
Rob Hughes
Freelance writer for Classic Rock since 2008, and sister title Prog since its inception in 2009. Regular contributor to Uncut magazine for over 20 years. Other clients include Word magazine, Record Collector, The Guardian, Sunday Times, The Telegraph and When Saturday Comes. Alongside Marc Riley, co-presenter of long-running A-Z Of David Bowie podcast. Also appears twice a week on Riley’s BBC6 radio show, rifling through old copies of the NME and Melody Maker in the Parallel Universe slot. Designed Aston Villa’s kit during a previous life as a sportswear designer. Geezer Butler told him he loved the all-black away strip.
Latest articles by Rob Hughes

Jethro Tull's Thick As A Brick: the 40 minute song Ian Anderson wrote as a joke
By Rob Hughes published
At a critical and commercial peak after Aqualung, Tull frontman Ian Anderson created an album that split one epic track over two sides - parodying prog and rock poetry

Philip Selway: "Crimson, Floyd... Radiohead have drawn on that ambition"
By Rob Hughes published
Radiohead drummer Philip Selway discusses his career to date in Prog Magazine's The Prog Interview...

The Josh Homme albums you should definitely own
By Rob Hughes published
From Kyuss to Queens Of The Stone Age via Eagles Of Death Metal, Them Crooked Vultures and various hook-ups, Josh Homme's path through rock'n'roll is flecked with gold

Eric Burdon: the hellraiser who had it all and then lost it
By Rob Hughes published
Founder of The Animals, party buddy of Hendrix and Morrison and hero to Springsteen, Eric Burdon is a bluesman, a rogue and a survivor, and this is his story

Blues, booze and debauchery: the agonising life and death of Paul Butterfield
By Rob Hughes published
Paul Butterfield inspired Dylan to plug in, was a virtuoso singer and mouth harp player, and took black blues to white America. But beneath the surface, trouble was brewing

The Damned continue to flourish as their punk peers wither and fade
By Rob Hughes published
Darkadelic is a loud'n'lively twelfth album from punk’s most adaptable survivors The Damned

Sire Records: the albums you should definitely own
By Rob Hughes published
Seymour Stein's iconic Sire label championed punk and new wave in the 70s, but also gave a home to great musical misfits from any generation

The Cadillac Three’s Jaren Johnston: 10 country-rock artists you should definitely know
By Rob Hughes published
Jaren Johnston grew up steeped in rock and country - and he knows a thing or two about both

Why The Velvet Underground hated The Doors
By Rob Hughes published
"How fabulous, in a bathtub in Paris!" - Lou Reed, upon hearing of the death of Doors frontman Jim Morrison

The Ry Cooder albums you should definitely own
By Rob Hughes published
Whether reshaping roots music or making emotive soundtracks, Ry Cooder’s albums have always reflected that X factor called class - and these are his beat

The Rick Rubin albums you should definitely own
By Rob Hughes last updated
The producer with the Midas touch, Rick Rubin's CV – from Slayer to Johnny Cash, from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Tom Petty – includes some golden moments in rock's history

Chris Spedding: my stories of the Rolling Stones, the Sex Pistols, Roy Harper and more
By Rob Hughes published
Chris Spedding turned down the Rolling Stones, stood in for Jimmy Page, was the first man to record the Sex Pistols, and was the Womble with the Flying V. These are his stories

The Joni Mitchell albums you should definitely own
By Rob Hughes published
On her journey from coffee-house folkie to genre-juggling experimentalist, Joni Mitchell recorded some of the finest albums of her era

The Neil Young albums you should definitely own
By Rob Hughes published
There's a different Neil Young everywhere you look: melodic troubadour, electric warrior, garage rocker, grunge forefather, synth wrangler and more – and these are his best albums

The 10 best David Crosby songs
By Rob Hughes published
Ten of the best from the late and legendary singer-songwriter David Crosby, the man with the honeyed voice

Susan Tedeschi: "I’m hoping to do something with Harry Styles"
By Rob Hughes published
Releasing a sprawling album over four separate months was quite a bold move for the Tedeschi Trucks Band, but there may be bigger adventures ahead

Myrkur: Norse myths and the story behind the progressive folk of Folksange
By Rob Hughes published
Myrkur, aka Amalie Bruun, discusses Norse mythology and motherhood as the inspiration behind her third album, Folksange

Creedence Clearwater Revival and the long road to the Royal Albert Hall
By Rob Hughes published
For a time in the late 60s, Creedence Clearwater Revival were the hottest band in America, if not the world. John Fogerty, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford recall their rocket ride from outcasts to “outselling The Beatles"

Peter Buck on R.E.M: "No matter how good our last record was, it wasn’t really our time any more"
By Rob Hughes published
Former R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck on his old band, working with Luke Haines, and not having record labels tell him what to do

When Rainbowman met Gangsterman: The story of the gig that invented glam rock
By Rob Hughes published
The crowd at 1970’s Atomic Sunrise Festival in London wasn't much interested David Bowie’s new band Hype, with their lurex outfits and make-up, but one onlooker was: Marc Bolan

Taj Mahal: "All you’ve gotta do is step out of the boxes they try to put the blues in"
By Rob Hughes published
Taj Mahal headlined over Led Zeppelin and taught Keith Richards things he didn't know. The is his story: the story of a Rising Son

How The Cult made the "blues-rock-free zone" of Under The Midnight Sun
By Rob Hughes published
Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy talk about The Cult's new album Under The Midnight Sun, and their “simple vision to make guitar-oriented rock"

Bill Wyman: my stories of Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Keith Moon and more
By Rob Hughes published
Bill Wyman dared to quit the band that Keith Richards said people only left “in a box”: he's also mates with Clapton and Page, and he's got some stories
Select the newsletters you’d like to receive. Then, add your email to sign up.