Gentle Giant

Gentle Giant
(l-r): John Weathers, Ray Shulman, Derek Shulman, Gary Green and Kerry Minnear, in 1977.
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Progressive rock
Years active	1970–1980
Labels	Chrysalis (UK), Vertigo (UK, US), Columbia (US), Capitol (US), One Way Records, Alucard Music, DRT Entertainment, Major League Productions (MLP), Road Goes On Forever (UK), Terrapin Trucking (UK)
Past members	Gary Green Kerry Minnear Derek Shulman Phil Shulman Ray Shulman Martin Smith Malcolm Mortimore John Weathers
Website	gentlegiantmusic.com

Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. They were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of the members. All of the band members were multi-instrumentalists. Although not commercially successful, the band did achieve a cult following.^[1]

The band stated that their aim was to "expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of becoming very unpopular",^[2] although this stance was to alter significantly with time.

Gentle Giant's music was considered complex even by progressive rock standards, drawing on a broad swathe of music including folk, soul, jazz, and classical music.^[3] Unlike many of their progressive rock contemporaries, their "classical" influences ranged beyond the Romantic and incorporated medieval, baroque, and modernist chamber music elements. The band also had a taste for broad themes for their lyrics, drawing inspiration not only from personal experiences but from philosophy and the works of François Rabelais and R. D. Laing. In 2015 they were recognised with the lifetime achievement award at the Progressive Music Awards.^[4]