Pegasus (band)
Pegasus is a Swiss pop/rock-band from Biel/Bienne. The band consists of Noah Veraguth (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Gabriel Spahni (bass, vocals), Stefan Brønner (drums) and Simon Spahr (vocals, guitar).
Pegasus | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Schweiz |
| Genres | Pop, Rock |
| Years active | 2003-present |
| Labels | Gadget |
| Website | pegasustheband.com |
| Members | Noah Veraguth (Lead vocals, guitar, piano)
Gabrial Spahni (bass, vocals) Stefan Brønner (drums) Simon Spahr (pause 2016–2020) (vocals, guitar) |
| Past members | Martin Deplazes |
Pegasus is one of the most successful pop bands in Switzerland. The band was awarded Platin and Gold status for their work, got three Swiss Music Awards and reached multiple chart placements (Album Love & Gunfire). They already played big festivals and tours in Switzerland and and travelled all the way to Germany, Austria, Belgium, Japan, Hongkong and Singapur to be the supporting group of Hurts during the Europe Leg of their tour as well as festival- and club shows.
History
The beginnings
Noah Veraguth, Simon Spahr and Gabriel Spahni all grew up in the same street in Biel and started entertaining the neighbourhood residents with small concerts in living rooms, basements or parks early on. Stefan Brønner later joined the group as the drummer. Their first musical influences were the Beatles and other pioneers of Rock 'n' Roll.
A Place to Be
In 2007, the band signed the first record deal and documented the difficult negotiations and the recording sessions of their debut album A Place to Be with film maker Andresas Pfiffner and Simon Baumann. Hope Music was released as the first web-documentery of Switzerland.
A Place to Be was received well by critics and the audience.
Hope Music was broadcasted on swiss television. As part of their "A Place to Be"-tour, the band was able to open for Joe Cocker's concert at Hallenstadion in front of an audience of 13.000 people. Various big openairs (for example Gurtenfestival, Blue Balls Luzern) were also some highlights of their first tour.
Heroes & Champions
Pegasus went back to the studio in 2008 and recorded their second album Heroes & Champions with swiss producer Thomas Fessler (Florian Ast, Plüsch, Sina, Adrian Stern). The album was released in April 2009. Yet again, the band was able to play at big openairs (like Open Air St. Gallen, Stars Of Sounds in Aarberg, Open-Air Huttwil, Gena-Festival Geneva) and performend as the supporting group for Coldplay at Stade de Suisse in Bern. In March 2010, the band won Best Newcomer National at the Swiss Music Awards and made the first experience abroad at the Eurosonic-Festival in Groningen.
Human.Technology
The next studio work for the next Pegasus album started in September 2010. The band decided to work with producer Roman Camenzind and Fred Herrmann, which marked the intended change in the Pegasus-Sound.
On 13th May 2011, the new Pegasus-Sound celebrated its premiere with Rise Up (Black Dog) at the swiss radios. The song acted as a foretaste of the upcoming album Human.Technology. The album was released on 16th September 2011 throughout Switzerland and placed 5th in the swiss album charts.
The band announced on 19th June 2012 that Human.Technology sold over 15.000 copies. A special edition of Human.Technology was released on 27th July 2012 called Human.Technology 2.0 and placed 2nd in the swiss album charts. The new single Skyline, which was also Switzerland's Olympia-Song for London 2012, placed 1st in the swiss single charts on 8th August 2012.
Supporting Group for Hurts
In November 2013, Pegasus accompanied the british synthie-popband Hurts on their tour in Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg.[1]
Love & Gunfire
On 14th March 2014, Love & Gunfire was released. The album had themes and motives of the tension beween love and violence, closeness and distance, care and alienation. It charted for 80 weeks. In November 2015, a platin edition of Love & Gunfire was released with multiple live versions and the official Jeder-Rappen-zählt-Single Streets of My Hometown.
Asia Tour
In the beginning of 2015, Pegasus was able to gain first live-experiences in Asia. Singapore, Tokyo and Hongkong were in the program. The music video of Lay Low was inspired by the experience and especially the japanese culture. Yumi Mukai, a tea ceremony master, supported the band in the implementation of the video.
Noah Veraguth's Solo career
During the promotion of "Human.Technology", it became apparent that singer Noah Veraguth was put on the spotlight. At the end of 2012, he placed 1st in the swiss hitparade with rapper Stress and singer Bastian Baker. The promotion for the 2014 Noël's Room album continued the singer's strong presence in the tabloid media. Blick reported on this move to Zurich in a homestory and Schweizer Illustrierte reported on a concnert at the Prinzebar in Hamburg under the title "Noah Veraguth & Co.".[2]
Simon Spahr's Break
From April 2016 until February 2020 Simon Spahr took a break from the band. On 15th January he announced that he will leave the band after one last concert in April 2016. His reason was: "After 15 intensive and wonderful years of making music, I now feel the need to do something different and reorient myself." The last concert with Simon Spahr was at Snowpenair on 2nd April.[3] During his absence, he was replaced by Martin Deplazes (Ginger and the Alchemists). He came back in February 2020.
Beautiful Life
On 9th July 2017, the fifth studio album Beautiful Life was released, which was published by Columbia Sony Music Entertainment Germany.
Unplugged + Hallenstadion Unplugged (Live)
On Unplugged, Pegasus released their musical biography in form of an acoustic-album. They re-released all their hits such as Metropolitans, I Take It All and Skyline with new arrangements. After five successfull studio albums, countless hits and successfull domestic and abroad tours, the band took a step back and dedicated the extraordinary time of the Covid-19 pandemic to working on another album.
They celebrated the premiere of the Unplugged albums on the 21st May 2021 at Hallenstadion Zurich. This was the first show in the biggest indoor event location of Swizerland after 15 months of pandemic-related radio silence.[4]
Unplugged was released on 15th January 2021. The live album of the show Hallenstadion Unplugged (Live) was releleased 12th November 2021.
Future:Memories
Following the pandemic, Pegasus rushed into the future with the album Future:Memories. Almost all of the songs were written in the last few years. The lead single, Once in a Lifetime, has been in the works for a while and finally felt like a fitting fit for the overall album. The nine remaining songs represent a fresh start, boundless optimism, and blend classic songwriting with modern production. Musically, the album takes a step forward in a more electronic direction.
Zirkus Knie
From May until December 2024, the quartet was part of the swiss national circus Knie and ensured an extraordinary show on the evening performances.[5]
Twisted Hearts Club
With How Much Can A Heart Break, the band released the first single from their upcoming album, forming the musical connection to Future:Memories. Pegasus promised an album of emotional complexity, embedded in a production that would throw the band back to their affinity for the organic sound they once learned.
As part of the album release, they released an SRF DOK Pegasus - Eine Band macht Schluss.
Departure of Gabrial Spahni and Simon Spahr
In January 2025 it was announced that Gabriel Spahni and Simon Spahr would leave the band at the end of 2025.[6]
Diskografie
Studio albums[7]
| Year | Title | Charts | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | A Place to Be | 49
(1 week) |
Released: 30 March 2007 |
| 2009 | Heroes & Champions | 13
(5 weeks) |
Released: 24 April 2009 |
| 2011 | Human.Technology | 2
(65 weeks) |
Released: 16 September 2011 |
| 2014 | Love & Gunfire | 2
(84 weeks) |
Released: 14 March 2014 |
| 2017 | Beautiful Life | 5
(65 weeks) |
Released: 9 June 2017 |
| 2021 | Unplugged | 1
(23 weeks) |
Released: 15 January 2021 |
| 2022 | Future:Memories | 4
(10 weeks) |
Released: 11 March 2022 |
| 2025 | Twisted Hearts Club | 1
(13 weeks) |
Released: 17. January 2025 |
Singles[8]
| Year | Title
Album |
Charts | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Back on Christmas
A Place to Be (Limited Christmas Edition) |
61
(4 weeks) |
Release date: 26 October 2007 |
| 2009 | Easy
Heroes & Champions |
52
(4 weeks) |
Release date: 27 February 2009 |
| 2011 | Technology
Human.Technology |
31
(13 weeks) |
Release date: 19 August 2011 |
| Rise Up (Black Dog)
Human.Technology |
48
(2 weeks) |
Release date: 11 June 2011 | |
| 2012 | Man on Mars
Human.Technology |
33
(15 weeks) |
Release date: 27 July 2012 |
| Skyline
Human.Technology 2.0 |
1
(1 weeks) |
Release date: 27 July 2012 | |
| 2014 | Digital Kids
Love & Gunfire |
7
(6 weeks) |
Release date: 14 March 2014 |
| I Take It All
Love & Gunfire |
18
(22 weeks) |
Release date: 14 March 2014 | |
| Las Night on Earth
Love & Gunfire |
7
(14 weeks) |
Release date: 14 March 2014 | |
| 2015 | Lay Low
Love & Gunfire |
49
(6 weeks) |
Release date: 14 March 2014 |
| Streets of My Hometown
- |
21
(6 weeks) |
Release date: 27 November 2015 | |
| 2017 | Fragments
Beautiful Life |
34
(3 weeks) |
Release date: 3 February 2017 |
| Get Over You
Beautiful Life |
76
(4 weeks) |
Release date: 14 April 2017 | |
| 2018 | Metropolitans
Beautiful Life |
23
(11 weeks) |
Release date: 2 February 2018 |
| 2019 | Greatest Show on Earth
- |
54
(5 weeks) |
Release date: 23 August 2019 with Aloe Blacc |
| 2020 | Victoria Line
Unplugged |
19
(8 weeks) |
Release date: 3 April 2020 feat. Anna Rossinelli |
| Better Man
Unplugged |
71
(1 week) |
Release date: 23 October 2020 |
Live album
- 2021: Hallenstadion Unplugged (Live)
More Singles
- 2013: Go Out (And Get Her)
- 2017: Lost to Be Found
- 2022: Once in a Lifetime
- 2022: Come Home
- 2024: Champions
- 2024: How Much Can A Heart Break
Awards
- 2007: SUISA Newcomer Award
- 2008: Swiss Top 07 durch DRS 3 (the youngest receivers at that time)
- 2010: Swiss Music Award in the category "Newcomer National"
- 2012: Prix Walo in the category "Newcomer"
- 2013: Swiss Music Award in the category "Best Hit National" for "Skyline"
- 2015: Swiss Music Award in the category "Best Hit National" for "I Take It All"
- 2016: Biel's resident of the year (de: Bieler des Jahres 2015)
Nominations
- 2015: Swiss Music Awards in the category "Best Group"
- 2019: Swiss Music Awards in the category "Best Group"
References
- ↑ "Pegasus gehen mit Hurts auf Europa-Tournee". 20 Minuten (in Deutsch). 2013-08-02. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ↑ "Pegasus: Noah Veraguth & Co. auf Tournee - Backstage-Fotos" (in de-DE). Schweizer Illustrierte. https://www.schweizer-illustrierte.ch/stars/schweiz/pegasus-noah-veraguth-tour-neues-album-love-gunfire-fotos-backstage. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ↑ ajour.ch https://ajour.ch/de. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Pegasus spielen erstes Konzert im Hallenstadion seit pandemiebedingter Schliessung". Gadget (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ↑ "Pegasus bringen ihre Hits in den Circus Knie – Zirkus Knie". www.knie.ch (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ↑ "Pegasus: Spahni und Spahr steigen Ende 2025 bei der Popband aus". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ↑ "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ↑ "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2025-05-07.