Jadis

Southampton

Jadis took its name from the witch in C. S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew and has been led throughout by Gary Chandler, who sings, plays guitar and has designed all of the band's artwork. Wikipedia dates the formation to 1982; the earliest line-up included the bassist Trevor Dawkins. A 1987 cassette of demos was produced by Steve Rothery of Marillion. According to the band's own biography, they supported IQ on the Nomzamo tour, toured the UK with Marillion on the Clutching at Straws tour, ending with three nights at Hammersmith Odeon, and sold out a headline debut at London's Marquee Club.

Chandler then rebuilt the group with Martin Orford (keyboards) and John Jowitt (bass), both from IQ, and the drummer Steve Christey. More Than Meets the Eye (1992) brought BBC Radio One airplay and an album-of-the-year award from the Dutch magazine SI. Across the Water followed in 1994, then Somersault (1997, self-released after leaving Giant Electric Pea), the live As Daylight Fades (1998), Understand (2000, DPRP: a fresher, more straightforward sound), Fanatic (2003, InsideOut), Photoplay (2006), See Right Through You (2012), No Fear of Looking Down (2016) and More Questions Than Answers (2024). Orford and Jowitt both left in 2006, with Andy Marlow taking over on bass in 2007, and Orford returned for the 2016 album.

The band headlined the UK Classic Rock Society festival, played the German Progressive Rock Festival and, in 2004, ROSfest in Philadelphia. At The 1865 in Southampton on March 27, 2025, the line-up was Chandler, Orford, Marlow and Christey. The band's site announced anniversary shows for 2027 and a new album in preparation.