It’s a rare thing but it’s been known to happen when two bands from different countries achieve certain, if not equal, level of fame, if not fortune. Of course, the most notable example of this were British and American ensembles who bore the legend of NIRVANA, yet there were also a pair of collectives called TEMPEST. The jazz-tinged earlier of those rose to prominence under the steerage of Jon Hiseman and featured such luminaries as Allan Holdsworth and Ollie Halsall, and the later group, bent on folk rock, still sail under the guidance of Lief Sorbye, whose life journey is interesting enough to warrant a book, one he finally penned and will publish on August 1st.
What I Tell My Friends, Vol. 1:
The Busking Years
To be more exact, it’s the first part of Sorbye’s autobiography that’s to be out in 2025, titled “What I Tell My Friends, Vol. 1: The Busking Years” and cowritten with author Steven H. Provost, which means the book will hardly cover the period when Lief’s troupe worked on the fondly remembered prog label Magna Carta. Still, what it will offer is quite a few insights into TEMPEST’s creative secrets, firmly rooted in Scandinavian tradition – rather natural, with Norwegian being the singer’s native tongue – and Celtic customs, without actually telling the TEMPEST story.
This part of narrative must apparently hit the shelves further on down the road. There’s logic in it, as the future stalwart of the scene arrived in the States in 1978 to form his ensemble after a whole decade of trying to find, and fund, his way and discover a winning formula. Lief Sorbye’s first volume should appear in deluxe hardcover and papeкифсл editions, promising, no matter the format, a riveting reading.
