Who are we... ?
Straddling the Shropshire-Powys border, The Crisis is an Anglo-Welsh live rock-and-pop band performing a variety of covers from perennial Sixties favourites, Seventies hard rock and classic Eighties sounds through to Britpop and beyond. When it comes to selecting cover material, we specialise in unforgettable songs that don't always make it onto the covers-band circuit (you don't often hear Two Tribes down the pub, do you?), not to mention an incredible light show for that added live rock'n'roll feel.
We are experienced in special events such as weddings, birthdays and dinner dances, and have performed at a number of festivals. We also come fully stage-ready, with a PA and mixing desk alongside our instruments and copious lighting equipment.
Please welcome on stage...
Howard ~ Lead Vocals, Guitar
Self-taught tambourinist Howard first picked up a microphone in North London in 1993 in a bid to get into his schoolmates' band. A year later he'd also figured out one end of a guitar from the other. Now, with over 25 years' experience as a frontman, it's Howard's ability to command an audience that is as intrinsic to The Crisis experience as the band's legendary light show. Not to mention his tambourine playing.
Listen to Howard's 2015 single 'Serendipity' below. Oh, did we say he's also a prolific writer of very catchy pop!
Dr Bob ~ Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Robert (aka Dr Bob) has toured with members of Yes, Jethro Tull, The Sweet and others in an illustrious career, and was a long-term member of Yes-tribute band Fragile. His impressive original back catalogue includes the 2008 critically acclaimed Aquaplanage, which achieved airplay from California to South Korea. He even appeared on Richard & Judy with Rick Wakeman. As you do!
Since moving to Wales he's continued to write and produce and is delighted to now be rocking audiences with The Crisis. Oh, and he really does have a PhD. But that's another story...
Robert performing with Steve Howe in Holland
Guy ~ Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Harmonica
Guy is a founder member of The Crisis having been persuaded by Howard in 2009 that his 15-year paternity leave from live performance was a tad excessive. Since then, Guy has not only brought keyboard colours, lights and smoke to the Crisis experience, he's taken to the stage with Marillion and members of the Steve Rothery Band. Not content with that, he wrote the lyrics and arranged songs for Mark Kelly’s Marathon, the Marillion keyboardist's eponymous debut solo album released in 2020.
Starman. Mark Kelly plays with The Crisis!
Guy playing on Mark Kelly's rig at a Marillion weekend in Montreal
Rachael 'Crow' ~ Bass Guitar
Rachael first started gigging in the late 80s on the London circuit, rocking such legendary venues as the Marquee and supporting contemporaries like Ginger. By the early 90s she’d moved to the Manchester area, eschewing the indie explosion for rock and metal. It was around then she was invited to join a project that led to a slot at heavy metal convention Foundations Forum '93 in LA. After recording at Rockfield in Monmouth and gigging London again, she took a break from music to earn a PhD in archaeology in 2005. (As you do.)
She has since returned to music, playing with a number of West Mid projects, DIY releasing original material as 'All Crows Are Black', and accidentally becoming mildly Instagram famous. Ready to explore new musical directions, she joined The Crisis in 2024.
Greg 'The Force' ~ Drums
As a teenager in Eighties Chester, Greg studied at the Yamaha School of Music, and he wasn’t done when he moved to Swansea, where he was supposed to be studying photography but found himself developing melodies and beats far more than photographs. Next up on Greg’s magical mystery tour was London, where he played prog, indie and rock in a number of bands. But aside from drums he can turn his hand to keyboards and guitar and during his time in the capital was often found busking down in a tube station, possibly at midnight. More auspiciously, Greg has graced the stages of venues large and famous throughout Britain, including various theatres, Camden’s famous Dublin Castle and the Millennium Dome, no less. These days he keeps time with The Crisis, with whom he played his first gig in Manchester after just one full rehearsal. What a hero!
Oh, and he's also a fabulous fine artist. And has a good album's worth of compelling singer-songwriter music. What a polymath! Watch out Leonardo, here comes The Force!
Original artwork © Greg Forster
