Pendragon will release The First 40 Years this autumn, a large format hard back book showcasing the history of the band.
The package features the artwork of Simon Williams and will include five CDs, three of which were recorded on the sold-out London date of their 40th Anniversary tour last November at the 229 The Venue. It includes many rarely played tracks like I Walk The Rope, Sister Bluebird, Excalibur and Dark Summer's Day all the way through to recent material like Faces Of Light, Indigo and Empathy.
"It's an amazing thing for a band to make it to two years these days so I feel particularly proud that we've managed 40," Nick Barrett tells Prog. "We wanted to do something really special to celebrate that fact and have spent a lot of time and energy on the three live CDs and the two studio album remixes for the First 40 Years Anniversary release.
"It's really been a no expense spared project and we have lashed out on getting some amazing artwork done by Simon Williams, who did Masquerade Overture et al."
The London show featured a return to the drum stool for Nigel Harris to perform some of the early songs and some saxophone from original member and one of the co-founders, Julian Baker.
The other two discs will be completely remixed versions of The World and Men Who Climb Mountains, which bookend the career of the band. Both remixes will feature re-recorded drums from current drummer Jan Vincent Velazco and some updated additional keyboards on The World recording.
"We've been working on the mixes for over a year now so a massive amount of effort has gone into this. I feel hell bent now on taking releases back to creating something that is bespoke and has had 100 % put into every artistic aspect, that's what I loved about my favourite albums, the attention to detail. So expect great things!"
"Pendragon have continued to do big tours over the decades and we'll be heading out again on a big tour next year to promote the new album Love Over Fear. It's a privilege to be able to still do all this after 40 years."
Pendragon have also announced tour dates for 2020, and their new studio album Love Over Fear is due for release in February 2020. The first tour dates are below, with more to follow.
