Mark to leave
It is with great sadness that we have to announce Mark Westworth's decision to leave IQ. Here is Mark's explanation:
"It all stops here! Well, it's been an honour to have become a small part of the history of IQ, however I've made a decision to follow my head rather than my heart and will be leaving the band at the end of the year. Having to juggle family life, a full time job and finding time to play all this prog nonsense has been more than a handful of late. Anyway, I shall leave with some great memories and will definitely miss the camaraderie and frequent lunacy of the band and crew, and the loyal fans. Creating music will always be my passion, so hopefully I'll find an outlet to release something in the not-too-distant future. All the best, Mark x"
Mark's final appearance with IQ will be at the O2 Academy, Islington, on 11th December. We would like to thank Mark for everything he has contributed to the band over the last three years and we wish him every success in his future endeavours.
Yes, I've read it. Sigh ...... Alan Reed leaves Pallas, Rob Sowden leaves Arena, Mark Westworth leaves IQ. It's a sad year seeing changes in my favourite prog bands! :(
But good news is that all bands are going on. Let's wait and see (better: hear) what the future brings. *horns*
New keyboard player announced
We are delighted to welcome new keyboard player Neil Durant to the IQ family. Neil has been a big fan of IQ for the past 25 years and is itching to learn the vast IQ back catalogue ready to help us celebrate our 30th year of prog nonsense. Many of you will know Neil from his work with Sphere3 and from the fact that he ran the very first internet mailing list for IQ, 'It All Posts Here' in the early 90's before the world wide web became popular and the IQ website started.
"I'm delighted and excited to become a part of IQ, and hope I can fill the big boots left by my predecessors. Here's to a great new year for IQ and many more to follow!"
Good news. IQ got a lot of airplay at home in 2010 *horns*