Empire traces its beginnings to the breakup of Flash, going briefly by the name Flash Mk. II. After emerging from management conflicts surrounding that group, guitarist Peter Banks, a former member of Yes, gathered fellow musicians from the loosely organized sessions of ZOX and the Radar Boys. Those gatherings had included Phil Collins on drums, but commitments to Genesis restricted his role to just a handful of tracks on the 1974 recordings that launched the renamed Empire.
Progressive touches defined Empire’s approach, consistent with the presence of both Banks and Collins. Their sessions nevertheless ranged freely across styles, touching on blues and country blues alike. The lineup stood out among progressive acts for its female frontwoman, as Sydney Foxx supplied forceful blues-rooted vocals that offset the music’s layered textures, bringing to mind Lydia Pense or at moments Janis Joplin. Renaissance, by contrast, had relied on Annie Haslam’s more ethereal style.
The band enjoyed scant recognition. Despite interest from the music press, Banks and Foxx could not obtain distribution for the recordings in Britain or the United States. Undeterred, they completed two further albums during the seventies, yet neither found an outlet. Two decades passed before One Way issued the material on CD; although the albums fall short of lost classics, their quality makes the group’s inability to secure any foothold before its 1980 dissolution all the more unfortunate.
