Arena (band)

Arena
Arena at "Baltic Prog Fest 2007" in Lithuania.
Background information
Origin	United Kingdom
Genres	Neo-progressive rock
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Verglas Music, Griffin Music, SPV
Members	Clive Nolan Mick Pointer John Mitchell Paul Manzi Kylan Amos
Past members	Keith More John Carson Cliff Orsi John Jowitt Paul Wrightson Ian Salmon Rob Sowden
Website	Official website

Arena are a British neo-progressive rock musical group founded in 1995. The band's style ranges from symphonic to hard rock.

History

Arena was founded in 1995 by Clive Nolan keyboardist of Pendragon and Shadowland, and Mick Pointer, the original drummer of Marillion, his tenure lasting from 1979 until 1983. The other founding members of the band were guitarist Keith More, vocalist John Carson, and bassist Cliff Orsi. Orsi was replaced by John Jowitt (of IQ) in the band's inaugural year, whilst Carson and More left the band in 1996 and 1997, and were replaced by Paul Wrightson and John Mitchell (of Frost*) respectively. Both Jowitt and Wrightson left the band in 1998, to be replaced by Ian Salmon and Rob Sowden, creating the band's most stable lineup to date (from 1998 until 2010). This lineup came to an end with Paul Manzi replacing Sowden in 2010. In 2011, Jowitt rejoined the band to replace the departing Salmon, leaving again in 2014 and being replaced by Kylan Amos.

Most of the band's lyrics are written by Nolan, though Pointer contributed lyrics to Sirens and other tracks on the first two albums.

Musically the band's style ranges from symphonic to hard rock. Some of the band's recent albums have a similar sound to Nolan's earlier band, Shadowland.

Allmusic called them one of the dominant neo-prog groups of the 1990s.

Personnel

Members

Current members

• Clive Nolan - keyboards, backing vocals (1995-present)
• Mick Pointer - drums, backing vocals (1995-present)
• John Mitchell - guitars (1997-present)
• Paul Manzi - vocals (2010-present)
• Kylan Amos - bass (2014-present)

Former members

• Keith More - guitars, backing vocals (1995–1997)
• John Carson - vocals (1995-1996)
• Cliff Orsi - bass (1995)
• John Jowitt - bass, backing vocals (1995–1998, 2011-2014)
• Paul Wrightson - vocals (1996–1998)
• Ian Salmon - bass (1998–2011)
• Rob Sowden - vocals (1998–2010)

Lineups

1995	1995-1996	1996-1997	1997-1998
John Carson - vocals Keith More - guitars, backing vocals Clive Nolan - keyboards, backing vocals Mick Pointer - drums, backing vocals Cliff Orsi - bass	John Carson - vocals Keith More - guitars, backing vocals Clive Nolan - keyboards, backing vocals Mick Pointer - drums, backing vocals John Jowitt - bass, backing vocals	Keith More - guitars, backing vocals Clive Nolan - keyboards, backing vocals Mick Pointer - drums, backing vocals John Jowitt - bass, backing vocals Paul Wrightson - vocals	Clive Nolan - keyboards, backing vocals Mick Pointer - drums, backing vocals John Jowitt - bass, backing vocals Paul Wrightson - vocals John Mitchell - guitars
1998-2010	2010-2011	2011-2014	2014-present
Clive Nolan - keyboards, backing vocals Mick Pointer - drums, backing vocals John Mitchell - guitars Ian Salmon - bass Rob Sowden - vocals	Clive Nolan - keyboards, backing vocals Mick Pointer - drums, backing vocals John Mitchell - guitars Ian Salmon - bass Paul Manzi - vocals	Clive Nolan - keyboards, backing vocals Mick Pointer - drums, backing vocals John Mitchell - guitars Paul Manzi - vocals John Jowitt - bass, backing vocals	Clive Nolan - keyboards, backing vocals Mick Pointer - drums, backing vocals John Mitchell - guitars Paul Manzi - vocals Kylan Amos - bass

Timeline

Discography

Arena at "Baltic Prog Fest 2007" in Lithuania.

Studio

• Songs from the Lion's Cage (1995)
• Pride (1996)
• The Visitor (1998)
• Immortal? (2000)
• Contagion (2003)
• Pepper's Ghost (2005)
• The Seventh Degree of Separation (2011)
• The Unquiet Sky (2015)

Live

• Welcome to the Stage (1997)
• Breakfast in Biarritz (2001)
• Live & Life (2004)
• Arena: Live (2013)
• Arena: XX (2016)

EP

• Contagious (2003)
• Contagium (2003)

Compilations

• The Cry (1997)
• Ten Years On (2006)
• Contagion Max (2014)

Videos/DVDs

• Caught in the Act (2003) (live)
• Smoke & Mirrors (2006) (live)
• Rapture (2011) (live)

External links

• Official site
• Arena at AllMusic
• The Shattered Room Official Arena Forum
• The Cage Official Arena Fanclub
• Interview with Clive Nolan for "TSDoS"