Latest articles by Jo Kendall
After accidentally getting a start in the London production of Hair, Joan Armatrading made the demo that (eventually) changed her life
They seemed doomed to be one-hit wonders on the cabaret circuit, with gig fees spiralling downwards, until the night they were confronted with the truth
Groundhogs’ 1971 album Split is a nailed-on cult classic
He recalls the chain reaction from the advert that got Elton John signed through missing a Family credit, a fluke Top Of The Pops slot, working with Steeleye Span and Art Garfunkel, to temporarily joining Hawkwind
Everyone from Ozzy to Voivod has covered this groundbreaking masterpiece
He helped create Bush’s one and only tour show, corrupted light entertainment TV into a counterculture variant, and refused to star in Cats – mainly because of Arthur Brown and Peter Gabriel
The Star Trek icon gets silly and serious in turns as he discusses what the season means to him, the secret to living long and prospering, and the presents Kirk and Spock might give each other
Prog writer Jo Kendall reckons they did, inspiring the likes of Oceansize along the way...
Stand-up, actor, novelist and producer Will Smith on how much Marillion means to him, the four lines of Jon Anderson lyrics that bring him to tears, his favourite Vangelis soundtrack and his claim that Dire Straits are a prog band
Former colleagues recall the life and times of a driven but introverted musician who endured tough challenges to see his lifelong vision achieved – and updated his joke book while he did it
The Pink Floyd collaborator thought his career would last two years. But in the past five decades he’s had surprise hits, overreacted to a myth about tape, and made colleagues believe his ideas had been their own
The Hives' Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist on Outkast, the Beastie Boys, the Rolling Stones and becoming rock royalty
When The Beatles cranked up the guitars, they really cranked up the guitars
The Hall of Fame’s director of education wore out his first copy of 90125, was blown away by OK Computer, devoured So and went on to discover Coheed And Cambria
Her fifth album came out of relationships, nature and old movies, along with all her nightmares in one song. It became one of her most-loved releases, featuring big hit Running Up That Hill, but she endured a challenging climb to complete it
The pundit, who met John Wetton and Geoff Downes through their mutual love of the sport, recommends albums by Asia, Supertramp, Marillion and others
When the British band wanted to create their own dystopia, a passionate shop owner led him to the German electronic composer’s prog masterpieces
In an incident he doesn’t recommend emulating, the singer-songwriter’s appreciation for the Canadian giants was cemented – but that’s only one of four reasons he loves them
Decades after playing to 80,000 people a night with Wang Chung, the Canterbury artist went wild on Epigonal Quark, with help from Syd Arthur and others
Jethro Tull and Atomic Rooster endured a difficult return from the breakup with Andy Partridge, but it led to a happy reunion with drummer Terry Chambers
The gospel according to Chris Goss
A Frank Zappa show bored her to sleep, but the Shakespeare’s Sister masterming has remained in love with Roxy Music, Hawkwind and Syd Barrett
They were saved by the rock community, they’re produced by Bob Rock and dug by Billy Gibbons. They're Canadian rockers The Damn Truth
