Bursting With Pride

“Steven Wilson was probably about 19 [when he joined Pride Of Passion]. I remember that he was very keen and a hugely creative individual. He really was a unique talent and provided a very positive input into the band at that time.” They were favourites at the Marquee and their line-up included a young Steven Wilson, but Pride Of Passion never reached the dizzying heights of their peers. Several decades after their original split, they're back with a new EP and FM keyboardist Jem Davis in tow. Vocalist Deborah Hopper and bassist Diz Minnitt (formerly of Marillion) discuss their unplanned return, Brink Of The Horizon and future plans.

- Diz Minnitt

It’s been four decades since Pride Of Passion last surfaced, yet they remain fondly recalled by those who were entranced by their frequent gigs at the Marquee. A household name they most certainly aren’t, but the band possessed significant prog credentials back in the mid-80s. Former Marillion colleagues Brian Jelliman and Diz Minnitt were core members, with their sound at one time being augmented by one Steven Wilson on keyboards.

“Steven was probably about 19 [when he joined the band],” recalls bassist Minnitt. “I remember that he was very keen and a hugely creative individual. He really was a unique talent and provided a very positive input into the band at that time.”

In what was probably a case of right band at the wrong time, Pride Of Passion failed to make a commercial breakthrough, despite being a massively popular live act. Record companies were attracted to the cramped surrounds of their London gigs but the hefty commercial backing that they needed failed to materialise, as vocalist Deborah Hopper remembers.

“EMI had put us in the studio and we recorded tracks for them, but nothing happened,” she says. “We then released a single, which did have a distribution deal, but we just didn’t get the airplay. There was another guy who came to see us and I seem to remember it was George Michael’s manager. He had only heard one song, which he really liked. He basically said that we needed to write more songs like that, so that didn’t really get off the ground. I guess if we'd persevered a bit more, there might have been a bit more interest. We did so many gigs and I remember putting in the leg work trying to get people down to the gigs, you know, phoning people and sending them stuff. But it was all to no avail.”