PRISM: The Story
History of the band
PRISM started sometime around June 2017 when Rich (the original bass player) got together with John, the original drummer. They were two musicians who had been learning to play instruments and playing bits of songs at home, who wanted to get together with other musicians to practice together, and who knows, maybe play a whole song!
After a couple of weeks they advertised for a guitarist to jam with, and that's when Martin joined.
After picking a handful of songs they got together each Friday evening to practice, and as each week went by, they got better. After each practice there would be emails flying back & forth, with each band member buzzing with the thrill that they got from playing music together.
Eventually, they needed to find a name for their band. Four options had been suggested; these quickly became two, and then the final one was chosen at random. PRISM was born.
There were various rhythm guitarists and vocalists that came and went over the coming few months, until in around February 2018 they were joined by Freddie (singer & frontman), followed shortly by Gary (rhythm guitar), Tony (keyboards), and Nick, who replaced the original drummer.
Although new to keyboards, Tony was an experience bands man, having played in countless bands over the years. Right after his first practice with PRISM he quickly put the us all straight on a few things, and provided the guidance and catalyst to progress us to being a gigging band.
In July 2019 Nick was replaced by veteran drummer Malcolm. Malcolm played in various bands in the 1960's one of which, the John Lewis Blues Band, supported Fleetwood Mac in London several times, and were regulars at 'Club a GoGo' in Newcastle.
The band was really starting to gain momentum in 2020 with gigs booked throughout the year, when guess what? Covid.
When the restrictions were lifted at the start of summer 2021 the band were back rehearsing, and with a number of 'delayed' gigs already in the calendar. However, the enforced break had taken it's toll and "musical differences" lead to our long-standing bass player Rich leaving, followed soon after by drummer Malcolm. The band actually played three gigs in August 2021 with Tony standing in on bass, an instrument he had given up to play keyboards, and really proving beyond doubt his experience and his commitment to honouring our booked gigs. In his words, "what if it was some young couple's wedding? You can't simply walk out if you have committed to play it."
In September 2021 the band were lucky enough to be joined by our new drummer Andy, and ex-military musician Ian on bass. Sounding better than ever, the band continues to be invited back to any venue we have previously played.
During 2022 we have played some really great venues & events, all of which we had previously played either pre or during the Covid pandemic, except this year they were bigger and better than ever. It was as though people were making up for lost time, and so were we.
Sadly, all things must come to an end. In the autumn of 2022, our keyboard player Tony and arguably the glue that had kept us together, announced his retirement from performing. All other members were already in other bands or had other musical projects on the go, and we agreed it was time to disband PRISM and focus on something else.
If you have ever seen us live, listened to one of our recordings, watched one of our videos, or even been in the band, we thank you very much. Our final gig as PRISM will be in November 2022.