Artistic Career

Albums

Biography

Anthea Prince previously recorded and performed under the name Anthea Neads, from 2007 onwards. She began work on her debut album, Jars of Clay, in 2008 and it was released in 2010 to favourable reviews.
 
Anthea Neads and Andy Prince wrote, performed & recorded together prolifically between 2011 and 2017, releasing two critically-acclaimed albums as a duo – Penhayl (2011) and Love Revolution (2013), following Andy’s major contributions on Jars of Clay (2010). Accompanied by a talented cast of supporting musicians, their music evolved from psychedelic folk to psychedelic rock, with a noticeable 60s influence.
 
Anthea's distinctive vocals sit atop Andy's weaving, melodic basslines to create their critically acclaimed signature sound, which made them staple performers on the UK festival scene - including Glastonbury 2013 & 2014 (latterly performing as Love Revolution).
 
Formerly spouses, Anthea is now known as Anthea Prince and focuses on coaching other singers and songwriters, whilst working on new material. Andy performs and records with several other bands/artists and as a solo Chapman Stick artist.
Photography by Ryo Ishikawa

Album Reviews

“Your music’s as beautiful as your name, tender as a whisper, as moving as a passionate kiss. Keep it up” – Marcella Detroit
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​Review of Love Revolution (2013) from Rock’n’Reel Magazine – Vol. 2 Issue 42 Nov/Dec 2013: 4 stars (out of 5):
 
“As its title and accompanying imagery suggest, what we have here is, at least in part, a joyous homage to the upbeat love-and-peace aspiration of the 60s and 70s with smooth, psychedelic folk providing an easy-going lilt for Anthea Neads’ quite divine, Annie Haslam-like, tones. And though it’s a full-band performance, or at least four musicians with a swathe of instrumentation between them, it’s the quality of those immensely appealing vocals, wrapped enticingly around Prince’s expressively roaming bass lines that lifts this record and provides the warmth at its core. Recorded in Cornwall, close to the wildness of the Hayle estuary, these are recordings that seem to have taken-on some of the clarity of the air and the beauty of the surroundings, but the sounds float further afield so that when Neads sings of ‘sacred places/ancient places’ it’s to the evocative backing of sitar and shruti box. It has an ethereally new age healing quality in its textures – again the elegantly charming voice of Neads. At the end, though, perhaps it takes a wistful look back across the decades at a generation that promised much. ‘We are part of the love revolution’ Anthea sings longingly as this quite captivating record plays itself out."
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​Review of Penhayl (2011) from Rock’n’Reel Magazine – Vol. 2 Issue 29 Sept/Oct 2011 - p. 75: 4 stars (out of 5):
 
“This is a sneaky little album, beginning unobtrusively in slightly folky territory – nice, captivating vocal from Neads and sensitive acoustic accompaniment by main song writer [sic] Prince – and somehow becoming absolutely riveting by the halfway point. I've tried listening closely to see where it happens, but it never works... I find myself thinking what a fine version of Beth Orton's “Devil Song”, when before I know it, I'm gently rising and falling on the lush waves of sitar and shruti box that underpin “New Horizon”. If it weren't a cliché, this is the sort of music you'd maybe called psych-folk, particularly the expansive, celebratory closer, “Keepers of the Light”, on which whispered vocals, flute and chunky electric guitar add a decidedly cosmic edge. Rather than jumping on a patchouli - scented bandwagon, however, this carries the same conviction as the early 70s pioneers, sounding like it grows from the same compost as Fresh Maggots or Trader Horne. A cover of Martha Tilson's “Seagull” is a little insubstantial amongst the rest of the material but the original songs are English pastoral acoustic rock of the highest order, and Anthea Neads is certainly a refreshingly distinctive vocalist.”
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Review of Penhayl (2011) from Northern Sky online music magazine:
 
"The follow up to Anthea Neads' debut solo album Jars of Clay, sees ex-Sham 69 bassist Andy Prince take on a more prominent role on Penhayl, the title taken from a cottage in Cornwall where the album was recorded, once again providing bass, but this time promoted to equal share of the title credits. The duo's mutual interest in the music of the late 1960s and in particular the psychedelic era, provides an open canvas upon which to explore. Having a bassist as a mutual collaborator means that the bass is very much to the fore, which gives the songs that unique Sixties feel, not unlike Pentangle or the Incredible String Band. Produced by Mark [sic – Matt] Tweed (Spacegoats/Martha Tilston), the eight songs comprise a handful of originals, a couple of co-writes and one or two covers. If Butterfly eases us into the album, touching on 1960s hippydom, it is with the two adventurous and epic songs that the record forms its backbone. The sprawling New Horizon, which features Tweed's sitar together with Anthea's droning Shruti, re-creates a sound that once filtered out of bedsit doors and attic windows during the heyday of late 60s and early 70s psychedelia, often accompanied by strange and exotic aromas, which would often be fruitlessly covered up with the smell of incense sticks and patchouli oil. Likewise, Keepers of the Light, which closes the album, based on a poem by Glastonbury-based poet Amanda Gazidis, also creates that epic feel, with an arrangement that encompasses both a taste of the psychedelic rock music of the time, exemplified by bands such as the Jefferson Airplane and Country Joe and the Fish, but also incorporates, intentionally or unintentionally, the iconic trance-like jazz riff of John Coltrane from A Love Supreme. As well as Anthea on guitar, flute and her own distinctive vocals and Andy on bass, percussion and kaoss pad, Paul Adams provides violin and Marc Box plays 12 string guitar and percussion. Penhayl has no pretentions of being anything other than a heartfelt homage to the music of another era, imbued with all the optimism of the much missed Summer of Love."

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Review of “Penhayl” from Oliver di Place music blog:
 
“Anthea Neads sings in a beautiful English folk soprano. She has a light tone, but the emotion of each song comes through wonderfully. Her musical partner here is bass player Andy Prince. Usually, a bass is heard in the background, as a supporting instrument. Not here. Prince is a melodic player, and the tone he gets from his instrument makes it a second voice, intertwining with Neads to make a greater whole. There are other instruments here, mostly for color, but Neads and Prince are the stars. English folk and folk-rock are the foundations here, but Neads and Prince are unafraid to go adventuring from there, and the results are well worth it.”

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Review of Jars of Clay (2010) from Northern Sky online music magazine:
 
“The debut album from Anthea Neads features ten songs, some of which replace songs originally planned for the album two years ago, discarded in favour of newer and more appropriate material.  Evocative, contemplative and reflective, the songs follow a personal journey of self discovery, presented in a manner that is at once easy on the ear and conducive to the senses.  Accompanying herself on both guitar and piano, the Guildford-born singer-songwriter presents a passionate and cohesive selection of songs that are often thoughtful, sometimes ethereal but always honest.  Stylistically eclectic, the arrangements range from the folksy pop of the opener “Bright New Dawn” to the swirling carnival ride of “Roundabouts”, the gospel-tinged title song “Jars of Clay” to the bluesy “Simple Pleasures”, but each one maintaining Anthea’s gentle vocal throughout.  The delightful “My Golden Bay” provides the highpoint of the album, a personal song with a universal theme of love and loss.  We all have our own golden bay somewhere.  Joined by Andrew Prince on bass (who also co-produces), Gethin Webster on violin, Al Heslop on guitar and Phil Daniels and Jim Lacey sharing percussion duties, Anthea Neads presents a touching personal diary from which we are invited to read, without feeling too intrusive.  A delightful debut.”

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Review of Jars of Clay (2010) from The Musician – Journal of the Musicians’ Union, Spring 2011:
 
Fragile, delicate and beautiful acoustic musings from the south-east’s own rising folk scene singer/writer/guitarist. Neads, who is regularly joined by skilled bassist and Chapman stick player Andrew Prince when performing live, presents a refreshing view of the world and its contradictions with spiritual influences to the fore. The upbeat Leaves In The Breeze is instantly appealing with its blend of sharp picking, ethereal melody and pointed observation. Take These Lessons sends a stark yet comforting message to a former lover, accompanied by Phil Daniels’ sympathetic percussion and a lovely solo by guitarist Al Heslop. Anthea Neads is an artist with sterling potential.

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Review of Jars of Clay (2010) on https://spiralearth.co.uk/ (review no longer online):
 
“This debut album from Anthea Neads manages to sidestep the pitfall that strikes many singer/songwriters down; the outpouring of a lifetime’s worth of angst and misery. Instead she has a set of songs that are autobiographical yet still accessible to the listener. Neads has also created some solid arrangements that make use of her multi-instrumental skills, with guitar, piano and violin used to good effect. Jars of Clay is crammed with inventive sounds and stylings, Neads keyboards are wonderful on Simple Pleasures, her vocals having a smoky sensual quality that is particularly appealing on that song. Castle Town also stands out with her playing a low G whistle through it, laid over a slowly plucked guitar and her multi tracked vocal it conjures up an ethereal feeling that is quite special. Jars of Clay is a solid debut, full of sparkling moments that achieve that rare feat of transporting the listener somewhere else, Neads is a talent to watch...”

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