LANDMARQ BIOGRAPHY - THE

OVERVIEW…

Landmarq are a UK-based neo-progressive rock band. Since forming in 1990, they have so far released a total of ten albums, four of which were recorded live at various concerts in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. Two concert DVD’s have also been released in 2006 and 2015. EARLY DAYS… Initially signing to a Dutch record label in 1991, SI Music, then later forming their own label, Synergy Records, the band soon established themselves within the world of progressive rock. Although ‘Prog’ is their main focus, their style may also extend into album-oriented rock, melodic rock, hard rock and even a slightly jazz edge. Vocalist Damian Wilson left the band after three very well received albums to concentrate on his solo career and the band found a replacement in Ian 'Moon' Gould. 'Moon' spent a year with the band, playing various gigs in the UK and the Netherlands, before deciding to move on. TRACY… It was at this point that Landmarq decided to go for a radical change to their sound and recruited lead vocalist and long-time friend of the band, Tracy Hitchings, who formerly sang with Quasar. Landmarq then got straight into production of their next album, “Science of Coincidence”, released in 1998. BACK ON THE ROAD… Landmarq have played shows and festivals in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Poland, Italy, the USA and Mexico; both as support and as headliners at various festivals and music venues. The band have worked with many well-known artists including Marillion, Focus, John Wetton (Asia, King Crimson, Roxy Music, Family), Steve Hackett (Genesis), Hugh McDowell (ELO, Wizard), Nik Turner (Hawkwind), Annie Haslam (Renaissance), IQ, Pendragon, Arena and even Suzi Quatro. Apart from making strong in-roads into Europe and America, Landmarq have reached further territories worldwide, as far afield as Russia, eastern Europe, the Far East, and Australia through various magazine/webzine articles, interviews, radio air-play and also compilation CDs from various music magazines. DVD (I)… The band's first DVD was released in March 2006. Entitled “Turbulence – Live In Poland”, it features Landmarq filmed in concert at the Wyspianski Theatre, Katowice, in November 2005. The DVD was released by the Polish label Metal Mind Productions and has received some of the band's best reviews to date. The DVD also comprises a wealth of bonus material including audio and video archive tracks, an interview with the band, a huge photo gallery and much more. Following an enforced break for a few years, Landmarq re- emerged on to the Prog scene early in 2012 with the release of their eagerly-anticipated fifth album, “Entertaining Angels”, a Special Edition double-CD set. This proved to be a triumphant return for the band as they received many glowing reviews from fans and music press alike. This was followed up with "Angels On Tour", a series of live dates through 2012-2013, that saw Landmarq performing in various festivals and venues again in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Also to much acclaim and some excellent reviews. Following on from their gigs in 2012, Landmarq continued their live shows -- dubbed "Angels On Tour" -- with more UK and European dates through 2013, including the Cambridge and Summer's End rock festivals in the UK and the Rock Itervoort Festival in The Netherlands. MORE PRODUCT… Landmarq releasd more new product throughout 2014/15, including "Entertaining Angels" on vinyl (a double-LP set). Also, a long-awaited compilation album entitled "Origins - A Landmarq Anthology - 1992- 2014" (2-CD set) featuring vocalists Tracy Hitchings and Damian Wilson. The album also includes a brand new song, entitled "Origins". DVD (II)… The latest release from Landmarq is "RoadSkill - Live In The Netherlands", a 2-disc DVD+CD set, filmed and recorded live in 2013 at one of the band's European shows at De Boerderij, NL, released in 2015. CHANGES… A major change of line-up occurred once again in 2018 when, due to relocation in both cases, vocalist Tracy Hitchings and drummer Danny Martin separately made the difficult decisions to move on from Landmarq. Uwe, Mike and Steve resolved to continue writing new material for a proposed new album and also began the search for Tracy’s and Danny’s replacements. Following a series of auditions, the band returned to full strength with the addition of vocalist Wolf Campen and drummer Andy Allen who were thrust straight into some intensive rehearsals in preparation for a series of gigs beginning in October 2018. This was followed by various shows and festivals in 2019 through to the present time (excluding 2020/21, due to the Covid pandemic). In 2024, Landmarq decide to take time off from live shows in order to concentrate on production of their next studio album. But not before a successful appearance in March 2024 at the UK festival, “Fusion 5 - Music Without Boundaries”, where the band treated the audience to a live preview of one of the songs from their, as yet untitled, sixth album. However, with the new album still in production, the band will play three dates in 2025. See the Live page for details. To be continued… June 2025