 The enduring British rock band Jethro Tull formed in Blackpool, England in 1967. From the ashes of the John Evan Band, singer Ian Anderson and bassist Glenn Cornick hooked up with guitarist Mick Abrahams and drummer Clive Bunker to form a new group, whose name changed from week to week to increase the number of bookings. After honing their skills at London's famous Marquee Club, the band issued their full-length debut, This Was; the album was a minor hit. Jethro Tull's second album, 1969's Stand Up, refined their unique sound and reached No. 1 in the U.K. thanks to the hit single "Living in the Past." By the end of the year their managers, Terry Ellis and Chris Wright, formed Chrysalis Records, and Jethro Tull became their first act with their 1970 album Benefit. The record reached No. 3 in Britain and No. 11 in the U.S., proving the band's international appeal. Overconfident of their artistic skills because of the success of the epic Thick As a Brick album, Jethro Tull released A Passion Play in 1973, an incredibly complex recording slammed by critics for its overblown grandiosity yet embraced by loyal fans, who pushed it to No. 1 in the U.S. and No. 13 in Britain. Returning to England, Jethro Tull began working on a new set of songs originally intended for a film score; the film was never made, but the songs were released as WarChild in 1974, going gold as soon as it was released (due to pre-orders) and reaching No. 2 in the U.S. With the Top 15 song "Bungle in the Jungle," WarChild, though darkly conceptual in nature, marked a departure from the lengthy compositions that defined the band's previous few albums. Their next album, 1975's Minstrel in the Gallery, was heavily influenced by British folk, a growing interest of Anderson's, and recorded in a mobile studio. Jethro Tull returned in 1987 with the harder-edged album Crest of a Knave, widely considered their best recording in years. Amazingly, the group beat out the critics' favorite, Metallica, for the "Best Hard Rock Performance" Grammy award. Several new albums followed in the late '80s, as well as several compilations of older material, including two commemorative four-CD boxed sets. Jethro Tull, essentially Ian Anderson and a cast of backing musicians, continues to tour, playing for a loyal, if dwindling, fan base worldwide.
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