- Chapter 2 -
Legend
The Wonderful Tale Of Marmaduke Duke

Part 1: ‘The Magnificent Duke’

MARMADUKE DUKE is a man, a myth, a concept and so much more. His life has been spent eschewing the comforts of the Aristocratic trappings that his birth-right afforded him to instead embark on soul-searching wanderings across the terrain of the island they once called Brittas. Though it has taken him to mountain tops and caves and wooded glades, it has also been a journey that cannot be recorded on any map.

The Duke has seen things. Things we cannot comprehend or document in simple human vocabulary.

The Duke is ageless, timeless.

The Duke cannot be contained.

And so it was, with the permission and input of the errant Marmaduke Duke himself that in 2003, two young musicians by the name of The Dragon and The Atmosphere set to work deciphering the cryptic codes, poems and aural tales surrounding the Duke’s life and recording his slow descent via the medium of electricity and guitars. Over a series of short productive creative nocturnal spurts in a recording studio the duo produced the 19-song first of a trilogy: ‘The Magnificent Duke’. Consider it if you will as work as culturally significant ‘The Annals Of Rome’, Da Vinci’s ‘Vivruviun Man’ or the little-known ‘Village And Minotaur’ triptychs of Ayrshire.
But most definitely not ‘Lords Of The Rings’ or Genesis’ ‘Lamp Lies down On Broadway’.
It is the beginnings of a work whose significance will only be recognised by the mass populace in years to come; folklore viewed through the cracked lens of modernity.

‘THE MAGNIFICENT DUKE’ was presented to the public in May 2005 through the Captains Of Industry collective. In a manner befitting the Duke’s life, it provoked reactions of awe, confusion, devotion and heresy from the critical quarters of the modern media. Though sterling efforts one and all, the pithy and myopic academic analyses of the centuries-old Duke that have arisen in the wake of the new-found interest in this mysterious figure still systematically attempt to place the Marmaduke Duke in the context of modern pop culture. Naturally those thousands devotees already recognising certain basic truths in the way in which the Duke lives a selfless life see things differently. They know that Marmaduke Duke is the true first prophet to enter into the arena of rock, the reluctant messiah coaxed back from madness brought on by years of starvation and excess.
‘The Magnificent Duke’ was arranged into three musical suites representing the three descending tiers of sanity, respectively represented by three musical styles. It featured songs such as ‘The Red And The Number’, ‘The False And The Cinematic’ and ‘Blunder & Haggis’, as heard on wireless stations such as Radio 1 and XFM. The album featured a number of local musicians and psychological input by Jorge Stibero from leading Portuguese academic Stibero dynasty. Artwork was based on a series of ancient wood-cuts, carbon-dated to the 14th Century.
Publication such as NME, Kerrang!, Rock Sound, Spin, Q, DrownedInSound and The Arcadian Society For The Preservation Of Renegade Minstrels investigated the myth of the Duke and responded favourably to its musical rendering ‘The Magnificent Duke’. It’s status as cult favourite amongst fans of modern music is already assured.

Now aided by members of popular Scottish rock combos Sucioperro and Biffy Clyro, The Dragon and The Atmosphere are taking the Marmaduke Duke on tour in November 2005 as a five-piece band. Bear witness to this strange and brilliant entity.

Part II: ‘Duke Pandemonium’ is near completion and promises to be a completely different kettle of pine nuts to its predecessor.

It will be released in 2006 through the Captains Of Industry collective.

Merchandise
Albums/T-Shirts: Captains of Industry
Distribution: Cargo Records

Links
www.myspace.com/marmadukeduke
www.captainsof.com

Online Reviews
New Noise  (rare interview with The Dragon)
Glasswerk
This Is Fake DIY
Rock Feedback
This Is Not TV
A Badge Of Friendship
Tasty Fanzine  (see March 2005)
Unpeeled
Airwaves Back
Diskant
The Art Of Mastication


Site Designed by The Spider
Words by The Imposter / Captains Of Industry