
Chris Roberts
Chris Roberts has written about music, films, and art for innumerable outlets. His new book The Velvet Underground is out April 4. He has also published books on Lou Reed, Elton John, the Gothic arts, Talk Talk, Kate Moss, Scarlett Johansson, Abba, Tom Jones and others. Among his interviewees over the years have been David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Debbie Harry, Bryan Ferry, Al Green, Tom Waits & Lou Reed. Born in North Wales, he lives in London.
Latest articles by Chris Roberts

Paddy McAloon on prog rock and trawling the megahertz
By Chris Roberts published
Prefab Sprout were already popular with prog fans, but with his reissued I Trawl The Megahertz, Paddy McAloon finds himself drifting in a much proggier world

The story behind Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill - the song everyone's talking about
By Chris Roberts published
Given new life by Stranger Things, Kate Bush's hallmark anthem helped to revitalise her career back in 1985

Alan White: 10 Yes performances that show he was a cut above
By Chris Roberts published
Yes drummer Alan White died last night, May 26, at the age of 72. Here's are ten reminders of his prodigious talent

Fifty years on, the cheesecloth and flares that shunned glam get another outing
By Chris Roberts published
Blowing Free: Underground & Progressive Sounds Of 1972 mines gems from Yes, ELP, Nektar, Edgar Broughton Band, Free, Thin Lizzy and many more

How Stanley Clarke made Up: creativity and the art of bass liberation
By Chris Roberts last updated
On 2014's Up, the ever-innovative Stanley Clarke nodded to his past while continuing to explore the outer reaches of bass, in another love letter to the instrument

The Waterboys find space for romantic and rebellious reflection on All Souls Hill
By Chris Roberts published
Mike Scott continues prolific period and embraces collaboration on 15th Waterboys album All Souls Hill

Nektar - ...Sounds Like This: "An excellent work of excavation..."
By Chris Roberts published
Not yet ratedExpanded and remastered edition of Nektar’s transitional third.

Pleasant but never bland, Midlake's For The Sake Of Bethel Woods mulls over time, illness and innocence
By Chris Roberts published
Folk-proggers Midlake streamline to set their soul free on For The Sake Of Bethel Woods

Spoon absorb the spirit of ZZ Top on the lively Lucifer On The Sofa
By Chris Roberts published
Arch art-rockers Spoon have come to realise that the devil has all the best tunes

The 40 greatest Yes songs ever
By Jerry Ewing, Grant Moon, Chris Roberts, Johnny Sharp, David West last updated
In Prog Magazine's biggest ever reader vote, you chose your favourite ever Yes songs

Matt Berry - Gather Up: "an appetite-whetting beginner’s guide"
By Chris Roberts last updated
Not yet ratedToast of the town: Matt’s music earns respect.

The Krautrock albums you should definitely own
By Chris Roberts published
Krautrock runs a truly revolutionary gamut from avant-garde dance to proggy space rock to minimalist electronica and beyond – and these are its best albums

How Genesis journeyed from pioneering prog to eighties' superstardom
By Chris Roberts published
Peter Gabriel left Genesis, and that was supposed to be that. But they adapted, survived punk, defined 80s rock, climbed the pop charts, and became one of the biggest bands of all time

The Kate Bush albums you should definitely own
By Chris Roberts published
Kate Bush is probably the most important and influential British female singer-writer-musician ever - and these are her best albums

Yes - The Quest: "a spirited attempt to roll back the years."
By Chris Roberts published
Not yet ratedAge and a global pandemic cannot wither them, as prog’s founding fathers notch up another landmark with album number 22.

Mark Knopfler does it gently on The Studio Albums 1996-2007
By Chris Roberts published
Dire Straits mainman Mark Knopfler's steady-going box set showcases the value of underplaying

10 examples of the supernatural genius of Jaco Pastorius
By Chris Roberts last updated
We investigate the career highlights of Jaco Pastorius, bass player extraordinaire

“I was a big early Genesis fan and I loved King Crimson." How Tears For Fears added prog to pop and ruled the 80s
By Chris Roberts published
A shared love of Blue Oyster Cult, Genesis and King Crimson saw Tears For Fears become much more than an 80s pop band

Caravan - Who Do You Think We Are? review
By Chris Roberts published
Not yet ratedEccentric brilliance, double entendres and Canterbury tales: prog’s gentlest geniuses get the career-spanning treatment they deserve on this epic 37-disc box set.

Caravan: 37 discs of rule breaking and treasure on Who Do You Think We Are?
By Chris Roberts published
Caravan's massive, career-wide box set Who Do You Think We Are? lays down their enchanting legacy

“In Britain we rarely heard European music, until Kraftwerk’s Autobahn made the charts. And then we started to unravel all these threads." Why Ultravox were more prog than new romantic...
By Chris Roberts published
The Midge Ure-fronted Ultravox may have been 80s chart regulars but their sound owed more to prog and Krautrock than 80s pop

Earl Slick lets his fingers do the talking on Fist Full Of Devils
By Chris Roberts published
Out now: Guitar legend Earl Slick plays blues with feeling on Fist Full Of Devils, his first solo album for 18 years

Imogen Heap's soundtrack to Harry Potter And The Cursed Child is a hidden prog gem!
By Chris Roberts published
Why hasn’t the world noticed how blatantly and blissfully prog Imogen Heap’s Harry Potter soundtrack is?
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