British Folk-Rock Super Group, The Gathering Britannia Releases Debut CD ‘The Bridge Between’

Philadelphia, PA – Folk rock enthusiasts around the world are buzzing with the forthcoming CD release by The Gathering Britannia, a British Folk-Rock Super Group whose history is undeniable. The Gathering Britannia features a veritable Who�s Who of key players, whose combined experience and membership have seen them record or perform with some of the most influential artists to grace stages and record collections across the world. Comprised of former and current members of Fairport Convention, Lindisfarne, Magna Carta, The Hellecasters, The Albion Band, Jethro Tull, Steeleye Span, Fotheringay and Pentangle, never before (outside of the seminal festivals of folk-rocks� brightest and finest period) has such a line-up drawn from the genres� most influential bands come together to celebrate their shared heritage of songs and performances with you! Their first release, ‘The Bridge Between’, to be released on Philadelphia’s ItsAboutMusic.com, features original songs and covers of favorites from the past along with tunes written by Richard Thompson and Alan Hull.

The Gathering Britannia
RAY JACKSON (Lindisfarne)
DOUG MORTER (Magna Carta/Albion Band)
JERRY DONAHUE (Fairport Convention /Fotheringay/The Hellecasters)
CLIVE BUNKER (Jethro Tull/Pentangle)
JACK KEMP (Steeleye Span)
KRISTINA DONAHUE (3 time Fairport guest at Cropredy Festival)

JERRY DONAHUE
Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, Sandy Denny, The Hellecasters
Guitars, vocals
From his early days in such bands as Fotheringay and Fairport Convention, to notable performances and/or recordings with Gerry Rafferty, Robert Plant, Joan Armatrading, George Harrison, Chris Rea, Warren Zevon, Hank Marvin, Roy Orbison, The Yardbirds, and The Hellecasters, Jerry epitomizes the consummate guitarists guitarist. The son of the late 1940s/50s Big Band leader Sam Donahue and TV and film actress, Patricia Donahue, and father of singer/ songwriter Kristina Donahue, Jerry has combined the Celtic folk music of his adopted home in the UK with his American rock, blues and country roots to arrive at his own, unique, unmistakable style.

CLIVE BUNKER
Jethro Tull, Pentangle, Gordon Giltrap, Blodwyn Pig
Drums
It was as a drummer of “mix and match” description that Clive Bunker joined the fledgling Jethro Tull at the end of ’67 to accompany Ian Anderson, Mick Abrahams, and Glenn Cornick in the early, heady days of the post blues-boom years of Brit-rock. Never the self-professed technical drummer, Clive made his impact, based on his throbbing, gritty engagement with the essence of blues and rock and roll, moved by the work of Ginger Baker, Mitch Mitchell et al. Today, Clive still remains a sought-after session musician, with many, many credits to his name amongst the world of old and not-so-old music groups.

RAY JACKSON
Lindisfarne
Vocals, mandolin and harmonica
Ray is a founding member of Lindisfarne. Formed in 1969, Lindisfarne had a very successful recording career (with Ray as front man) beginning with the album Nicely Out Of Tune. Continuing with the ubiquitous Fog On The Tyne, their hits were to include Meet Me On The Corner, Lady Eleanor, All Fall Down and Run For Home. The Night, a solo album, was released in 1980. Ray has also played both mandolin and harmonica as well as performing vocals on sessions for other leading recording artists such as Long John Baldry, Peter Hammill, Chris de Burgh and Rod Stewart. Perhaps most notable were his performances on Rod�s Every Picture Tells a Story (Maggie May and Mandolin Wind) and on Smiler. Ray famously wrote the mandolin hook on Maggie May! Ray�s long career has seen him perform all over the world, sharing the bill with the likes of The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan and Traffic (to name but a few!).

DOUG MORTER
Magna Carta, Hunter Muskett, The Albion Band
Vocals, acoustic & electric guitars
Doug Morter launched his music career in 1969, playing with Hunter Muskett, supporting a young David Bowie, and went on his first major tour supporting Ralph McTell. Following on, he performed extensively throughout the UK and Europe, with partner Richard Digance on major tours supporting Jethro Tull, Joan Armatrading, Elkie Brooks, Richard Thompson, Supertramp, Sutherland Brothers, Kinks, and Steeleye Span. After his stint with Richard, Doug joined The Maddy Prior Band, followed by the Michael Chapman Band. In 1979, he went on his first tour as part of the Albion Band. Doug then joined Magna Carta full time in 1980, after guesting on an earlier record. Three albums and many foreign tours later, Doug left in 1983 to re-join the Albion Band, remaining until 1985/6. In 1985, after releasing his first solo record, Doug started recording the first of two records with guitar virtuoso Jerry Donahue. The pair became the basis for The Backroom Boys. The BB�s occasionally tour still, schedules permitting. Doug is presently working with Then Came The Wheel, when The Gathering Britannia are off the road.

RICK KEMP
Steeleye Span
Bass/ Vocals
As a member of Steeleye Span for over twenty years, Rick Kemp earned a great deal of admiration from more than just the folk fans. Kemp’s intrepid, melodic bass playing is admired greatly among bassists for his ability to step outside the folk-rock genre to incorporate slap techniques and the use of a fretless bass in his work. In addition to Steeleye Span, Rick Kemp has played bass on a number of Maddy Prior recordings, and was a member of the Maddy Prior Band in the 1980s.

KRISTINA DONAHUE
3 time Fairport Convention guest At Cropredy Festival
Vocals
Daughter of legendary guitarist Jerry Donahue, and granddaughter of the late 1940s/50s Big Band leader Sam Donahue, Kristina is a natural talent; singing and dancing before she could walk or talk. She made her rock and roll debut at the Fairport Convention Cropredy Festival in 1999 singing to an audience of more than 20,000 people. She was invited back the following year, performing a full set for both nights of the festival which garnered rave reviews from MOJO Magazine praised her stage presence and versatility as a vocalist. “(She made) an immediate impression over the loudest band of the weekend, seemingly un-intimidated by such an extraordinarily difficult song or backing that bore the might of musical history.” She most recently sang “The Battle Of Evermore” with Robert Plant and Fairport Convention at the 2008 Cropredy Festival.

The Gathering Britannia ‘The Bridge Between’ CD will be available July 12th, 2001.

For song samples from The Gathering Britannia:
Use this if you want to play the album samples http://itsaboutmusic.net/samples/The_Gathering_Britannia/The_Bridge_Between/album.m3u
Use this if you want to go to the page where the samples can be played: http://www.itsaboutmusic.com/gathering.html

Other recent releases from ItsAboutMusic.com: JD Malone & The Experts � Avalon, Dino Valenti’s ‘Get Together’, Mark Clarke ‘Moving To The Moon’, Natural Gas ‘Natural Gas’, Michael Stanley ‘Shadowland’, Fran King ‘My Sweet Elixir’, Healing Sixes ‘Blue Jay’, Space Opera ‘Safe At Home’, Pyewacket ‘1967’, Fairport Convention with Sandy Denny ‘Ebbetts Field 1974’, Nektar � ‘A Tab In The Ocean’ / ‘In The Beginning (The Boston Tapes)’
For more information visit www.ItsAboutMusic.com

Source: Glass Onyon PR