Biography

The British band Fuchsia released a little-noticed self-titled album in 1971 that, true to its name, was a fusion of various currents of early-'70s rock, particularly progressive rock and British folk-rock. While guitarist and lead singer Tony Durant was Fuchsia's main motor as the composer of most of the material, the band's chief distinguishing mark was its three-woman string section, including cellist Madeleine Bland (who also played piano and harmonium) and violinists Janet Rogers and Vanessa Hall-Smith; all three also contributed backing vocals. With fairly tuneful folk-rock-pop-ish songs whose progressions are unconventional enough that you often don't know quite where they're going, it's an interesting effort, if not a wholly successful one. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi