Chris Roberts

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

Ian Anderson

“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

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

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

Influential icons Pixies' second act refuses to die

Genesis

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

By Chris Roberts last updated

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

Ultravox – Lament

“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

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

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

Lou Reed in London, 1972

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

By Chris Roberts published

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

Ray Wilson with Genesis

“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

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

Ring The Bells and Sing - 1975

“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

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

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

Time Bowness - Powder Dry

“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

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

Elvis Presley: Memphis cover art

"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

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

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

Yes

“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

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

Focus – Focus 12

“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

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

Procol Harum

“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

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

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

Prefab Sprout

“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

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

Bill Nelson

“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

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

The Space Shuttle taking off, ands a Peter Gabriel headshot

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

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

Steven Wilson - Harmonic Divergence

“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

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

Kate Bush

“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

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

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

Elbow: Audio Vertigo cover art

"The energy and buoyancy never sacrifice Elbow's innate knack for emotional impact": Elbow sound reinvigorated on Audio Vertigo

By Chris Roberts published

Ten albums in, Elbow continue to surprise

Mickey Finn and Marc Bolan of T. Rex in 1972

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame fuelled that fire”: how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The Slider

By Chris Roberts published

The story behind T. Rex’s The Slider and underrated follow-up Tanx – two albums that sealed Marc Bolan as the king of glam rock