Doris Brendel and Lee Dunham

You may do a double-take if you see Doris Brendel and her producer and guitarist Lee Dunham in a theatre with a couple of acoustic guitars. The pair have been gracing O2 venues across the country with their full electric band and have embarked on several European tours with both Wishbone Ash and former Marillion frontman Fish over the last few years...

Unwilling to go quietly when COVID stamped a huge boot on their tour plans, Doris and Lee have decided that some ‘unplugged’ shows will be their chosen direction of travel. It may not be the theatrical pomp and melodic prog rock of the full band shows, but their acoustic set has been described as “esoteric singer-songwriter with bluesy twist meets charismatic chat and humour” - indeed songs like 'Blue Egg from another Planet' are hard to forget.

After winning the 2023 HRH PROG ANGEL Award Doris and Lee released 'Big Blue Sky' which went straight in at #2 in the IBBA Blues album charts. Their current and 8th studio project is set to be a 'steam punk Celtic Prog' extravaganza, but the singer has an incredible 21 albums to her name, not to mention a vast catalogue of session work. The daughter of famed classical pianist Alfred Brendel, her distinctive vocals were the driving force behind 1990s alt-rockers The Violet Hour, who were signed to Sony when they released their now revered, classic album ‘The Fire Sermon’ in 1991.

Doris has worked with some notable artists over the years, including Alvin Lee, Gary Moore, Sam Brown, Joe Brown and Herbie Flowers, and has toured extensively with Marillion as well as Nils Lofgren, John Farnham and Steve Marriott. She was also invited to sing with Pink Floyd on the Great Gig in the Sky tour, but had to decline due to already-contracted tour commitments. She sang backing vocals on Fish’s acclaimed album ‘Weltschmerz’.