Editing Jethro Tull (band) (section)

===The "Big Split" and electronic rock (1980–1984)===
[[File:19821016-44A-IanAndersonWithBeast.jpg|thumb|right|Ian Anderson during a ''Broadsword and the Beast'' concert in Dallas, Texas, 1982.]]
Following the ''Stormwatch'' tour in early 1980,  Barlow, Evan, and Palmer left the band. Barlow was said to have been depressed after Glascock's death, and Evan and Palmer were having to reconsider their future after Anderson had announced that he wanted to record a solo album. 
In the 2008 Classic Artists documentary ''Jethro Tull: Their Fully Authorised Story'', Barlow said he had left the band by mutual agreement with Anderson. Evan and Palmer both recalled being dismissed by letter.<ref>{{cite AV media| people = Al-Issawi, Omar (Director)| title = Jethro Tull: Their Fully Authorised Story | medium = DVD| publisher = Classic Artists| location = United Kingdom| date = 2008 }}</ref> 
After their departure from Jethro Tull, Evan and Palmer briefly collaborated in a classical-based pop/rock band called Tallis.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://prod.whinc.net/tullrevision/musicians/pastmembers/johnevan.html| title=Past Members-John Evan| work=prod.whinc.net| access-date=23 May 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523230652/http://prod.whinc.net/tullrevision/musicians/pastmembers/johnevan.html| archive-date=23 May 2014| url-status=dead| df=dmy-all}}</ref> Jethro Tull was left with Anderson (the only original member), Martin Barre, and Dave Pegg.

The first album of the 1980s was intended to be Anderson's first solo album, but after pressure from [[Chrysalis Records]] he agreed to release it as a Jethro Tull album. Anderson retained Barre on electric guitar and Pegg on bass and added [[Mark Craney]] on drums, plus special guest keyboardist/violinist [[Eddie Jobson]] (ex–[[Roxy Music]], [[Frank Zappa]], [[Curved Air]], and [[U.K. (band)|UK]], the last of which had opened several shows on Tull's ''Stormwatch'' tour). The album featured prominent use of synthesisers and its style contrasted sharply with the established Tull sound. It was given the title ''[[A (Jethro Tull album)|A]]'', taken from the labels on the master tapes of the scrapped solo album, which were marked "A" for "Anderson". ''A'' was released in mid-1980.

In keeping with the mood of innovation surrounding the album, Jethro Tull developed a music video titled ''[[Slipstream (video)|Slipstream]]''.<ref>[http://www.allmovie.com/movie/v26124 ''Slipstream'' at allmovie.com] Retrieved 3 September 2014.</ref> Four staged and separately filmed music videos were mixed with concert footage from the ''A'' tour. London's [[Hammersmith Apollo|Hammersmith Odeon]] was used for exterior scenes, but the main concert footage came from an American performance at the [[Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena|Los Angeles Sports Arena]] (as heard on the Magic Piper ROIO), filmed in November 1980. The video, released in 1981, was directed by [[David Mallet (director)|David Mallet]], who had directed the pioneering "[[Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song)|Ashes to Ashes]]" video for [[David Bowie]].

Jobson and Craney left following the ''A'' tour and the band had a succession of temporary drummers. [[Gerry Conway (musician)|Gerry Conway]] left after deciding he could not be the one to replace Barlow;{{Citation needed|date=May 2018}} [[Phil Collins]] played with the band at the first [[The Prince's Trust|Prince's Trust]] concert in 1982; and [[Paul Burgess (musician)|Paul Burgess]] played for the US leg of the ''Broadsword and the Beast'' tour. [[Doane Perry]] started drumming for the band in 1984.{{efn|he did not really feature on the 1987 album}}

The band did not release an album in 1981; this was the first year that the band have not release anything. However, recording sessions took place with Anderson, Barre, Pegg, and Conway in which Anderson played keyboards. Some of the tracks recorded were later released on the ''[[Nightcap (album)|Nightcap]]'' compilation in 1993. In 1982 [[Peter-John Vettese]] joined on keyboards and the band returned to a folkier sound, still with synthesisers, for 1982's ''[[The Broadsword and the Beast]]''. The ensuing concert tour was well attended and the shows featured one of the group's last indulgences in theatricality, in which the stage was built to resemble a [[Longship|Viking longship]] and the band performed in medieval costume. An Anderson solo album (actually an Anderson-Vettese collaboration) appeared in 1983 in the form of the heavily electronic ''[[Walk into Light]]''. As with later solo work by Anderson and Barre, some of the ''Walk into Light'' songs, such as "Fly by Night", "Made in England", and "Different Germany", later made their way into Jethro Tull live sets.

In 1984, Jethro Tull released ''[[Under Wraps (Jethro Tull album)|Under Wraps]]'', another electronic album which, like ''Walk into Light'', used a drum machine instead of a live drummer. Although the band had reportedly liked the sound (Barre even considered the album one of his personal favourites), it was not well received. The video for "Lap of Luxury" was given moderate rotation on the newly influential [[MTV]] music video channel. Vettese quit the band after the tour, angry at critics for bad reviews of ''The Broadsword and the Beast'' (1982), ''Walk into Light'' (1983) and ''Under Wraps'' (1984),<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.isbuc.co.uk/People/IanAnd.htm| title=Ian Anderson| author=Isle of Skye Business Community| access-date=22 April 2007}}</ref> and the band took a three-year break because of [[vocal cord]] problems Anderson had developed while touring the demanding ''Under Wraps'' material. During this hiatus, Anderson continued to oversee the salmon farm on the Isle of Skye he had founded in 1978. The single "Coronach" was released in the UK in 1986 after it was used as the theme tune for a Channel 4 television programme called "Blood of the British".