Hampshire's 70's prog-rock legends Gentle Giant were inducted into Portsmouth Guildhall’s Wall of Fame following in the footsteps of music greats such as Mick Jones of Foreigner, Mark King of Level 42 and Queen’s ‘fifth man’ keyboard player Spike Edney.

The three Shulman brothers, Phil, Derek and Ray, founded the group Simon Dupree and the Big Sound in Portsmouth, in 1966, scoring several hits including the top 10, Kites. The band evolved into Gentle Giant in 1970 and the brothers recruited keyboardist Kerry Minnear, guitarist Gary Green and had two drummers before settling on John Weathers in 1972. Over the next decade the band recorded 10 albums, touring worldwide and selling millions in the process, before splitting in 1980.

The induction ceremony was led by Adrian Collis and Geoff Dorsett of Express FM’s Monday night Soft Rock Show. The Schulman brothers and several other previous band members were in attendance.

Geoff reported, “We are delighted to bring these extraordinary artists to the Guildhall Wall of Fame. The night Phil Shulman came into the station in 2008 represented the biggest re-action we have ever had to a show. We were inundated with so many acclaimed artists and musicians wanting to express the respect and awe they had for the multi-talented musicianship that were Simon Dupree and Gentle Giant – it seems right and fitting that we continue to honour that talent with today’s event.

Derek Shulman, over from New York said, “This city is where we started it all, in fact memories of starting and ending the band are all about Portsmouth. We all went to school here, it’s where we made our lives. It’s an honoured to be honoured in this way!”

Portsmouth Guildhall’s Wall of Fame was introduced in 2014 to honour artists who have achieved great success and whose work has reached out to millions, creating immense joy and entertainment. Artists invited to join the Wall of Fame have either a local or long-standing connection with the Guildhall where ‘Simon Dupree and the Big Sound’ and ‘Gentle Giant’ will sit in the company of The Osmonds, Genesis’ Steve Hackett, Mark King of Level 42, Foreigners’ Mick Jones, Musical Director and keyboard player for Queen; Spike Edney, The Godfather of British Blues; John Mayall and Portsmouth born, Julia Fordham.