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UK progressive rock outfit, THE TIRITH, return with a powerful new chapter, reaffirming their place in the modern prog scene. Their new single, Save The Oak, arrives on Friday, 1st May, ahead of the album, Quetzalcoatl, out Friday, 3rd July. Get to know the band, below:
Dick Cory (and Tim Cox) from The Tirith have made these comments
What are the origins of the band? How long have you been playing together?
The band goes back a long way. It was originally formed in Loughborough as Minas Tirith in the 70s when we were just kids. Tim, Dick, and Paul were part of that. But Tim and Dick go back even further, playing together when we were both pupils at Loughborough Grammar School. The early phase finished quite soon, and there followed a hiatus of over 30 years. Tim and Dick stayed in touch and occasionally created music together throughout that period. Eventually, the band came back together as “The Tirith” in 2010 at the suggestion of Paul Williams. Activity has been continuous since 2010, the band playing many gigs and festivals and releasing 3 studio albums, Quetzalcoatl will be the 4th.
What should people expect when they check the band out? How would you describe The Tirith?
Well, we are a Prog/Rock band, so let’s get that out there to begin with, but we are not prog in the way that most people expect a current prog band to be. We don’t play what I would call standard prog, i.e., we don’t play in silly time signatures just for the sake of it, and we are not influenced by Genesis as most seem to be. Our influences stretch too wide for that. It is song-based, properly constructed songs with instrumental sections, and in many styles. We can be heavy and riff-based with soaring guitar solos, but also slower, more reflective tunes, folk-influenced in places, occasionally symphonic, a few simply weird ones, jazz sections, and even a prog waltz. Not all of our music necessarily falls within the prog genre; it’s wider than that.
How did you feel performing your first gig as a band, and how was it?!
Our reunion gig was at The Musician in Leicester, supporting Focus back in 2011. Just the 3 of us, Tim Cox on guitars, me (Dick Cory) on bass and vocals, and Paul Williams on drums. We were squeezed onto the front of the stage, with next to no room, the space being taken up by Thijs van Leer’s organ. Paul’s drum stool collapsed, and he had to reach behind to borrow Pierre van der Linden’s stool. But even so, it was great to be on stage again together after all those years. We played quite well to an appreciative audience, just 5 songs, all from the early days of the band and later released on our debut album, Tales from the Tower.
What are you working on at the moment that people can check out?
Always working on new ideas for future songs, but nothing recorded so far. Our single “Save The Oak (radio edit)” is out on 1st May, with another single “Dancing With Vampires (radio edit)” to be released on 26th June. Our album Quetzalcoatl is released on 3rd July. People can check out the Quetzalcoatl trailer at https://www.facebook.com/reel/1641922960096864, which has brief interludes of 4 songs from the album.
Regarding a similar audience, which band at the moment do you feel that you would be best suited to open for?
Rush or Caravan
Excluding yourself, which new band would you like to see break out and become a success?
Ebb, they are doing quite well, but not exactly in the mainstream yet.
What frustrates you about the music business?
What doesn’t frustrate me about the music business? Although access to download and streaming services is great, and you can easily do independent releases, everybody seems to want something for nothing. CD sales have gone down, which is taking vital income away from bands, but we still sell some CDs at gigs and on Bandcamp. On this site, downloads are now just edging it over CD sales. But don’t talk to me about streaming, we have to be on Spotify and Apple for promotional reasons, but rarely get paid, and then it’s a pittance. Unless you are a major artist like Taylor Swift with millions of streams, you make next to nothing from streaming sites. So great to be out there, fantastic tools, but everyone wants something for nothing these days.
What are your first musical memories? And what lightbulb moment made you say, “I want to do that”?
Embarrassingly, “Little White Bull” by Tommy Steel. But I started paying attention when I first heard The Beatles. So influential, I grew up with The Beatles, and they seemed to change and evolve as I did. I also loved The Stones and later Led Zeppelin, who were my awakening to hard rock.
What was the last gig that you attended as a fan?
Recently, Haze and Chantal McGregor. Before that, Peter Gabriel and King Crimson.
What current social issues are you particularly passionate about?
I am not a political person. I am most concerned about conservation issues, hence I run the Prog Rhino series of mini-fests, which benefit Rhino conservation.
The album that you have in your album collection/Spotify playlist that would surprise most people?
Sinatra at The Sands, I always hated him as a child, but now I can’t get enough of the guy, just a great vocalist, the timing? Something else!
Everybody is a fan of something. Who or what are you a fan of?
I am a Paul McCartney fan; it goes back a long way. Generally not a fan of anybody else, but like a wide spectrum of music. I suppose I am a Monty Python fan as well; nobody has surpassed them or is quite so surreal. Also a Tolkien fan, but keep it out of the music these days. Space exploration.
What new music have you enjoyed so far this year?
Minimal techno, Ghost, Turnstile, Polyphia, Bruce Springsteen, Alter Bridge, “Kiss my Acid” by Marie Vaunt, “Songs of a Lost World” by The Cure, Peter Gabriel, IQ “Dominion”, Ryan Adams “Self Portrait”, and Sleep Token.
What does 2026 hold for you?
The release of Quetzalcoatl after 2 years of hard work on the album. Other things, the safe arrival of another grandchild in October. A trip to Burgundy and the Charente in France in June, another trip to Seattle and Alaska in July, and to Dorset in August.
How active are you on social media, and where can people connect with you?
We post regularly on Facebook and a few other services.
https://www.thetirith.com
https://thetirith.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/The.Tirith
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheTirithBand
