Martin Reid Lead vocal / Bass Guitar

Born and raised on the mean streets of Oxford, Martin had no interest in music at all until he was 12, when he heard The Beatles' Red Album, and his life changed forever!

His Mum and Dad gave him an acoustic guitar for his 13th birthday and he spent every evening he could learning to play but sadly still can’t do a barre chord properly to this day.

At the tender age of 17 Martin’s sister loaned him the money to buy his first bass (a 1970 Fender Mustang) and he taught himself the rudiments by playing along with Beatles and Stranglers records much to the delight of his now long suffering parents and neighbours!

He played in local new wave and rock bands with varying degrees or, more often than not, a complete lack of success (his first gig was stopped by the police - one of his proudest moments) for a few years before meeting Tony Wells in the mid 80s. Quickly forming a friendship and musical partnership which has endured and flourished over the years Martin and Tony’s first musical venture was joining work colleagues in covers group The TC All Star Funk & Soul Band where Martin was playing keyboards with one finger while playing bass on backing tracks and Tony played a very primitive electronic drum kit. It really was as good as it sounds.

Following (or in spite of) this auspicious start when a vacancy for a bassist came up in the function band Tony was already playing in, he suggested Martin as a suitable replacement and they have been playing together in various bands ever since, the strangest being the duo Chalk & Cheesecake, a drum and bass function band.

Martin’s taste in music is very varied and covers just about anyone and anything you can think of - however, his ultimate fantasy gig would have to be Hamburg era Beatles, with support from The Jimi Hendrix Experience and the Sex Pistols.

Tony Wells Drums

Tony started his fascination with drums at a very early age in the mid to late sixties, largely due to the fact that his mother was a Beatles fan and would constantly play their records. After years of emulating his idol, Ringo, using biscuit tins and pieces of furniture, he finally persuaded his parents to buy him a second-hand drum kit at age twelve. Tony quickly formed his first band with some school friends and played a handful of gigs at youth centres and school halls.  

At sixteen, Tony auditioned for a well-established dance band in the Oxford area and despite a total lack of experience in strict tempo ballroom music he managed to beat off a dozen other more mature drummers. He was soon gigging up to three times a week, playing every type of venue from the smallest of village halls to the London Savoy. It was during his seventeen years with this same band that he got to play with some excellent musicians including Alan Jones, a respected session bass guitarist who had been a long standing member of The Shadows, had backed Elvis, and had even played on the Sooty Show! Another member who served his apprenticeship in this same band, was Brett Gordon, a young talented bass player who, with Tony formed Berlin, a popular original band that recorded many tracks and played in and around Oxford during the early to mid eighties. Brett has been a professional musician ever since and was last playing with the chart topping Candyskins.

During the eighties, Tony’s love of playing also found him helping out other bands short of drummers, and this was not merely because he was cheap, but due to a serious amount of talent and the extreme ease with which he works with other musicians. It was during recording at one of these helping out sessions that he met Brian Milthorp, a local studio owner. Brian invited Tony to become the in-house session drummer at Gothic Recording Studio based near Wantage. In this role, Tony recorded for a variety of artistes, mainly singer songwriters, although he did lay down the groove for a keep fit album, and no doubt had many Lycra clad females sweating a bit! (apparently not for the first time!!).  

It was Brian, who first introduced Tony to Max Hunt, who several years later was to give him the call with an invitation to join Tantalus after the departure of Damien Slowey. Tony recorded a new version of J.S.Bach's Toccatta and Fugue in Dm for the CD release of Short Stories and drummed on all tracks on the Lumen Et Caligo recording project, including some tracks that he had never even heard until the day he turned up for the sessions. This project took the band to an altogether higher profile. Tony temporarily left Tantalus, at least as a full time member in April 2004 after performing a reliable, steady and solid role in the band throughout the most stable period in the band's existence but rejoined again less than a year later.

Bands and musicians that have inspired or influenced Tony include The Beatles, Deep Purple – Ian Paice, Black Sabbath, Genesis, Sting and the many musicians that have played for him, Jeff Porcaro, John Bonham and Bill Bruford.  

Andy Burton Guitar / Vocal

Andy bought his first guitar from a Great Universal Catalogue as a teenager and has strummed on and off ever since. It wasn’t until Tony (Drums) encouraged him to join a band along with Martin (Bass) a few years ago and hasn’t looked back since. Bands that have influenced Andy (who is an old Rocker at heart) include Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy and Bad Company. The list is endless.

David Reynolds Lead Guitar / Vocal

Originally from London, David was fortunate to go to the same school, at pretty much the same time, as Andy Fraser (Free), Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), Mikey Craig (Culture Club) and Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode). Also, one of the teachers was Bill Ashton who founded the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Music was an important part of the school’s culture and with these influences it was almost inevitable that David would be instilled with a lifetime passion for music.

David first started playing guitar at the age of eleven and over the next few years became enthralled and influenced by the pop music of the day notably T.Rex and Slade as well as the more esoteric musicians who appeared on the Old Grey Whistle Test. Living just down the road from the Hammersmith Odeon meant that David’s appetite for music could be fulfilled with lots of live music. The first concert was (ahem!) Gilbert O’Sullivan but soon progressed to Lynyrd Skynyrd and, still one of the best live bands ever, Kiss.  David left school in 1976 the year that punk exploded and which he embraced wholeheartedly even if he didn’t adopt the punk dress sense.

He soon started gigging in pubs and social clubs around London and the South East which were a great training ground to learn to play all types of music; country, rock and roll, jazz, musicals, pop and even some opera!

David has been fortunate enough to play and record with some very good musicians over the years including: John Edwards (Status Quo, Rhino’s Revenge), Justin Hildreth (Joan Armatrading, Nina Hagen, Thomas Dolby), David Oberle (Gryphon), Steve Rodford (Argent, Asia), Papa George (Papa George Band), Nick Payne (Gary Moore).

Over the years, David has recorded for music libraries and still has his work used for TV and film internationally. He has recorded two guitar instrumental albums Slammer and The View and written many songs.

David has a London College of Music Grade 8 Electric Guitar qualification.