The British rock band Immortal Siblings is back together again. The band members decided that their one-time reunion on the legendary festival ‘More Than 1000 Years Apart’, would not be a one-time reunion after all. Today they announced signing a new contract with Pear Records, the same record company where they recorded their first three albums. When the band broke up five years ago, they had had more than ten number-one hit songs. Their third album, Scissors on the Ceiling, is high in the top ten of best sold albums ever.
The annual event ‘More Than 1000 Years Apart’, took place last month in Brunfield for the nineth time. This year about 140,000 people attended the three day festival. Nine years ago the festival was organised for the first time to get more attention and raise money for archaeological research on the Roman village of Brundunum near Brunfield. The raised money is used for excavations of part of the village. The festival is best known for the rock music. Last year renowned bands as Warmpause, Slim Girl Fat and the Antarctic Apes gave a performance. This year headliners in the line-up were Rain Guard, the Green Cold Cucumbers and William Robbins. Immortal Siblings had a performance on the last day of the festival.
It was their first show after they had split up five years ago. The band was formed by three brothers, Lionel, Morris and Noam Eckland and Yoka Ann, the girlfriend of Lionel. After they had been together for eight years they broke up when the relationship ended between Yoka Ann, the singer of the band, and Lionel Eckland, who sang, played bass guitar and wrote most of the songs. Lionel Eckland filed for divorce only four months after their wedding, alledgedly because he found out Morris, his younger brother, and Yoka were having an affair.
After the break-up both Lionel and Yoka tried to launch a solo carreer. Neither of them was particularly successful in the UK. Yoka Ann left show business, but after a quiet life for a few years and a treatment for several months in a well-known alcohol rehabilitation center, Yoko returned to public life in 2004 by being a juror in “The Y Element”, a successful talent show broadcast by Channel 8. Lionel Eckland’s third solo album had a rather critical reception and disappointing sales, after which Lionel decided to cancel his scheduled European tour and have a break. Lionel Eckland won’t be part of the reunited Immortal Siblings and will be replaced by Julian Ragini, who has married Yoko Ann in April. In 2005 he was the runner-up in the second series of “The Y Element”. Drummer Morris and guitarist Noam will form a part of the reunited band.
According to the contract signed today, Immortal Sibling will release a new album just before Christmas, after which they will go on tour through Europe and the US. Lionel Eckland was not available to comment.