The band originally formed back in 1991, with Trevor Barnes on guitar and vocals, Alys Sterling on bass guitar and D.B on keyboards. Their very first gig was at the Turks Head, playing a selection of original songs and cover versions. D.B fancied himself as a bit of a club promoter, which led to the band playing residencies at a number of places including Camden Underworld, with bands such as Nosferatu and The Marionettes. D.B eventually left the band due to differences and was replaced with Alex Winton on keyboards. More gigs followed with the new lineup, including spots at the legendary Powerhaus in London and Cafe Transylvania in Birmingham with bands such as Dream Disciples. Alex eventually left the band to pursue other interests to be replaced by the band's third and final keyboard player, Ash. More gigs followed including playing support in Scotland with the now legendary London After Midnight. Witching Hour also released their first release on vinyl, the "Hourlgass" EP, soon followed by the debut album "Exhumation" on cassette, followed by the second EP on cassette; "She's Alive". Ash eventually left the band due to inconsolable differences. After the departure of Ash, Witching Hour continued as a two-piece for a while and then completely disappeared from the limelight, leaving many wondering what had happened to the band... In 2006, after a very long hiatus, Trev and Alys agreed to play live at a private Halloween party and this pretty much triggered the official return of Witching Hour. Soon after this followed the setting up of an official Myspace page and a Facebook page. The renewed interest in the band was very positive, which finally led to the back catalogue being digitally remastered and re-released on digital stores and CD. Also, the promo videos for "She's Alive", "Your Cries" and "Carnival of Souls" were released on YouTube for the very first time, to a very positive reaction. New gigs followed, including a couple of spots at The Purple Turtle in Camden and an all-day goth festival in Birmingham. This aslo led to Witching Hour playing in Madrid with the awesome The Eternal Fall. In October 2011, the band finally released their second album "Raven", to coincide with a live spot supporting the excellent band Pretentious Moi at Nambucca in Islington, London. Witching Hour is now very much back and active as a band. They have remained a two-piece band, but are still very much trad-goth and are very proud of their heritage. With plans for more gigs, more releases and more promo videos. The future will be very exciting, so watch this space!
