Articles by Chris Roberts

Chris Roberts has written about music, films, and art for innumerable outlets. His new book The Velvet Underground is out April 4. He has also published books on Lou Reed, Elton John, the Gothic arts, Talk Talk, Kate Moss, Scarlett Johansson, Abba, Tom Jones and others. Among his interviewees over the years have been David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Debbie Harry, Bryan Ferry, Al Green, Tom Waits & Lou Reed. Born in North Wales, he lives in London.

Articles by: Chris Roberts

“The sort of thing which got prog a bad name, but which now seems increasingly bold and ambitious”: 10 essential Greg Lake songs

By Chris Roberts published 7 December 24

From King Crimson to ELP and beyond, Greg Lake left a catalogue of impressive creations from an extraordinary musical journey which included that Christmas song

“All the poise and balance they exude in the studio flies out the window once they get their dander up”: Tears For Fears’ Songs For A Nervous Planet blends stunning live tracks with four powerful new songs

By Chris Roberts published 1 December 24

As 2022’s The Tipping Point confirmed, they’ve always known how to go big without ever going over the top

“I’m glad I took the risk, and I’m glad we have the kind of audiences that not only accept that but revel in it”: Ian Anderson looks back on his six solo albums

By Chris Roberts published 18 November 24

Between 1983 and 2014 he released a series of records that took him beyond the confines of Jethro Tull – for a variety of reasons and with a variety of results

“An obvious smash in hindsight, given its chart-friendly tale of a gardener who refuses to grow up because he’d rather push his lawnmower around”: Genesis’ 10 best songs with Peter Gabriel

By Chris Roberts published 11 November 24

The band’s first phase features a charming, very English sense of melancholy and melodrama – matched with wilful prog complexity

Pixies: The Night The Zombies Came cover art

"This album drops its bombs with honed precision": Pixies prove that class is permanent on The Night The Zombies Came

By Chris Roberts published 25 October 24

Influential icons Pixies' second act refuses to die

"It's got some good stuff on it." Tony Banks revisits the classic Genesis live album Seconds Out

By Chris Roberts last updated 14 October 24

"It's got some good stuff on it," says a typically understated Tony Banks, on Genesis's Seconds Out

“Lavish yet controlled angst… for what was then considered regular pop music, it’s fearlessly miserable”: Ultravox’s 40th anniversary edition of Lament

By Chris Roberts published 25 September 24

Classy reissue package includes contributions from Steven Wilson and Moby, plus live show that proves they could deliver on stage too

Peter Gabriel performing in costume with rock group Genesis, Newcastle City Hall, 1st October 1972

“It was early days for the band. We’d gone out on a limb… it was by no means certain that the response would be positive”: Genesis’ early fears for Foxtrot

By Chris Roberts published 15 September 24

Barely planned, recorded in fits and starts and complete with one of King Crimson’s Mellotron, their 1972 album was, they believe, the moment they began to be taken seriously

Actors, artists, transvestites, junkies and wannabes: How Lou Reed made the defining album of his career

By Chris Roberts published 8 September 24

Rudderless after the Velvet Underground, Lou Reed ditched New York for London and hooked up with David Bowie: The rest is history

“I felt they were having second thoughts… I got quite angry – ‘Just stop the bus, I’ll get off, no problem’”: Ray Wilson knows what went wrong during his time in Genesis

By Chris Roberts published 1 September 24

The singer who fronted 1997’s Calling All Stations only had one serious argument with Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford – and remains glad he was there at all

“History tends to point to 1975 as something of a slump… worthy names prove it was another very good year”: Ring The Bells And Sing – Progressive Sounds Of 1975 box set

By Chris Roberts published 31 August 24

With Yes and Genesis between albums, Camel, Renaissance, Gentle Giant, Be Bop Deluxe, Soft Machine, Steve Hillage and Steve Hackett were among those proved here to be keeping the quality high

Jon Anderson & The Band Geeks: True cover art

"Hugging the corners of Seventies Yes with just the right balance of mimicry and mutability": Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks capture the right essence on True

By Chris Roberts published 23 August 24

Jon Anderson taps into spirit of Yes, aided by The Band Geeks and that bloke out of Blue Öyster Cult

“If anybody had him pigeonholed as the master of epic melancholy, they’re in for a shock”: Tim Bowness displays a stunning change of pace with Powder Dry

By Chris Roberts published 16 August 24

His voice is as mellifluous as ever – but with songs averaging around two minutes long, this dynamic album feels like a reset

"A rewarding retrospective, not dissimilar to the kind revered artists get at major museums": Elvis Presley's Memphis recordings are immortal gold

By Chris Roberts published 8 August 24

Memphis is a mammoth, probably definitive set of Elvis Presley's Bluff City belters

The Police - Synchronicity 40th Anniversary

“Proof that three men can grate on each other’s last remaining nerves but still retain unique chemistry and deliver diamonds”: The Police’s Synchronicity (40th Anniversary Edition)

By Chris Roberts published 4 August 24

Tension-torn trio’s final studio album extended with fascination under-construction demo collection and energetic live show

“When the mood took them, the prog legends of the 70s could write simple but catchy music with aplomb”: The 40 greatest Yes songs ever

By Jerry Ewing, Grant Moon, Chris Roberts, Johnny Sharp, David West published 25 July 24

When 50,000 Prog magazine readers voted on the band’s catalogue, the resulting chart contained a few surprises

“A hint of the yodelling weirdness of Hocus Pocus might have pepped up the project… but they reckon it would be needy to try too hard, so don’t”: Focus’ Focus 12

By Chris Roberts published 6 July 24

55 years in, there’s a dependable charm to the way Thijs Van Leer keeps his quartet’s ambitions moderate

“The world was all smiling beat bands. We were moodier. We were serious about it”: The limitations and strange decisions of Procol Harum’s landmark debut album

By Chris Roberts published 28 June 24

Gary Brooker called it modern blues – but however you tag it, the proto-prog follow-up to blockbuster single A Whiter Shade Of Pale was everything he’d wanted it to be, almost

Blondie’s Debbie Harry in front of a pink backdrop

“In the 70s, there was more innocence. It was about personal identity, it wasn’t just about money”: how Blondie’s Debbie Harry went from punk icon to rock survivor

By Chris Roberts published 15 June 24

In 2011, Blondie’s Debbie Harry sat down with Classic Rock to look back over her stellar career

“How could Syd Barrett find being in the back of a van with the lads interesting, when his head was out there? You’re working all the time in your head”: The prog credentials of Prefab Sprout’s Paddy McAloon

By Chris Roberts published 7 June 24

There are hints throughout the band’s catalogue, but cult album I Trawl The Megahertz, built from quotes found in broadcast media, is Exhibit A in the prog case

“In the ‘70s I said I’d love to release an album per month, like a magazine. People thought I was insane!” Bill Nelson just released two albums – and he has at least nine more coming up

By Chris Roberts published 21 May 24

Making the most of his freedom from the mainstream music industry, the 75-year-old Be Bop Deluxe mastermind says his health issues are making him work faster, not slower

In the late 1970s NASA asked Peter Gabriel if he'd like to go into space: Then the Shah of Iran was deposed

By Chris Roberts published 2 May 24

Peter Gabriel on his favourite films, how his dad invented on-demand TV, and the space adventure that nearly was

“Ewan Pearson and Mogwai are by far the best, while the Manic Street Preachers remix is misguided”: Steven Wilson’s Record Store Day special, Harmonic Divergence

By Chris Roberts published 20 April 24

Most of this limited-edition vinyl-only reimagining of 2023’s The Harmony Codex is north of solid.

“I caved in and said: ‘Okay, I’ll put out Wuthering Heights, if only to teach you not to interfere with our choices’”: The decisions and coincidences that helped make Kate Bush a superstar

By Chris Roberts published 10 April 24

Signed around the same time as the Sex Pistols after David Gilmour mentored the 16-year-old’s “remarkable talent,” a durable paradox emerged

Gentle Giant - Missing Piece Steven Wilson Remix

“Half streamlined, half baroque, it wasn’t for everybody – but it hits the spot now”: Gentle Giant’s The Missing Piece gets the Steven Wilson varnish

By Chris Roberts published 31 March 24

Side one gravitates to the new era of 1977, but side two reverts to prog. It’s a reminder of how unique the band always were

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