Henry Fool (band)
Encyclopedia
Henry Fool are an English progressive rock
band that use elements of jazz
and post-rock
in their music.
The core members of the band are Tim Bowness
(vocals, guitars) and Stephen Bennett (keyboards, guitar). Other members - at various times - have been Michael Bearpark
(guitar), Peter Chilvers
(bass guitar, keyboards, guitar), Myke Clifford (saxophones, flute), and drummers Fudge Smith (Pendragon/Steve Hackett
Band), Huxflux Nettermalm (Paatos
), Andrew Booker
, Richard Osbourne and Diego Mancini. The band is named after the Hal Hartley film
.
The musicians in the band are generally associated with other projects, most notably Bowness' work as singer of No-Man
and Bennett's as keyboard player with LaHost. Other associated projects are Darkroom
, Samuel Smiles
, Fire Thieves, Improvizone and the Tim Bowness/Peter Chilvers duo.
Henry Fool's music draws on 1970s British progressive rock
but with other influences drawn from 1980s art-rock, 1990s post-rock
and elsewhere.
The band has released one album to date - 2001's self-titled, Henry Fool. The album received generally positive reviews in the progressive rock press. It was tagged as "highly recommended" by New Horizons and Axiom Of Choice described it as "quite a feat (with) plenty to offer..." Planet Mellotron praised the band for being "that rarest of things, a contemporary UK progressive act who don't want to be Marillion
or It Bites
" and described Henry Fool itself as a "damn' good album, modern but with traditional touches...wholeheartedly recommended." The Dutch Progressive Rock Pages described the band as "a psychedelic version of Porcupine Tree
or Echolyn
" and the album as "an album for experienced listeners... complex, jazzy and psychedelic." Noting the slow-burning nature of the music, the DPRP also commented "Somehow, this music is like those French artistic movies. On the one hand you don't like them, on the other hand they grasp your attention and before you know it, you have enjoyed it."
Henry Fool played at the 2002 Whitchurch Festival minus Stephen Bennett and Fudge Smith, with bass player Peter Chilvers doubling on keyboards and Tim Bowness playing more live guitar than planned. The performance went well enough for New Horizons to dub it "a superb and atmospheric set ... a real treat."
A second album (consisting of a double CD) is almost finished.
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band that use elements of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
in their music.
The core members of the band are Tim Bowness
Tim Bowness
Tim Bowness is a singer/songwriter primarily known for his work as part of the band No-Man, a long-term project formed in 1987 with Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson.-Music career:...
(vocals, guitars) and Stephen Bennett (keyboards, guitar). Other members - at various times - have been Michael Bearpark
Michael Bearpark
Michael Bearpark is an English scientist and musician.-Work as scientist:Bearpark is a Principal Research Fellow in the Chemistry Department at Imperial College, London...
(guitar), Peter Chilvers
Peter Chilvers (musician)
Peter Chilvers is a Cambridgeshire-based British musician and composer best known as a collaborator with Brian Eno and Tim Bowness.Chilvers is one of the three co-founders of the Burning Shed online record label, with Tim Bowness and Pete Morgan....
(bass guitar, keyboards, guitar), Myke Clifford (saxophones, flute), and drummers Fudge Smith (Pendragon/Steve Hackett
Steve Hackett
Stephen Richard Hackett is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. He gained prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970 and left in 1977 to pursue a solo career...
Band), Huxflux Nettermalm (Paatos
Paatos
Paatos is a Swedish rock band that was formed in 1999 by Reine Fiske and Stefan Dimle , Petronella Nettermalm, Ricard Nettermalm and Johan Wallen...
), Andrew Booker
Andrew Booker
Andrew Booker is a British drummer and vocalist best known for his work with Tim Bowness and with ex-Yes guitarist Peter Banks ....
, Richard Osbourne and Diego Mancini. The band is named after the Hal Hartley film
Henry Fool
Henry Fool is a 1997 American seriocomic film written, produced and directed by Hal Hartley, featuring Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, and Parker Posey. As in The Unbelievable Truth, an earlier Hartley film, expectation and reality again conflict....
.
The musicians in the band are generally associated with other projects, most notably Bowness' work as singer of No-Man
No-Man
No-Man are a British art-pop duo formed in 1987 as No Man Is An Island by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson . The band has so far produced six studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes collections...
and Bennett's as keyboard player with LaHost. Other associated projects are Darkroom
Darkroom (electronic music project)
Darkroom is a British electronic music project created by Andrew "Os" Ostler and Michael Bearpark .Other contributors to the project have been Tim Bowness and Peter Chilvers ....
, Samuel Smiles
Samuel Smiles (band)
Samuel Smiles were an intermittently active English ambient-folk band...
, Fire Thieves, Improvizone and the Tim Bowness/Peter Chilvers duo.
Henry Fool's music draws on 1970s British progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
but with other influences drawn from 1980s art-rock, 1990s post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
and elsewhere.
The band has released one album to date - 2001's self-titled, Henry Fool. The album received generally positive reviews in the progressive rock press. It was tagged as "highly recommended" by New Horizons and Axiom Of Choice described it as "quite a feat (with) plenty to offer..." Planet Mellotron praised the band for being "that rarest of things, a contemporary UK progressive act who don't want to be Marillion
Marillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve...
or It Bites
It Bites
It Bites are an English progressive rock and pop fusion band, formed in Egremont, Cumbria, England in 1982 and best known for their 1986 single "Calling All The Heroes", which gained them a Top 10 UK Singles Chart hit...
" and described Henry Fool itself as a "damn' good album, modern but with traditional touches...wholeheartedly recommended." The Dutch Progressive Rock Pages described the band as "a psychedelic version of Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree is a progressive rock band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Their music is difficult to categorise, being associated with both psychedelic rock and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by trance, krautrock and ambient due to Steven...
or Echolyn
Echolyn
Echolyn is an American progressive rock band based in eastern Pennsylvania.- Origins and first phase :Echolyn was formed in 1989 when guitarist Brett Kull and drummer Paul Ramsey, members of a recently split cover band called Narcissus, joined with keyboardist Chris Buzby to form a new band to...
" and the album as "an album for experienced listeners... complex, jazzy and psychedelic." Noting the slow-burning nature of the music, the DPRP also commented "Somehow, this music is like those French artistic movies. On the one hand you don't like them, on the other hand they grasp your attention and before you know it, you have enjoyed it."
Henry Fool played at the 2002 Whitchurch Festival minus Stephen Bennett and Fudge Smith, with bass player Peter Chilvers doubling on keyboards and Tim Bowness playing more live guitar than planned. The performance went well enough for New Horizons to dub it "a superb and atmospheric set ... a real treat."
A second album (consisting of a double CD) is almost finished.