Flamborough Head

Flamborough Head

Flamborough Head is a Dutch progressive rock group from Fryslân, active since 1992. The band begins as a project led by keyboard player Edo Spanninga, who wants to form a group focused on progressive rock, the style that most interests him. The group develops in the early 1990s through several lineup changes and moves from an early, sequencer-based approach toward a more guitar- and keyboard-led sound.

Formation and early years

The band first brings together Frans Wolf on keyboards and drum computers and Wiebe Wolf on guitars, both formerly involved with Made in Holland, alongside vocalist Siebe Rein Schaaf. They later add Koen Roozen on drums and Marcel Derix on bass, but that lineup does not last. Frans and Wiebe leave before the band has a name, and André Cents joins on guitar, replacing Wiebe. Siebe Rein Schaaf also takes on some keyboard parts. In this period the group records a cassette demo in a rehearsal room in Bakkeveen using its own equipment.

The demo appears in 1994 under the name Flamborough Head. It attracts attention from Malcolm Parker of the English prog label Cyclops, who offers the band a recording contract.

Albums and label releases

Flamborough Head releases its debut album, Unspoken Whisper, in 1997. It follows with Defining the Legacy in 2000, a record largely written around an autobiographical story from Siebe Rein Schaaf. Cyclops later issues the band’s original demo material as Bridge to the Promised Land in 2001, closing what the group describes as its first era.

The next studio album, One for the Crow, appears in 2002. The band then releases Tales of Imperfection in 2005.

Line-up changes and style

After Defining the Legacy, André Cents leaves the band. Guitarist Eddie Mulder replaces him and performs with the group at Progfarm 2000. Siebe Rein Schaaf then also leaves, and Margriet Boomsma, Edo Spanninga’s wife, joins as singer, flute player and lyricist. The verified lineup includes Margriet Boomsma and Eddie Mulder.

These changes lead the band away from its earlier neo-prog sound towards a more 1970s-oriented symphonic style, which becomes its trademark. Its music remains rooted in neo-progressive rock and progressive rock.

Reception and performances

After the debut album, the band develops a steady following and performs at concerts across Europe, especially at festivals. The Classic Rock Society in Rotherham names Flamborough Head its “Most Promising Prog-act of 1998”. The group later plays at BajaProg in Mexico in support of Tales of Imperfection.