Several years in the making, John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest will release new album, Relativity, through Esoteric Antenna and Cherry Red Records.
The album is a 78-minute collection of songs loosely based upon the concept of human and cosmic interaction and relationships. Produced by the band and mixed by acclaimed engineer Stephen W Tayler(known for his work with Kate Bush,Rush, Howard Jones, Rupert Hine, Tina Turnerand many more), Relativity is a true group effort by John Lees, Craig Fletcher, Jez Smith and Kevin Whitehead and draws upon the fine musical heritage of Barclay James Harvest whilst also being a body of music made for these current times. The result is said to be one of the finest albums by any incarnation of BJH in many years.
The music of Barclay James Harvest has endured for over fifty years. Through a series of classic albums, (including the platinum selling Gone to Earth) and memorable concert performances, including a free concert on the steps of the Reichstag, in the heart of the then divided city of Berlin before 175,000people (the recording of which went straight to No. 1 in Germany and reached number 15 in the UK) and an open-air concert in Berlin’s Treptower Park on July 14th, 1987 in front of an estimated 170,000 fans, the first time that a western rock band had performed an open-air concert in what was then East Germany, the band enjoyed huge success in Europe. Through songs composed by John Leessuch as ‘Mocking Bird’, ‘Child Of The Universe’, ‘Poor Man’s Moody Blues’ and ‘Hymn’, the band has continued to attract a loyal and dedicated global following over the past five decades.
Increasing disharmony in the ranks of the band led to an announcement in March 1998 that the band would be taking a sabbatical, marking the end of the original Barclay James Harvest, and that the members of the band would be pursuing solo projects. John Lees immediately teamed up with fellow BJH founder member, keyboardist Woolly Wolstenholme (who had departed the original band in 1979) to form what would eventually become John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest, along with Craig Fletcher (Bass, vocals) and Kevin Whitehead (Drums). The band was honoured in March 2008 by being bestowed the Lifetime Achievement award at the annual Radio Regenbogen Awards (the German equivalent of the UK BAFTA awards).
In 2009 Jez Smith joined JLBJH as a second keyboard player. Sadly, in December 2010 Woolly Wolstenholmesuffered a recurrence of a severe depressive condition and he tragically passed away. After some John Lees announced that he intended to continue with the group. The release of the album North in 2013was greeted with praise and in 2018 John Lees received theVisionaryaward at the annual Prog Awards in London. The band continued to tour Europe, their most recent tour being in 2023 which resulted in sold-out concerts in the UK, Germany, France and Switzerland and a live album and concert film with an 80-piece orchestra, Philharmonic! With their new album, Relativity, JLBJH will deliver their most accomplished album to date and a record said to be in the true spirit of Barclay James Harvest.
Relativity is available in three formats; a standard CD edition, a limited 3 disc boxed setedition (Including a region free Blu-ray audio disc of Stephen W Tayler’sl 5.1 Surround Sound mix of the album and an additional CD of highlights of a previously unreleased concert recorded at RosFest,Pennsylvania, USA in May 2009 featuring Woolly Wolstenholme) and a limited 2LP gatefold vinyl edition.
