AVALON

Back in the late seventies, an Edinburgh based celtic-rock band called 'The Medium Wave Band' were playing to packed houses across Scotland, and significantly, to sell out audiences during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The Medium Wave Band at that time included singer Erne Parkin, fiddler/mandolinist Les Cockburn, guitarist Steve Moss and keyboard player Richard Chernes (who later went on to join Runrig). The success of their Fringe shows led to inevitable pressure to go pro, and an equally inevitable split, with half the band staying part-time, and the rest with new singer Derek Dick (who after changing his name to Fish joined Marillion) pursuing professional status. However, two years later it was obvious that the two halves functioned much better as one, and reunited as 'The Medium Wave Band II', Parkin, Cockburn and Moss, now with drummer Billy Milne and bass player Roy Martin (formerly of Netherbow) took to the road again with an even more vibrant brand of multi-media celtic-rock. With the new line-up the band had finally found the perfect blend of celtic tradition and contempory rock, and in '84 released a single called 'The Ballrooms of Romance' under a new name........AVALON. The single provided a base for the first album which followed in '85 entitled 'Rocky Roads', and this found its way into the hands of festival promoters all over Europe.....for AVALON this meant bigger audiences, soaring record sales and foreign tours.

Two years later came the second album, 'Heavy Hearts', and more European tours with T.V. and radio appearances from Denmark and Belgium to France. Their wanderings across the continent brought them rich experience, whether it was sharing the bill with Tracy Chapman in Denmark, The Pogues in France or sharing the stage with Alan Stivell at the first Fife-Aid. Curiously, ten years on from their first gigs around Edinburgh AVALON had still not played in England. However, the release of 'Heavy Hearts' brought them an invitation to play at the Cropredy Festival in 1990, and they have since gained a foothold in London with gigs at the Mean Fiddler and Half Moon. In 1992, AVALON added keyboardist John O'Rourke to their line-up, released their third album, 'Higher Ground' and after a headlining festival date in Denmark finally parted company with Erne Parkin. The band have recently recruited singer/songwriters Sheila McWhirter and Stuart Borland to create a new dynamic vocal sound and now, with their strongest line-up to date, have just recorded their fourth album.

With their new album AVALON have changed their style. The old sound had really been taken as far as it could go, the tracks on the new album reveal greater musicianship, more originality and more use of vocal harmony than on previous albums. With the new AVALON sound, the band are now suited not just to the leaping up and down audience, but also the seated audience who just want to listen. Probably the most exciting folk music coming out of Scotland in the 90s.

Discography
Band Line-up
Latest News (Updated Feb 99)
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