Arena (band)
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox musical artist
Arena are an English neo-prog band founded in 1995. Their 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, whose 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. In July 2020, Manzi was replaced by Damian Wilson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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. While in the beginning the band sounded like Fish-era Marillion, some of their 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Personnel
- Current members
- Clive Nolan – keyboards, backing vocals (1995–present)
- Mick Pointer – drums (1995–present)
- John Mitchell – guitars, backing vocals (1997–present)
- Kylan Amos – bass, backing vocals (2014–present)
- Damian Wilson – lead vocals (2020–present)
- Former members
- John Carson – lead vocals (1995–1996)
- Cliff Orsi – bass (1995–1996)
- Keith More – guitars, backing vocals (1995–1997)
- John Jowitt – bass, backing vocals (1996–1999, 2010–2014)
- Paul Wrightson – lead vocals (1996–1999)
- Ian Salmon – bass, acoustic guitar (1999–2010)
- Rob Sowden – lead vocals (1999–2010)
- Paul Manzi – lead vocals (2010–2020)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Lineups
| 1995–1996 | 1996–1997 | 1997–1999 | 1999–2010 | 2010–2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 2014–2020 | 2020–present | |||
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Timeline
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id:LVocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:BVocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:Guitars value:green legend:Guitars id:Keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Album value:black legend:Studio_Album
LineData =
at:25/07/1995 color:black layer:back at:24/09/1996 color:black layer:back at:22/04/1998 color:black layer:back at:22/04/2000 color:black layer:back at:27/01/2003 color:black layer:back at:17/01/2005 color:black layer:back at:01/07/2011 color:black layer:back at:05/05/2015 color:black layer:back at:25/05/2018 color:black layer:back at:21/10/2022 color:black layer:back
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bar:Carson text:"John Carson" bar:Wrightson text:"Paul Wrightson" bar:Sowden text:"Rob Sowden" bar:Manzi text:"Paul Manzi" bar:Wilson text:"Damian Wilson" bar:More text:"Keith More" bar:Mitchell text:"John Mitchell" bar:Nolan text:"Clive Nolan" bar:Orsi text:"Cliff Orsi" bar:Jowitt text:"John Jowitt" bar:Salmon text:"Ian Salmon" bar:Amos text:"Kylan Amos" bar:Pointer text:"Mick Pointer"
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width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(11,-6) bar:Carson from:start till:01/02/1996 color:LVocals bar:Wrightson from:01/02/1996 till:01/02/1999 color:LVocals bar:Sowden from:01/02/1999 till:01/07/2010 color:LVocals bar:Manzi from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2020 color:LVocals bar:Wilson from:01/07/2020 till:end color:LVocals bar:More from:start till:01/07/1997 color:Guitars bar:More from:start till:01/07/1997 color:BVocals width:3 bar:Mitchell from:01/07/1997 till:end color:Guitars bar:Mitchell from:01/07/1997 till:end color:BVocals width:3 bar:Orsi from:start till:01/02/1996 color:Bass bar:Jowitt from:01/02/1996 till:01/02/1999 color:Bass bar:Jowitt from:01/02/1996 till:01/02/1999 color:BVocals width:3 bar:Jowitt from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2014 color:Bass bar:Jowitt from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2014 color:BVocals width:3 bar:Salmon from:01/02/1999 till:01/07/2010 color:Bass bar:Salmon from:01/06/2004 till:31/10/2004 color:Guitars width:3 bar:Amos from:01/07/2014 till:end color:Bass bar:Amos from:01/07/2014 till:end color:BVocals width:3 bar:Pointer from:start till:end color:Drums bar:Nolan from:start till:end color:Keyboards bar:Nolan from:start till:end color:BVocals width:3
</timeline>
Discography
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)
- Double Vision (2018)
- The Theory of Molecular Inheritance (2022)
Live
- Welcome to the Stage (1997)
- Breakfast in Biarritz (2001)
- Live & Life (2004)
- Arena: Live (2013)
- Arena: XX (2016)
- Lifian (2023)
EP
- Edits (1996)
- The Cry (1997)
- Contagious (2003)
- Contagium (2003)
Compilations
- Ten Years On (2006)
Videos/DVDs
- Caught in the Act (2003) (live)
- Smoke & Mirrors (2006) (live)
- Rapture (2011) (live)
- Arena: XX (2016) (live)
- Re-Visited (2018) (live)
Fanclub releases
- Welcome Back! To the Stage (1997)
- The Visitor Revisited (1999)
- Unlocking the Cage (2000)
- Radiance (2003)
References
External links
- Official site
- The Shattered Room Official Arena Forum
- Interview with Clive Nolan for "TSDoS"