Jadis

In the latter part of the 1980s Gary Chandler, handling guitar and vocals, teamed with Stephen Christey on drums and percussion to launch the English neo-progressive outfit Jadis. The group promptly secured high-profile support slots, among them a run opening for Marillion throughout the latter’s 1988 tour. By 1989 the band was headlining London’s historic Marquee Club while cutting its earliest demos alongside Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery. Persistent personnel shifts, however, postponed recording of the debut album More than Meets the Eye for another two years. Issued in 1992 on the independent label Giant Electric Pea, the record included guest contributions from I.Q. members Martin Orford on keyboards and flute plus John Jowitt on bass. The following year’s Once upon a Time EP cleared the path for the widely praised 1994 sophomore release Across the Water, promoted through lengthy U.K. and European tours. Stand-in musicians Mike Torr on keyboards and Steve Hunt joined for the 1996 Once or Twice EP while Orford and Jowitt toured with progressive rock figure John Wetton; both newcomers also played on the studio album Somersault and the 1998 live set As Daylight Fades. After a two-year hiatus, Understand appeared in 2000, restoring the band’s classic lineup for further extensive touring. Later Jadis releases comprised the 2001 odds-and-sods collection Medium Rare, the 2002 live album Alive Outside, and Fanatic, the group’s fifth studio album, which surfaced in 2003.