Prog Features - page 7

How the CIA inspired Firestarter, why Axl Rose hates JD Salinger, David Bowie’s Orwell musical and why Jimmy Savile was the first ever club DJ: The books and stories that influenced classic songs

By Scott Rowley published 23 July 23

How books by Hemingway, Stephen King, the Marquis De Sade etc influenced Metallica, Nirvana, Iron Maiden, Kate Bush, The Prodigy, The Jam, David Bowie and more

Louder

Cults, drugs and religion. The story of Oceans Of Slumber's Starlight And Ash

By Matt Mills published 22 July 23

Oceans Of Slumber vocalist Cammie Beverley opens up on the struggles that helped make her the compelling frontwman she is

Prog

Joe Walsh - The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get

“Joe Walsh branched out – a genuine progressive instinct at work”: when future Eagles icon went prog with The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get

By Sid Smith published 22 July 23

Prog

Prog's Tracks Of The Week: brand new music from Queensryche, Teeth Of The Sea and more

By Jerry Ewing published 21 July 23

Great new prog music to check out from Temples On Mars, Children Of The Sun, Dirty Sound Magnet and more..

Prog

“We didn’t arrive on a magic carpet. He was a little heartbroken over that… his followers gathered outside and they were close to stoning us”: the Moody Blues’ weirdest fans

By Rob Hughes published 21 July 23

During prog’s earliest days, their 1968 US tour saw them treated like messiahs, aliens and harbingers of doom - and left them terrified

Prog

The genius of Talk Talk's Spirit Of Eden

By Tommy Udo published 20 July 23

It was impossible to play live and it sold poorly when released, but Talk Talk's fourth studio album, 1988's Spirit Of Eden is rightly hailed as a masterpiece

Prog

“We used to travel in Clark Gable’s Cadillac, refurbished by Rolls Royce. We had a TV in there, and two bars, just for the band”: Secrets of Rick Wakeman’s excess

By Henry Yates published 19 July 23

Keyboard icon's grandiose live shows lit up the 70s, but behind the pomp and majesty lay bad reviews, heart attacks and near ruin

Prog

Focus on The Old Grey Whistle Test and host Bob Harris

“We discovered we had an audience out there and it numbered in millions”: How Focus secured TV music show The Old Grey Whistle Test’s future

By Rob Hughes published 18 July 23

Revered music series ran for nearly two decades after Thijs van Leer’s band played two-song set during its first year

Prog

“Our days of easily digestible folky paeans are behind us. Goodbye chamber pop, hello folk prog”: When Fleet Foxes acted like men driven mad on Crack-Up

By Johnny Sharp published 15 July 23

Their third album, released in 2017, delivered a patchwork of instrumentation, influences and indulgence

Prog

“The others realised they couldn’t stop me because it was too close to the show… I got away with it, although it was a close-run thing”: How Peter Gabriel developed his Genesis frontman act

By Hugh Fielder published 14 July 23

It may have caused conflict, but his insistence on sticking with his artistic vision paid off in countless ways

Prog

Tracks of the Week composite featuring Devin Townsend, Soen, Jo Beth Young, HeKz, Emma Tricca, Red32, Harald Plontke

Prog's Tracks Of The Week: brand new music from Soen, Devin Townsend and more

By Jerry Ewing published 14 July 23

Cool new prog music to check out from Jo Beth Young, HeKz, Emma Tricca, Red32, Harald Plontke and more..

Prog

“Some guy who obviously didn’t recognise me said, ‘You just ruined a classic song.’ But another chap replied, ‘He’s allowed. He wrote the song!’”: Keith Emerson’s disastrous karaoke incident

By Malcolm Dome published 13 July 23

The keyboard legend's jam-packed career saw interactions with a varied cast from the ‘strange’ Dario Argento to Motörhead’s Lemmy

Prog

“It was a feeling of betrayal – they buy your record then come to a concert and whistle and hoot and screech… it all felt quite vulgar”: The time Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson nearly quit music

By Paul Elliott published 11 July 23

The band's rise to fame wasn't without its downsides

Prog

Roger Waters said he “couldn’t care less” about Van Halen, forgetting that he once appeared on a song with Eddie Van Halen

By Classic Rock published 10 July 23

Eddie Van Halen played guitar on a Roger Waters song back in 1990

Classic Rock

“Ray visited him just before he died and apologised for putting him at the centre of the story”: It took five decades for the Kinks’ Arthur to come of age

By Jo Kendall published 9 July 23

The 1969 empire-themed concept album, a commercial flop at the time, is perfectly suited to the current political climate

Prog

“Personally, I’d love to get to where Steven Wilson’s at". Luke Machin welcomes you to the Maschine

By Rich Wilson published 8 July 23

The story of how young UK prog rockers Maschine evolved from Concrete Lake, with a bit of help from The Tangent

Prog

"Musically Scheherazade And Other Stories is the one.” Annie Haslam on Renaissance's 1975 masterpiece

By Mike Barnes published 7 July 23

The inside story of Renaissance's 1975 classic album Scheherazade And Other Stories

Prog

What happened when Avenged Sevenfold released a prog metal concept album

By Luke Morton published 7 July 23

With 2016's The Stage Avenged Sevenfold set themselves on a path away from their original heavy metal sound. This is the story...

Prog

Prog's Tracks Of The Week: new music from Tusmorke, Silent Skies and more

By Jerry Ewing published 7 July 23

Great new prog music to check out from Infinite Rising, Gerd Weyhing, Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate and more..

Prog

Wishbone Ash's Andy Powell: the soundtrack of my life

By Dave Ling published 7 July 23

Wishbone Ash guitarist/singer Andy Powell picks his albums, artists and gigs of lasting significance, and names the guitarist who "led the way in music and fashion, everything, really"

Classic Rock