“Square One” is the new album from Purser Deverill – former Tygers of Pan Tang members guitarist Fred Purser and vocalist Jon Deverill. It was released on 14th December and the album can trace its roots back to the demos being written for the next Tygers of Pan Tang album before the band split in 1983. The Tygers connection was what drew me to this release initially, but musically it is a little different and has a big Prog Rock influence. I included the title track on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 23rd November and on the A-Z Show on 1st January.


 

Singer Jon Deverill joined Tygers of Pan Tang in 1981 – releasing “Spellbound”, “Crazy Nights” and “The Cage”. Guitarist Fred Purser joined the band in 1982, replacing John Sykes after his departure. He played on “The Cage” and he and Deverill wrote several of the tracks on this album. When Tygers of Pan Tang broke up for the first time in 1983 Purser was already writing tracks for the next album – these became the basis for “Square One”. When Deverill reformed the band in 1985 with drummer Brian Dick, they brought in two new guitarists and released two albums before splitting again.


Thirty years down the line, Deverill and Purson reunited in the latter’s studio to record “Square One” and it is being released on the same label to which Tygers of Pan Tang are currently signed – Mighty Music. Purson plays guitars, bass and keyboards and they are joined by drummer Jeff Armstrong. They describe the album as “kind of proggy…with a good helping of rock.”


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About “NI Rocks Recommends”

The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. The albums that I’ll be recommending are those that you’ll hear me playing tracks from on my shows. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!