Between 1975 and 1978, Osprey were a gigging Leicester (UK) based 'prog rock' band who wrote much of their own material.
They were a five piece band, the core members being
- Paul Asher - Bass Guitar
- Steve Johnson - Lead Guitar
- John Leadbetter - Drums
- Phil Selvidge - Keyboards
Over time, three vocalists sang with the band. Original member, Ian Ward was also the lyricist for all of their material. His was briefly replaced by another Ian (surname unknown) who had a rare 'Roger Chapman' vibrato to his voice, and finally, Noreen McRory brought her Irish lilt to the procedings. Before Phil Selvidge, keyboardist Wally Watts played briefly with the band.
All tracks were written and arranged by the entire band.
Before gigging, the band spent many months writing and arranging their songs. Prog rock was in its hey-day at the time and this is reflected in many of their tracks which could be described as 'epic' and included frequent key, tempo and style changes to tell the lyrical story. Although the style of the three vocalists could be described as 'punkish', Osprey were ultimately defeated by the new genre which happened just before their first gig and their original and complex music wasn't always well received.
All known Osprey recordings of their practice and live sessions are uploaded here, including all versions of the same song, as many of the arrangements changed with time and vocalists. Also included are tracks recorded by their folky spinoff band (Noreen, Steve and Paul) as well as some multitrack recordings of covers by Steve and Paul.
