An enduring Soft Rock act created in Oldham by art student friends vocalist Stuart Wolstenholme and guitarist John Lees. This pair had been members of THE WICKEDS whilst bassist Les Holroyd and drummer Melvin Pritchard where in an act titled THE SORCERORS. The quartet combined to form BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST turning professional in the summer of 1967. Over many decades BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST have stood the test of time with a loyal global fan base.

The band signed to EMI's Parlophone initially but found a new home with the emergence of new EMI Progressive Rock subsidary Harvest issuing their debut eponymous album in 1970. The record was backed by full orchestration, (claimed by the ENID's Robert Godfrey to be his work but contested in court many years later). The band's early albums and tours found a ready audience on mainland Europe.

1973 found Lees also working on solo material although the resulting album 'A Major Fancy' only saw the light of day in 1977. In Britain the appeal of BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST remained somewhat limited until the breakthrough live album of 1974.

BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST switched labels to Polydor in Britain and Capitol in America. 'Octoberon' pushed the band to platinum status in Germany and BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST's stature grew with each tour and release. Throughout the 70s and 80s the band scored numerous gold and platinum albums in Germany.

Wolstenholme departed for a solo career in mid 1979 and BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST pulled in erstwhile BEES MAKE HONEY keyboard player Kevin McAlea.

1982's 'A Concert For The People' was recorded live in Berlin in front of an audience of 175'000 and as part of a simultaneous live TV broadcast.

The 1990 album 'Welcome To The Show' had the band name abbreviated down to merely BJH.

For 1999's 'Nexus' album the official band title became BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF JOHN LEES.

The 1999 live album was recorded with Lees, a guesting Wolstenhome together with Craig Fletcher, Kevin Whitehead and Jeff Leach.