastefully unobtrusive backing from session men like Isaac Guillary and future Dire Straits drummer Pick Withers all combined on the album to create the classic Prelude sound.
Following the collapse of the Dawn label in 1976, Prelude were transferred to the parent company, Pye, for future releases. Their first single for the label was a reworking of the old Ricky Nelson hit ‘Never Be Anyone Else But You’, followed by the album ‘Back Into the Light’, spawning further singles, ‘Oh My Soul’ and ‘Feel Like Loving You’. Prelude parted company with Pye shortly afterwards.
More tours followed including a US tour in 1976. However, it wasn’t until April 1980 that Prelude again graced the singles chart, Brian’s ‘Platinum Blonde’ giving the band a UK No. 45 placing. A re-released version of ‘After The Goldrush’ then hit No. 21 and was followed by a top 75 hit with their unique interpretation of the old Roy Orbison classic ‘Only The Lonely’ in the summer of 1982
They continued to tour and delight audiences throughout the 80’s, touring with Don McClean and Joan Armatrading and after Ian left in 1985, Brian and Irene played successfully as a duo, then joined forces with Jim Hornsby, one of the North's top guitarists. In 1998 they were joined by Tony Davis on keyboards and Chris Ringer on bass and in 1999 released the acclaimed ‘Good For You’ album that was awarded the Best Album by the North America Country Music Association International. In 2001, Prelude then returned to the trio format with Brian, Irene & Chris, however as of 2009 Ian Vardy has returned to the band enabling them to cover even more of their back catalogue, performing as a 4-piece and continuing to entertain audiences throughout the UK.