Druid

Formed in 1971, the progressive rock group Druid began as a trio consisting of school friends Dane Stevens and Cedric Sharpley together with bassist Neil Brewer from the local area. After several years performing in clubs, the band entered and won a Melody Maker contest aimed at unsigned acts, at which point keyboardist Andrew McCrorie-Shand, a recent graduate of the London College of Music, joined the lineup.

The contest victory brought new instruments and a recording deal, resulting in the release of their first album in July 1975 amid skeptical commentary from competing groups and the press. Persistent accusations of manufactured buzz proved hard to dispel, and some observers also labeled the group as imitators of Yes, a criticism later aimed at the American band Starcastle as well. Druid had in fact supported Yes on multiple tours. Although the parallel to Yes stands out immediately, it does not hold in every respect: while Stevens’s singing draws clear inspiration from Jon Anderson and Brewer’s bass playing reproduces the sharp, pick-driven Rickenbacker tone associated with Chris Squire, McCrorie-Shand’s straightforward keyboard work avoids both the ornate flourishes of Rick Wakeman and the aggressive, chord-heavy Hammond style of Tony Kaye.

On their follow-up album, issued in spring 1976, the band moved away from earlier production ties and Melody Maker associations. Even so, the weaker songs on that record could not be overcome, and Druid disbanded soon afterward. Sharpley, however, achieved quick success by joining the new project led by Gary Numan.