Lake

Formed in Hamburg, Germany, during 1973, the multinational rock outfit Lake assembled around Ian Cussick (born Scotland, vocals), Geoff Pacey (born England, keyboards) and Bernie Whelan (born Ireland, trumpet), together with four additional European musicians—three from Germany and one from Italy. Lake’s harmonic, neo-orchestral rock vision survived countless personnel shifts and steadily built an expanding worldwide profile. The self-titled debut album of 1976 strengthened that profile, moving more than 400,000 units inside Germany alone. An intense schedule of live shows encompassed multiple open-air events across continental Europe, appearances at London’s Marquee, and a forty-date American trek on which the record entered the charts. Following a live album, the band re-entered the studio in 1978 to record Lake II; promotion included a slot on the British television program Old Grey Whistle Test plus opening engagements for Genesis and Bob Dylan, while several German music polls named them best rock group. Ever-changing membership rendered the band’s timeline increasingly tangled; by the late 1970s the roster featured James Hopkins-Harrison (died May 1991, vocals), Alex Conti (guitar) and Detlef Petersen (keyboards). In 1981 the musicians concluded they had not sustained their early momentum and elected to disband. Conti launched a solo career; the remaining members turned to session work. A short-lived yet commercially successful reunion of several original and former members occurred in 1983.