Jethro Tull

Jethro Tull was formed in Blackpool, England in 1967, with Ian Anderson on flute and vocals, Mick Abrahams on guitar, Glenn Cornick on bass and Clive Bunker on drums. Jethro Tull struggled in the early days, with their first releases going unnoticed, notably their debut album, This Was, recorded in 1968. It was with Stand Up, the following year, that the band really took off. Rated No. 1 in the UK, this success led to public interest in its predecessor This Was, which in turn charted at No. 10. The following albums, Benefit (No. 3 in 1970), Aqualung (No. 4 in 1971) and Thick as a Brick (No. 5 in 1972), established the band as one of the leading exponents of progressive rock. Subsequently, the band released a number of albums with more relative chart success. In 2003, The Jethro Tull Christmas Album failed to enter the charts, except in Germany (No. 51). Jethro Tull remained active, however, and toured extensively until 2011, when Ian Anderson, the only member of the original line-up, finally devoted himself to his solo career and announced the end of the band in 2011. Jethro Tull was reactivated in 2017 with a completely new line-up, with the exception of Ian Anderson. In 2022, the band's new label, InsideOut Music, released The Zealot Gene, which reached number 9 in the UK charts. This was followed a year later by RökFlöt at No. 17. With a reputation built up over the decades in the flute-driven progressive rock niche, where they remain the masters, Jethro Tull continue to attract a wide audience and follow up with their 24th studio album, Curious Ruminant, released in 2025.