Latest articles by Mike Barnes
Five Colosseum songs that prove the jazz-rock pioneers’ pedigree
Initially active for only three years, they secured their reputation with a series of impressively pogressive releases that, it’s said, popularised the entire genre
Hawkwind’s late-career purple patch continues with There Is No Space For Us
Hawkwind return with There Is No Space For Us, another impressive blend of familiar elements and stylistic surprises in what’s effectively a sister album to Stories From Time And Space
Family vocalist Roger Chapman’s journey from local band stage invader to unique prog star
Vocalist with a one-off voice talked writing hits, co-founding Streetwalkers, going solo and overseeing the emotional reunion as he marked the launch of his most recent album
Barclay James Harvest’s 70s battles with orchestras – and why John Lees tried again
The recently-released live record from 2023 shows how much has changed in 50 years, as John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest look forward to the “progtastic” double album they’ve nearly finished
David Thomas calls Pere Ubu “avant-garage” – but how prog are they?
They’re unmistakably American, but their lead visionary names Henry Cow, Soft Machine, Gentle Giant and Van der Graaf Generator among his motivators, and explains why his band is definitely not punk
Klaus Shulze’s 101 Milky Way, rescued from the vault, is a compelling journey
80-minute work from 2009 – of which just a fraction was used in a movie soundtrack – was rescued from his vault following his 2022 death
“The sound wasn’t very good and the lifts didn’t work”: Bev Bevan on ELO’s spaceship
The self-proclaimed second-loudest drummer in Birmingham recalls his time with The Move, Black Sabbath and more – and he wants you to know he hasn’t retired
Emerson Lake & Palmer and the making of Brain Salad Surgery
The prog supergroup were at their creative peak when they created the 1973 epic that took the world by storm, despite the apparent hordes of critics
The maverick attitude that built Decca’s offshoot Deram into a label that pioneered prog
Pye Hastings, Davy O’List and others recall the company that aimed for an audience of “groovy people” and backed The Moody Blues, Caravan, The Move, Camel, Procol Harum and others
“A Whiter Shade Of Pale has always been a great mystery”: The life and times of Gary Brooker
Procol Harum singer’s first-ever song was one of the biggest hits imaginable, but he enjoyed many more career highs with and without the band that made his name
“All things come to an end”: Chester Thompson’s career in and out of Genesis
American drummer recalls his life and times with Frank Zappa, Weather Report, Phil Collins, Unitopia and even the Bee Gees
"Only partially successful”: Jon Anderson’s In The City Of Angels reissue
Former Yes singer thinks his voice didn’t cross over to pop as well as Phil Collins’ did - but it’s strong enough on this 1988 title
“With hindsight their music makes more sense now”: Stackridge’s The Forbidden City
2007 live set by the West Country’s finest returns in 2CD/DVD package
“When Ian Crichton gets the wind in his sails it’s spectacular”: Six By Six’s Beyond Shadowland
Second full-length album from melodic prog supergroup is far wider-ranging than the members’ CVs might imply
“We didn’t go ‘That’s your job’ – we’d say ‘Why don’t you have a go?’ I can remember playing solos on Stylophone… In some places it was like 'the Martians have landed!‘” How Family made Bandstand, and where it took them
With a pre-King Crimson John Wetton on bass and a clutch of idiosyncratic songs with busy arrangements, the 1972 release cemented Roger Chapman and co’s position as one of the most influential bands of the era
“You pick five interesting guys, lock them in a room together… and if they make an album without actually killing each other first, it will at least be an interesting album”: How King Crimson made Larks’ Tongues in Aspic
The 1973 release steered a new line-up into uncharted waters, resulting in a work that could only have been made by a band who were “prepared to jump off the cliff”
The critics hated it, Ringo Starr hated it, but over the years its experimental ripples widened: 11 albums that owe a huge debt to Paul and Linda McCartney's Ram
Ram's influence on second-generation Beatles fans-turned-musicians cannot be underestimated
“Musically and emotionally overwhelming … he gives us some of the most flamboyant and dazzling guitar-playing of his career”: Steve Hackett’s The Circus And The Nightwhale
It’s taken him nearly 50 years to return to the concept album format, but his semi-fictional musical memoir proves it was a wise move to wait – it’s his best solo record so far
"We've got a problem with the other band who registered the name and are trying to stop us from going to Germany. But we are trying to deal with that now": How Nektar resurrected themselves with The Other Side
How the UK prog legends took on a surrogate German line-up and reclaimed their prog drown with new album The Other Side
“Even though I go off on a tangent sometimes, I think he appreciates the melodic aspect I bring to the John Hackett Band”: Guitarist Nick Fletcher indulges himself on solo instrumental Quadrivium
Jazz rocker explores modes, plaintive tones and mysticism on his album, featuring old bandmate Dave Bainbridge
“Marrying a rock band to an orchestra was seat-of-the-pants stuff." The story of Barclay James Harvest's Once Again
1971's Once Again album. only the band's second album, saw Oldham's prog quartet Barclay James Harvest working with an orchestra to striking effect
“Having a narrative stretches you… you’re having to come up with a ‘film for the ear’ to bring the lyric to life”: 49 years on, Steve Hackett returns to the concept album genre
Semi-biographical time-travel story The Circus And The Nightwhale echoes the intentions (but not the music) of Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper
“I didn’t have anything against guitars – I just had this idea in my head of two keyboard players using an array of instruments. Everyone said, ‘It’ll never work.’ Well, they were wrong”: The short life and lasting times of Greenslade
They were forced into an untimely demise after just three years. But the unique bond of two synth geniuses left a catalogue that justifies their reputation as a “thinking man’s band”
“Talkback microphones go to our in-ear monitors and our lighting guy… It messes with the audience’s minds. ‘If they improvised that, how did the lights know when to change?’” How Umphrey’s McGee keep their shows rolling
Lessons learned from Frank Zappa and always-on personal connections mean they avoid the pitfalls that can kill jam band performances
“We couldn’t get a deal for Jethro Tull. The one person interested would only sign them if they dropped the flute player”: How Chrysalis rose from a booking agency to a leading prog record label
Chris Wright operated a business model that was more like a balancing act, with jail as the penalty for toppling - but Procol Harum, Trevor Rabin, Gentle Giant and others benefited from the approach
