NEKTAR The Legendary Rock Band

NEKTAR was formed in November 1969 by Derek “Mo’‘ Moore. It is probably the most German-like of the Seventies British bands, a fame that owes a lot to the town in which this band was founded (Hamburg) and to their stylistic approach. In 1969 Derek Moore, (Bass, Mellotron and vocals), Ron Howden (Drums Vocals) Allan “Taff” Freeman (keyboards & vocals), were in a band called Prophecy when they met Roye Albrighton (Guitar & Vocals) at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany. Also in August 1969, Mick Brockett ( Liquid Lightshow) met Prophecy at the Kamera Club in Fuerth, Germany. There Mick and Mo discussed creating a sound and light theater where the visuals described the music and lyrics which took the music across the European borders and their different languages. On January 10th 1970, Mick appeared at the Hotel Pacific in Hamburg where the band were residing at the annex. He had his Lightshow with him and it was decided immediately to create the entity which became Nektar and the term “Music and Light Theater” was born.

The band has had many incarnations through the years and was inactive from 1978 - 2002 and again after Royes’ death in 2016. Now in 2019 the band is reformed with its original Bassist Mo Moore and Drummer Ron Howden, together with Nektar alumni from 1978 Ryche Chlanda (Guitars & vocals) and Randy Dembo, (Bass Player, Bass Pedals and 12 string guitar) from the 2003 band after Mo left. Adding to the ensemble is world class keyboard player, Kendall Scott. Mick Brockett and his phenomenal visual environment rejoins the band to bring Nektar back to its original live visual concept.

For more than 50 years, Nektar won the hearts of a devoted following by taking legions of fans on audio-visual journeys to far reaches of the universe and the depths of the ocean with their immersive and innovative “Sound and Light Theatre” presentations.

Lady Luck has not always been as kind to Nektar as the music seemingly deserves, however in its many incarnations over the years that concept has always persevered despite it all.

2024 finds the band at crossroads that would have been hard to imagine with the sad recent loss of founding member and musical brother Ron Howden, and obstacles like the covid shut down and general malaise of the concert scene in recent memory, but incredibly, a new chapter is unfolding in a very positive way.

When the band reformed in 2019, founding member Derek “Mo” Moore talked about that Nektar situation as “Unfinished Business,” and it felt like that in many ways.

Back in 1978 when Nektar was being reformed after Roye Albrighton’s departure, Mo and Ryche Chlanda together wrote the new music that many years later would be recorded as “The Other Side” album. Ryche left the band to tour with his other projects before it could be recorded and performed live on tour. Jumping forward to 2020 during “The Other Side” sessions it felt like the band was picking up right where they left off back then, right down to the setlist, which would have fit in perfectly that way.

Nektar played well over 100 live shows over the course of the reunion, starting off with the debut at ProgStock 2019 and encompassing strongholds like the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville in Illinois and The Dunellen Theatre in New Jersey, so close to where Nektar had relocated to in 1975, and where Ron Howden’s next to last ever gig was recorded and filmed, just weeks before his untimely passing.
Nektar 2024-2025
At no time in the reunion was there a desire for Nektar to fall into “nostalgia act” status. Mo and Ryche had recognized all along that new music would be the key to making this chapter worthy of the legacy and both had been storing up ideas in the hopes that the proper situation would present itself, and to that point it hadn’t, but it seemed that once the “Mission to Mars” concept was decided on, the project took on a life of its own.

Mo and Ryche attacked the skeletons of songs they had that would be chosen for the album with a vengeance, with both remote and in-person writing sessions.

Determined not to let the music die, they arranged for a GoFundMe to make studio time committing it to both Vinyl and Digital a reality and as usual our “Nektarines” were there for the band to make it possible with their support.

Nektar returned to Shorefire Studios in Long Branch New Jersey for these sessions, the same studio they had used for “The Other Side,” but this proved to be a different animal.

Whereas the majority of “The Other Side” material had been written in 1978 and was more being polished than completed, this would be quite a different experience as the songs were new and more of a reflection of where the band is today, with five years under their belt since reforming and a sense of urgency that was palpable.

Mo and Ryche proved to be an amazing team. Together they seemed to craft every note with a purpose, bounce ideas off each other, execute the idea and choose the best route. Every section was composed and refined with the utmost care and foresight.

Kendall Scott had been talking about ideas that he had for Nektar music both new and old for some time and it seemed he would now have the space to spread his wings a bit more given the opportunity, so we had a good idea of what to expect.

Maryann Castello had made her singing debut on the album, “The Other Side.” After several tours with the band, continuing to be our head cook and bottle washer helping to move the band forward, Maryann was written a much larger singing role bringing her out of the shadows on the latest album “Mission To Mars.”

Of course, how Jay Dittamo would fit in was an unknown. Jay knew Ron and had been given his blessing years prior but losing what was one of few remaining original rhythm sections in the rock world was new territory. Could he and Mo be the driving force needed to propel the music that was coming together nicely to the next level?

As it turned out, the chemistry would instantly be apparent and the week spent in the studio would be some of the most enjoyable and rewarding of the bands entire career, and the album would come to fruition just as envisioned – a record deeply rooted in rock just as it had been in the beginning, but with the complexity of the concept album one might expect to evolve from the bands past epic forays.

Truly magic, and an album each band member grew proud of very quickly and looked forward to taking on the road to perform live.