Dragon

Dragon was a Belgian symphonic-rock band behind a 1976 self-titled album on Acorn. In 1977, they demoed songs for a second album, Kalahen, which later appeared on Ficrivan/Fanny (1986) and reappeared in expanded form on Mellow (1992).

Members: Georges Vanaise (drums, vibraphone, flute), Jean Vanaise (guitar, vocals), Bernard Callaert (guitar, vocals), Jean-Pierre Houx [aka Tom] (bass, keyboards, trumpet, trombone, vocals), Christian Duponcheel (keyboards, 1976-77)

Background

Dragon originated around 1970 in Ath, Hainaut, Belgium, when singer-guitarist Jean Vanaise formed Burning Light with his brother, drummer-flutist Georges Vanaise.

Burning Light initially played local parties with rock covers and select originals. The early lineup included singer Michel Lefevre and keyboardist Jean-Pierre Pirard. Lefevre left for educational pursuits, while health problems forced Pirard’s exit. The group progressed to Belgian rock festivals, including an event at Coq-sur-Mer with Irish Coffee, Lagger Blues Machine, and Arkham. In 1971, Burning Light played the Golf-Drouot club in Paris.

Jean-Pierre “Tom” Houx joined on bass and doubled on keyboards, trumpet, and trombone. Guitarist-vocalist Bernard Callaert completed the quartet after the Paris engagement. Jean Vanaise developed their originals repertoire. Burning Light gradually favored extended instrumental passages and adopted a theatrical stage presentation with slide projections, smoke machines, and masks.

In 1976, Burning Light recruited keyboardist Christian Duponcheel, who came from the Itterbeek jazz-rock group Lagger Blues Machine. Duponcheel studied guitar, piano, and organ from childhood and formed the group with his brother, drummer Jean-Luc Duponcheel. Lagger Blues Machine made a 1972 self-titled album for CBS. Duponcheel later rehearsed with former Kleptomania musicians in Lee and explored an unrecorded project with Christian Genêt and Roger Trigaux.

Duponcheel co-owned a music shop with his brother and acquainted himself with Burning Light through their equipment purchases. He heard a band tape and joined the lineup, which expanded its arrangements with organ, Mellotron, and synthesizers. Houx alternated between bass, keyboards, and brass, while Callaert or Vanaise assumed bass duties during instrumental passages.

Burning Light approached record companies for an album deal and attracted interest from EMI, which withdrew amid internal reorganization. The musicians found an advertisement for Acorn Studios in New Musical Express and booked the sixteen-track facility in Stonesfield, Oxfordshire. Jean Vanaise renamed the group Dragon for the sessions. The quintet cut and mixed their self-financed album in five days with engineer Colin Bateman, who also arranged EMI assistance with disc cutting. Former keyboardist Pirard designed the gatefold sleeve, and Dragon arranged a pressing of 1,500 copies for the 1976 Acorn release, distributed independently and through Gamma Records in Belgium.

Discography:

• Dragon (1976)
• Kalahen (1992, recorded 1977)

References and notes

• Belgian Metal History — Dragon. Detailed formation history under Burning Light, original personnel, Coq-sur-Mer and Paris appearances, Callaert recruitment, Duponcheel arrival, EMI negotiations, Acorn sessions, and independent pressing. (Band biography and discography)
• Jean Jième — Christian Duponcheel interview, October 2009; expanded July 2016. Firsthand account of childhood music lessons, the formation of Lagger Blues Machine, early concerts, 1972 CBS album, and subsequent associations with Lee, Christian Genêt, and Roger Trigaux. (Interview and historical dossier)
• Belgian Metal History — Lagger Blues Machine. Original personnel, the 1972 CBS release, departure and return of Duponcheel, and his subsequent recruitment by Burning Light. (Group history and original discography)
• 45cat — Acorn UK album discography. Identifies the original 1976 Dragon LP under catalogue CF 268. (Original label catalogue)
• Planet Mellotron — Dragon. Identifies the Acorn Studios Mellotron M400 and documents the original album alongside the later Kalahen recordings. (Instrument documentation)
• NTS — Dragon artist archive. Independently identifies the 1976 British Acorn release as a self-financed Belgian production. (Recording archive)