Upon This Rock

Mark 2 at Greenbelt 1983: Pictures by Denise Hockey By 1983 Mark 2 had been on the road for four years. Our sound was tight, we were well rehearsed and experienced, had written a lot of material, and our sound and lighting crew knew exactly what they were doing. We regularly mailed out a free fanzine to supporters, and had a merchandising stand that sold badges, T-shirts and our records. All the proceeds were plugged straight back into funding the band. By now we had travelled the country, playing alongside well-known Christian artists including Sheila Walsh , Amaziah, Chris Eaton , Mark Williamson Band, Garth Hewitt , Nutshell, Steve Turner, Barry Crompton and The Predators. In August 1983, Mark 2 worked as resident band for a few days at the Falmouth Arts Centre in Cornwall. We came off stage one night to hear the terrific news that we had been invited to play at the Greenbelt Arts Festival later that month - in the venue known as the 'Big Top.' We travelled up to Kn...

As Mark 2 gained momentum, we began to focus more on our musicianship, style, image and material. Helen decided to leave the band in July 1981 to pursue her career, so we needed to recruit a new keyboardist. Steve Smith, our drummer, mentioned that there was an exceptional talent at his church - an 18 year old lad called Simon Elvin. We invited Simon to audition for us at our practice hall, and he impressed us with his keyboard skills. He also turned out to be a good vocalist and could play a number of other instruments, including guitar and woodwind. He was in! We played a few more gigs together that year and then at a concert somewhere in the north of Devon, Sue and John Ritter, leaders of the full-time touring band The Reps, turned up in our audience. They were scouting. Afterwards they met with Paul and offered him a job playing bass guitar for their band. He agreed, and The Reps gained a new member, while Mark 2 were now left for the second time that year seeking a new band m...

Mark 2 original lineup: Helen, Steve, Smudger and Paul Following the demise of Sonrise , I worked solo for a while, developing my songwriting. In 1978-9, I renewed contact with my cousin, Paul Raper, who told me he was learning to play guitar. Not long after this encounter, I went over to his house and took my own guitar with me, and we  jammed. He liked some of my compositions and asked me if I would like to play at an event at his church (the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family). I agreed and played a short set at the event which went down well. Afterwards we talked about forming a new band, and soon, Paul and I were practicing and gigging together. It wasn't long after this we realised we needed more members to create a band. I had thought of naming the band Sonrise Mk2, but eventually the name Mark 2 stuck, and we began to actively seek new members. Soon, we discovered a keyboardist and vocalist by the name of Helen Walrond, who was also at Marjons (where I worked). ...