Latest articles by Paul Lester
The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds is revered by the critics - but not everyone is on board
Brian Wilson's celebrated masterpiece, reappraised
Gillan's Future Shock pays sonic tribute to their singer's illustrious Purple past
Future Shock found Gillan with a free-spirited sound that brought to mind nothing so much as an update on vintage Deep Purple
How Brian Wilson recorded Pet Sounds and reinvented music
Tiring of making frothy pop, the late Brian Wilson threw away his Beach Boys’ template, assembled a battalion of top session players, and began recording an all-time classic
Rick Derringer's debut album might contain his biggest hit, but is that enough?
More than just a flashy sidekick?
The Police’s Andy Summers on success, psychedelia and working with difficult people
The multi-faceted guitarist looks back on a career including stints with Robert Fripp, John Cale, Kevin Ayers and others
How Yello’s offbeat synth prog ethic gets Dieter Meier round the world
The “Dada version of Bryan Ferry” – who says he uses bandmate Boris Blank’s audio imagery to find structure then leap off into chaos – admits he was never a tortured artist
The Zombies on fame, inheriting the Beatles’ studio and being prisoners in a concert hall
Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent look back on finding fame in their teens and experiencing the highs and lows of the music industry over six decades
Why Propaganda’s A Secret Wish was more prog than people knew
Known as “ABBA from Hell,” the German synth-poppers’ 1985 debut had links to Yes, Mike Oldfield and Die Krupps
However you describe it, 10cc’s The Original Soundtrack is a progressive landmark
Their third album, complete with I’m Not In Love, moved away from three-minute singles and embraced opera and concept pop. Did it also inspire Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody?
How Frankie Goes To Hollywood helped carry prog into the 80s
With a stack of references to the 70s giants, and three members of Yes involved, how could any debut double album arrive without prog credentials?
“He’s playing songs he didn’t even like!” Roger Hodgson’s Supertramp beef with Rick Davies
The breaking of a deal made when they went separate ways in 1983 made a 21st-century reunion impossible – although Hodgson said he’d offered and been rebutted
The story of Sky, the least rock’n’roll band of all time
A unique insight into the short career of Sky, a band of musos more interested in their chops than chopping out lines
Jeff Lynne recalls how easy it was for ELO to take over the 70s
From working with Roy Wood and hanging with the Beatles to finding that songs simply poured out of him, the bandleader still can’t believe his luck
“I don’t like praise. ‘This record is flawed and has good intentions, but I look forward to something better’ – that’s a great review”: Richard Thompson doesn’t believe in the ‘perfect album’
British electric folk pioneer is certain his movement was more radical and courageous than their American counterparts because “there was no immediate audience for what we were doing”
“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences”: How Supertramp made the classic Breakfast In America
They were more likely to go out for dinner than indulge in drugs and groupies - but that didn’t stop their 1979 album becoming the second-biggest selling prog album of all time
“I picked up that sad song thing from Del Shannon and Roy Orbison. Sometimes sadness is the greatest thing to listen to… It’s like, ‘I’m happy now ’cos that’s exactly how I feel’”: Is the secret to Jeff Lynne’s success with ELO that simple?
It was a long lonely journey from being reviled to being adored – but for the Electric Light Orchestra maestro, it’s always been about variety
"Blackfield is the missing link between the Beatles ’69 and Floyd ’73." How Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen returned for a fifth album
Despite saying he was distancing himself from the project Steven Wilson hooked back up with Aviv Geffen for a fifth Blackfield album
“People would ask: ‘Is David Byrne a genius or a moron?’ I wanted to nip that ‘moron’ bit in the bud, so it was better to say ‘genius.’ The truth is somewhere in between”: The prog credentials of Talking Heads
The eccentric post-punk outfit certainly progressed with albums including More Songs About Buildings And Food, Fear Of Music and Remain In Light… but were they actually progressive?
"They didn't like the record, they didn't like our songs and they didn't like band": How Mr Big conquered record company indifference with To Be With You, the song that transformed their lives
A ballad written by teenager Eric Martin to impress a girl he'd fallen for gave his band their biggest hit, topped charts around the world, and became their calling-card
"I did Bat Out Of Hell thinking it was a comedy record. I did it as a spoof of Springsteen": What a career in music has taught Todd Rundgren
The man who had a public spat with John Lennon and made David Bowie cry says he’s a hard-worker more than a genius, and that music has been devalued
“He went from piano ballads to freak-out prog in three years. Amazing… You want him to be difficult and hard to understand”: Justin Hawkins on Todd Rundgren
The Darkness lead singer and guitarist chose his prog hero for being radical, eclectic and liking pyramids
“I had this huge chip on my shoulder… People were incredibly hostile. My confidence was a mess. I was an ‘80s icon’ for 15 years and that drove me mad”: Whatever you think of Gary Numan’s work, it’s progressive - and even he can live with it now
From underground punk to chart-topping pop star, reviled has-been to highly regarded seminal influence, the electronic pioneer has enjoyed four decades in music. But just how prog is he?
“It should be illegal to be in a band, and only those willing to be arrested and locked up should try and pursue music”: Bill Nelson was only partly joking with his pre-punk manifesto
From psychedelic troubadour to art rocker, the Be-Bop Deluxe leader has always been about crossing musical boundaries and encouraging others to do the same
"He threatened to take me apart piece by piece if I didn’t back off": How bubble-glam producer Mike Chapman turned Blondie from punks into pop stars
One Way Or Another provided the blueprint that turned Blondie into million-sellers and cemented Debbie Harry’s status as one of rock’s foremost badasses
“I wouldn’t say we were trying to create another Close To The Edge or A Night At The Opera, but there are definitely some of those elements on the record." The making of the Von Hertzen Brothers' War Is Over
Kicking off their seventh studio album with the 12-minute title track, War Is Over found Finland's Von Hertzen Brothers on fine prog form
