| Biography | Renaissance are an English progressive rock band, most notable for their 1978 UK top 10 hit "Northern Lights" and progressive rock classics like "Carpet of the Sun", "Mother Russia", and "Ashes Are Burning".
In January 1969, former Yardbirds members Keith Relf and Jim McCarty organised a new group devoted to experimentation between rock, folk, and classical forms. This quintetRelf on guitar and vocals, McCarty on drums, plus bassist Cennamo, pianist Hawken, and Relf's sister Jane as an additional vocalistreleased a pair of albums on Elektra (US) and Island (UK-ILPS 9112), the first one, titled simply Renaissance, being produced by fellow ex-Yardbird Paul Samwell-Smith.
The band had begun performing in May 1969, before recording had begun for the debut LP, mostly in the UK, but with occasional forays abroad, including festivals in Belgium (Amougies, October 1969) and France (Operation 666 at the Olympia in January 1970, and Le Bourget in March 1970, both in Paris). In February 1970 they embarked on a North American tour, but that month-long trek proved only marginally successful as, because of their Yardbirds credentials, they found themselves paired with bands such as The Kinks and their new classically-orientated direction did not always go down well with audiences.
Beginning in the late spring of 1970, as touring began to grind on them, the original band gradually dissolved. Relf and McCarty decided to quit performing, and Cennamo joined Colosseum. Hawken organised a new line-up to fulfil contractual obligations and complete the band's second album, Illusion, which was left unfinished. |