british progressive rock

There is more than one artist called Quartz. 1) Quartz came out of the British hard rock hotbed of Birmingham to join the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement in the late '70s. With a lineup that included John Bonham-associate Mike Hopkins and future Black Sabbath keyboardist Geoff Nichols, they were actually founded under the name Bandylegs but changed when Jet Records showed interest in the band.

Formed in 1978, Hawklords were an offshoot from a recently disbanded Hawkwind and originally featured Hawkwind members Robert Calvert, Dave Brock and Simon King with the addition of Harvey Bainbridge, Martin Griffin and ex-Pilot keyboard player Steve Swindells. It is not known what prompted the temporary disbanding of Hawkwind and the use of the name Hawklords, though popular opinion is that this due to legal reasons and that Brock wished to embark on fresh musical ventures. The band remained active between 1978 and 1979, releasing one studio album 25 Years On.

There are multiple artists under this name: 1) U.K. were a short-lived British progressive rock supergroup active from 1977 through 1980. In September 1976, singer/bassist John Wetton formerly of the British Psychedelic band Family (with Roger Chapman and Rick Grech) and drummer Bill Bruford, both alumni of King Crimson, worked on forming a band with Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman. The project was stopped by Wakeman's label. According to Bruford, "A&M Records were unwilling to let their 'star,' Wakeman, walk off with a used, slightly soiled King Crimson rhythm section, and the idea failed."