IQ (band)

IQ
IQ at the Night of the Prog Festival, July 9th 2011. L-R: Mike Holmes, Paul Cook (hidden), Peter Nicholls, Neil Durant, and Tim Esau.
Background information
Origin	Southampton England
Genres	Neo-progressive rock, progressive metal
Years active	1980 (1980)–present
Labels	The Major Record Company, The Classic One Shoe Record Label, MSI, Sahara, Samurai, Squawk, Vertigo, Mercury, Giant Electric Pea, SPV, InsideOut
Members	Mike Holmes Tim Esau Peter Nicholls Paul Cook Neil Durant
Past members	Martin Orford Mark Ridout Paul Menel Les 'Ledge' Marshall John Jowitt Andy Edwards Mark Westworth
Website	http://www.iq-hq.co.uk/

IQ are a British neo-progressive rock band founded by Mike Holmes and Martin Orford in 1981 following the dissolution of their original band The Lens. Although the band have never enjoyed major commercial success and had several line up changes, IQ have built up a loyal following over the years and are still active as of 2016. In 2011, IQ performed a series of concerts in the UK and Europe celebrating their 30th anniversary.

The Neo-Progressive movement

IQ were one of a small number of British bands formed during the early 1980s, including Marillion, Pendragon, Twelfth Night, Pallas, Quasar, LaHost and Solstice that continued with the progressive rock style forsaken by 1970s bands such as Genesis and Yes. The music press coined the phrase neo-progressive to describe these bands, often accusing them of simply copying the styles of other bands. This accusation has been strenuously denied by IQ, which are against the use of the term "neo progressive" and claim to have a wide-ranging and eclectic selection of musical influences.

The line-up

From 1982, the line-up consisted of Peter Nicholls (vocals), Mike Holmes (guitar), Martin Orford (keyboards), Paul Cook (not to be confused with the Sex Pistols' drummer of the same name) (drums), and Tim Esau (bass). Nicholls left in July 1985 to form a new band, Niadem's Ghost, and was replaced by Paul (P. L.) Menel, but subsequently returned in 1990. Nicholls also created the cover art for most of the albums on which he appears. In early 2005, member Paul Cook left the band and was replaced on drums by Andy Edwards. On 20 July 2007 Martin Orford announced that he was leaving IQ and he was replaced by Mark Westworth from prog-rock band Darwin's Radio. As of late 2009, Paul Cook has returned to replace Andy Edwards on drums. On 7 October 2010, Mark Westworth announced on the band's official web site that he would be leaving the band and his final appearance with IQ was on 11 December 2010. On 1 January 2011, the band announced that Mark's replacement on keyboards would be Neil Durant, from instrumental prog-fusion band Sphere3. On 7 January 2011, bassist of 19 years John Jowitt announced on the band's website that he had left the band and that his last appearance with the band had also been the concert on 11 December 2010. He was replaced by original bassist Tim Esau in January 2011.

Musical style

At The Classic Rock Society Awards Night, January 16th 2010. The band had won Band of the Year and Best Album for "Frequency". L-R: Holmes, Nicholls, Cook, Westworth, Jowitt

The band's musical style, especially earlier in their career, was reminiscent of Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett era Genesis because of singer Peter Nicholls' vocal and stage-presence similarities to Gabriel and keyboardist Martin Orford's grandiose keyboarding. However, guitarist Mike Holmes' role was far more assertive in the band, giving them a harder edge musically. After Nicholls' departure, the band's style became increasingly commercial and radio-friendly — albeit without much success — on Nomzamo (1987) and Are You Sitting Comfortably? (1989), although each album still featured some progressive rock-style tracks. Beginning with Nicholls's return on 1993's Ever, the band returned to its prog rock roots, with longer tracks featuring intricate arrangements and complex musicianship.

Personnel

Members

Current members

• Mike Holmes – guitars (1981–present)
• Tim Esau – bass guitar (1981–1989, 2011–present)
• Peter Nicholls – vocals, backing vocals (1981–1985, 1990–present)
• Paul Cook – drums (1982–2005, 2009–present)
• Neil Durant - keyboards (2010–present)

Former members

• Martin Orford – keyboards, backing vocals (1981–2007)
• Mark Ridout – drums (1981–1982)
• Paul (P.L.) Menel – vocals (1985–1990)
• Les 'Ledge' Marshall – bass guitar (1989-1991)
• John Jowitt – bass guitar, backing vocals (1991–2011)
• Andy Edwards – drums (2005–2009)
• Mark Westworth – keyboards (2007–2010)

Lineups

1981-1982	1982-1985	1985-1989	1989-1990
Tim Esau – bass Mike Holmes – guitars Peter Nicholls – vocals Martin Orford – keyboards, backing vocals Mark Ridout – drums	Tim Esau – bass Mike Holmes – guitars Peter Nicholls – vocals Martin Orford – keyboards, backing vocals Paul Cook – drums	Tim Esau – bass Mike Holmes – guitars Martin Orford – keyboards, backing vocals Paul Cook – drums Paul Menel – vocals	Mike Holmes – guitars Martin Orford – keyboards, backing vocals Paul Cook – drums Paul Menel – vocals Les Marshall – bass
1990-1991	1991-2005	2005-2007	2007-2009
Mike Holmes – guitars Martin Orford – keyboards, backing vocals Paul Cook – drums Les Marshall – bass Peter Nicholls – vocals	Mike Holmes – guitars Martin Orford – keyboards, backing vocals Paul Cook – drums Peter Nicholls – vocals John Jowitt – bass, backing vocals	Mike Holmes – guitars Martin Orford – keyboards, backing vocals Peter Nicholls – vocals John Jowitt – bass, backing vocals Andy Edwards – drums	Mike Holmes – guitars Peter Nicholls – vocals John Jowitt – bass, backing vocals Andy Edwards – drums Mark Westworth – keyboards
2009-2010	2010-2011	2011-present
Mike Holmes – guitars Peter Nicholls – vocals John Jowitt – bass, backing vocals Mark Westworth – keyboards Paul Cook – drums	Mike Holmes – guitars Peter Nicholls – vocals John Jowitt – bass, backing vocals Paul Cook – drums Neil Durant - keyboards	Mike Holmes – guitars Peter Nicholls – vocals Paul Cook – drums Neil Durant - keyboards Tim Esau – bass

Timeline

Discography

Albums

• Tales from the Lush Attic (1983)
  • 30th anniversary remix plus extras (2013)
• The Wake (1985)
  • 25th anniversary edition plus extras (2010)
• Nomzamo (1987)
• Are You Sitting Comfortably? (1989)
• Ever (1993)
• Subterranea (1997)
• Seven Stories into '98 (1998)
• The Seventh House (2000)
• Dark Matter (2004)
• Frequency (2009)
• The Road of Bones (2014)

Live albums

• Living Proof (live) (1986)
• J'ai Pollette d'Arnu (1991) (b-sides and live tracks)
• Forever Live (1993)
• Subterranea: The Concert (2000)
• The Archive Collection: IQ20 (2003) ("official bootleg" of live concert)
• The Wake in Concert (2010)
• The Archive Collection: IQ30 (2012) ("official bootleg" of live concert)

Compilations

• Nine in a Pond is Here (1985) ("official bootleg" of demos etc., CD version is abridged)
• The Lost Attic (1999) (rarities)
• Limited edition Frequency Tour CD 1 (2008) (rarities and live tracks)
• Limited edition Frequency Tour CD 2 (2008) (rarities and live tracks)

Videos

• Forever Live (VHS/CD set 1996, DVD set 2007)
• Subterranea: The Concert (DVD, 2000)
• IQ20 - The Twentieth Anniversary Show (VHS 2000, DVD 2004)
• Live from London (DVD, recorded 13 May 1985 in London, 2005)
• IQ Stage (DVD, 2006)
• Forever Live (DVD, 2007)
• The Wake in Concert (DVD, 2010)

External links

• Official IQ web site
• The Museum of the band IQ
• Collection of IQ MIDI files (archived)