Prog's Advent Calendar - Day Six

So there's now less than three weeks to go until Christmas Day (19 days in fact), and between now and then Prog Magazine is bringing you a proggy Christmas song every day to help you get in the festive spirit.

Today it's the turn of folky proggers Steeleye Span, and the band's reworking on the traditional In The Bleak Midwinter, from their 2004 Christmas album Winter. Amazingly the Span had never recorded a seasonal album prior to this, despite their love of folk and traditional music, but here singer Maddy Prior, who had only rejoined the band in 2002 having left in 1997, lends a delightfully gentle vocal to the famous carol.

Next year Steeleye Span celebrate their 50th anniversary, with plans to record a new album, a follow-up to 2016's Dodgy Bastards, with a tour planned for April.

So enjoy. And remember, this isn’t a “best of” list. We're not adhering to any numerical order. These are just 25 great seasonal songs for you to enjoy. It’s as simple as that. Season's greetings…

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.