Latest articles by Mark Blake
When The Alan Parsons Project mixed magic with madness for Pyramid (without visiting Egypt)
Box set edition gives former Beatles and Pink Floyd engineer the chance to recall the crazy times and ambitious attitude that resulted in 1978’s Pyramid
How the wild genius of Atom Heart Mother gave Pink Floyd their first No.1 album
It had a cow’s arse on the cover and a features track sampling their roadie cooking bacon – but their fifth record’s wild genius paved the way to their future
The explosive rise of Lynyrd Skynyrd, America’s greatest southern rock band
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s classic debut album (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) was released on August 13, 1973, setting them on the path to stardom
Phil Collins: My role as Genesis’ class clown and their only contact with the outside world
How the “junior member” broke into the band’s songwriting clique, his embarrassment over his solo success, and how the Sex Pistols influenced his choice of record label
The case for Led Zeppelin, uncrowned kings of prog rock
A blues band? A hard rock band? Think again
Jon Anderson recalls the “state of madness” that gave us Olias Of Sunhillow
Yes singer pushed far beyond his comfort zone for 1976 debut solo record, and when it was finished the world – and his bandmates – seemed underwhelmed. Was it worth the effort?
“Ritchie Blackmore went into the pit with a box of tomatoes and started throwing them at the singer”: how Deep Purple changed Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott’s life
Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott on his love of Deep Purple – and the deep cut he loves
How The Who stopped hating each other for long enough to shape the sound of the future
In 1966, The Who were a bunch of drinking, drugging, brawling rock stars-in-waiting. Pete Townshend was about to change all that
With The Works, Queen returned to their rock roots, and annoyed a lot of people
The Game dialled down Queen's hard rock, and Hot Space was such a departure that it confused their fan base. It was time for a rethink
"I think everyone has some sort of death wish... but I don't want to die": The spectacular rise and tragic fall of Paul Kossoff
Paul Kossoff should have been one of rock and blues' great guitar heroes. Instead, the light of the Free and Back Street Crawler guitarist shone briefly – and burned out quickly
“He was one of the most crucial figures of the ’60s. Much of the underground was his invention”: the forgotten story of John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins, the man who invented psychedelic London
He helped launch Pink Floyd’s career and got arrested with the Rolling Stones – John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins was the King Of The 1960s Underground
"As long as you can talk, you have a voice": An epic Bruce Dickinson interview
Bruce Dickinson fronts the UK’s most successful heavy metal band, holds a commercial pilot’s licence, releases solo albums, write novels and screenplays, and more. A full life? Not half
"Yes, we all want to bang our heads at Christmas, but we also want to sit down with a cup of tea and a mince pie and have a bit of a chillout": Rob Halford's 8 favourite Christmas songs
Metal God Rob Halford salutes the most wonderful time of the year, as he selects his eight favourite Christmas songs
"Honestly, I don't care if I lose my voice. It's just life, isn't it?": Justin Hawkins on The Darkness, life as a YouTube icon, and predicting the pandemic
Fronting The Darkness gave Justin Hawkins fame, a collection of fabulous catsuits, and some serious addiction issues. After some dark days his band are now flying high again
"He's out cold. I think he's gone and eaten something he shouldn't have eaten": What happened the night a Who fan was pulled from the crowd to fill in for Keith Moon
In November 1973, 19-year-old Who fan Scott Halpin travelled to see the band play at San Francisco's Cow Palace. He ended up on stage
“The sounds of plucked elastic bands and scraping broomsticks are the last hurrah for the old Pink Floyd”: Household Objects, the lost album that nearly followed Dark Side
For over three decades, a two-minute clip of tuned wine glasses was the only sign of a project begun in 1980 and finally abandoned four years later
"We were four separate guys at the beginning of the afternoon, and by the end of the evening we were a band": Paul Rodgers on life with Free, Bad Company, The Firm and Queen
Paul Rodgers looks back at his life, times and solo career, ponders the tragedy of Paul Kossoff, and reveals that he owes his life to martial arts
Queen were poor. Their singer sounded like a "bleating sheep". Their music was greeted with indifference. But they believed in themselves, and their debut album would make the years of pain worthwhile
One minute Queen were taking the bus and watching their Top Of The Pops performance in a shop window: the next they had the world at their feet
"I got shot down many times: ‘Oh, it’s pop. Oh, it’s bubblegum… the logo is ugly and we don’t hear a single!’” How John Wetton and Asia dialled up their debut album
The fleeting moment when a prog supergroup hijacked the US pop charts, becoming 1982's band of the summer
“Sir, are you married?”: the unlikely connection between Queen’s Brian May and punk band X-Ray Spex
Queen guitarist Brian May crossed paths with a punk icon years before either was famous
The Rutles: the strange and surreal story of the original Spinal Tap
Formed from the ashes of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, The Rutles were a razorsharp pastiche of The Beatles with links to Monty Python and the Fab Four themselves
Healing Hands: Steve Hackett in The Prog Interview
The former Genesis guitarist discusses new album The Night Siren, his time in Genesis and his 'Nurofen hands'!
Thin Lizzy's Live And Dangerous: the real story of the greatest live album ever
Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham look back at the troublesome birth of a classic live album, Thin Lizzy’s Live And Dangerous
