Marmaduke Duke

Marmaduke Duke are a conceptual rock duo from Ayrshire, Scotland. It is the side project of the two leading members of Scottish Alternative Rock bands, Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro and JP Reid of Sucioperro. The pair perform under the pseudonyms The Atmosphere and The Dragon when involved in the Duke. Background Reportedly, the duo formed in 2003, but because of being busy with their own bands, from releasing and recording albums and touring, it took until 2005 for the bands first album (in a trio of concept albums) to be released. This album was named "The Magnificent Duke" and is 18 tracks in length. It is to be followed by Duke Pandemonium, to be released April 2009, and finally Death of the Duke with an unknown recording or release date. The second installment of the trio of concept albums, this album seems to be taking more of a synth approach, with two new tracks on their websites, named "Silhouttes" and "Everybody Dance" but the band has also said some other tracks on the new album, which they played live will be "Erotic Robotic", "Music Show" and "Heartburn". The tracks are a radical new direction for the band. The album was scheduled for release in late 2006 and a 3-track sampler CD distributed to magazines and radio stations in spring 2006; but due to the touring and recording commitments of Biffy Clyro, it was decided to postpone the record til the band could actually tour it. In late 2008, it was announced that 'Duke Pandemonium' will be released on 14th Floor/Warners in April 2009 preceded by two singles, 'Kid Gloves' (2nd March 2009) and 'Rubber Lover' (April 2009). On 21 February it was announced on a Radio 2 Session that 'Duke Pandemonium' is due for release on the 4 May 2009. In the future, there will be a third in the trilogy, Death Of The Duke, which is to be out around 2011. It has been rumoured that the album will be a continuous track, almost like Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield or Oxygene by Jean Michel Jarre. It has also been described by The Atmosphere in a recent interview as having a "Completely disgusting" sound. [edit] Live Performance The band have so far only played two small tours, in which they played in Edinburgh, Dundee, London, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Cardiff and Birmingham. Live, the group consists J.P Reid (vocals, guitar) and Simon Neil (vocals, synth, guitar and bass) augmented by James Johnston (bass, vocals) and drummers Fergus Munro and Ben Johnston. There is also a cloaked/masked onstage figure known only as "The Duke" - the band's own version of Public Enemy's Flavor Flav or the Happy Mondays' Bez.