Jethro Tull first appeared with this name in 1968 in the famous London Marquee Club and from the very beginning they managed to build a large following, playing all over England. The real success – with a bit of a surprise - came at Sunbury Jazz and the Blues Festival in the summer of 1968. Jethro Tull recorded and released their first album, This Was, with the original line-up which included Anderson, Cornick, Bunker and Abrahams. After the replacement of Mick Abrahams with Martin Barre, about 30 other musicians have alternated as members of Jethro Tull, a trademark that survives to this day and lasts over time: Ian Anderson performs with the band generally for about a hundred shows each year around the world.
The historic British prog band released their first studio album in 18 years on January 28 2022, The Zealot Gene. The disc, preceded by the Shoshana Sleeping releases and the title track, was described by Ian Anderson as a set of reflections on biblical themes and concepts. "Even though I have a genuine passion for the opulence and fairytale narrative of the Holy Book, I still feel the need to question and draw parallels that are sometimes sacrilegious in the text".