   Prelude were originally formed by Brian Hume and fellow guitarist/vocalist Ian Vardy in 1970 in their native Gateshead in the North East of England. They persuaded Irene Hume to join them in 1971.
Prelude were heavily influenced on both a musical and lyrical level by American harmony-based soft rock acts like Simon and Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell and, most of all, Crosby Stills Nash and Young as evidenced in their inspired adaptation of ‘After The Goldrush’, on which Irene’s lead vocal emphasised the latent hymnal qualities of Neil Young’s back-to-the-land lament.
 ‘After The Goldrush’ was duly issued as a single in November 1973. Following live Prelude performances on both Capital Radio and Radio One, it quickly became a worldwide success, reaching the top 20 in the UK, No 12 in the USA and No1 in both Canada and Australia.They went on to support a nationwide Ralph McTell tour, followed by a headlining European jaunt that took in Holland, Belgium and Germany,
 They continued to tour and delight audiences throughout the 80’s, touring with Don McClean and Joan Armatrading and after Ian left in 1985, Brian and Irene played successfully as a duo, then joined forces with Jim Hornsby, one of the North's top guitarists. In 1998 they were joined by Tony Davis on keyboards and Chris Ringer on bass and in 1999 released the acclaimed ‘Good For You’ album that was awarded the Best Album by the North America Country Music Association International.
As of 2001, Prelude are once again back to their original trio format and continue to entertain audiences throughout the UK.
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