Jo Kendall

Jo Kendall

Jo is a journalist, podcaster, event host and music industry lecturer with 23 years in music magazines since joining Kerrang! as office manager in 1999. But before that Jo had 10 years as a London-based gig promoter and DJ, also working in various vintage record shops and for the UK arm of the Sub Pop label as a warehouse and press assistant. Jo's had tea with Robert Fripp, touched Ian Anderson's favourite flute (!), asked Suzi Quatro what one wears under a leather catsuit, and invented several ridiculous editorial ideas such as the regular celebrity cooking column for Prog, Supper's Ready. After being Deputy Editor for Prog for five years and Managing Editor of Classic Rock for three, Jo is now Associate Editor of Prog, where she's been since its inception in 2009, and a regular contributor to Classic Rock. She continues to spread the experimental and psychedelic music-based word amid unsuspecting students at BIMM Institute London, hoping to inspire the next gen of rock, metal, prog and indie creators and appreciators. 

Articles by: Jo Kendall

Uncle Acids & The Deadbeats looking all mysterious

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats made a soundtrack for an Italian movie that doesn't exist: Then they got actors in to supply the dialogue

By Jo Kendall published

After six years without a new record, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats return with one inspired by 70s Italian murder-mystery cinema

Blues musician Muddy Waters in 1968

“The album took off like a rocket ship. It sold 100,000 right away, it was the biggest Muddy Waters album to date”: how Chess Records and Muddy Waters invented psychedelic blues with Electric Mud

By Jo Kendall published

In the late 60s, Chess Records persuaded legendary bluesmen Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf to hop on the psychedelic bandwagon – with mixed results

Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets group portrait

"I was halfway through Atom Heart Mother thinking, 'What the f*** are we doing? This is a bit ambitious!'": The stories behind Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets' new Set The Controls setlist

By Jo Kendall published

Warning: Contains spoilers

The Dandy Warhols seated on a sofa set against an ornate wall

"Every song had to start with a metal riff, accompanied by shit-tonnes of noise": The Dandy Warhols might prefer claret to ecstasy these days, but they're still experimenting

By Jo Kendall published

James Bond, Black Sabbath, Slash, white and pink noise? All things that have inspired the new Dandys Warhols album

“They stuck me in contraptions to make sure he wouldn’t get decapitated”: Comic artist Mark Buckingham on being Peter Gabriel’s stunt double for Sledgehammer

By Jo Kendall published

Fables, Hellblazer and Miracleman creative’s prog journey includes ELO, Stackridge, IQ, Magenta, all the King Crimson he can buy… and The Wombles

Ian Rankin with his record collection

“Music is built into Rebus. Early on he listens to jazz; then I thought, ‘Why not give him my record collection?’” Ian Rankin on the prog soundtrack to his fictional cop’s life

By Jo Kendall published

Hi-fi freak who never got over Hawkwind explains what he listens to while he works – and revels in the joy of putting a Mogwai joke in one of his books

Nick Heyward and Genesis

“I wanted to be XTC or Talking Heads… the Haircut One Hundred album had Genesis at its heart, and Chris Squire got me into bass”: Nick Heyward’s passion for prog

By Jo Kendall published

Singer-songwriter recalls feeling like he was reading a book when he discovered A Trick Of The Tail, and that’s why his solo work has become more progressive over the years

Wilson & Wakeman

“I was side-of-stage and said, ‘You’ve literally just written that, and you’re going to perform it?’ It was a beautiful rendition… much better than on the album!” The Wilson & Wakeman comedy duo get serious(ish)

By Jo Kendall published

Arena and Black Sabbath men’s bond of brotherhood is full of laughs, but latest album Can We Leave The Light On Longer? manages to deal with deeply personal issues

Stackridge

“I’m at work in the petrol station and I read the album is at No. 23. I’d last heard it at a playback in George Martin’s studio”: Stackridge’s Monty Python-like experience with The Man In The Bowler Hat

By Jo Kendall published

A unique band with a comedy edge, they couldn’t believe it when Beatles producer agreed to work with them in 1973 – but their luck didn’t hold

Ferris & Sylvester press shot

Robert Plant loves them. So does Joe Bonamassa: Meet Ferris & Sylvester, the award-winning folk-blues rock'n'rollers with a psychedelic soul

By Jo Kendall published

Think: Johnny Cash and June Carter, with balls

Big Big Train

"There was a strong sense of catharsis. I had to blink away some tears": How Big Big Train picked up the pieces after tragedy

By Jo Kendall published

Continuing after the death of their frontman was an emotional struggle for Big Big Train, but their first album without him is something he would have been proud of

Graham Gouldman

“We used humour – you could do that then; there’s no humour in chart music now”: Graham Gouldman on the 10cc song he wouldn’t write today and the gizmo that broke up the classic line-up

By Jo Kendall published

Singer, songwriter, guitarist, bassist and briefly drummer went from writing hits for The Hollies and Yardbirds to success with ‘The Worst Band In The World’

Anthony Phillips - Strings of Light reissue

“A handy reminder of why he’s revered as a player, tickling the ear with pleasurable sounds”: Anthony Phillips’ Strings Of Light reissue

By Jo Kendall published

Celebratory 2CD set defies former Genesis guitarist’s claim that he was never a brilliant player

Rick Wakeman studio portrait

"At the end, Jimmy says to me: 'I want you in my band'. I say: 'But I've got a maths exam in the morning!'": Rick Wakeman, and the blues records that changed his life

By Jo Kendall published

It all started with a love of trad jazz and Etta James – plus a baptism of fire in an after-school session with R&B star Jimmy Thomas

Moody Blues

"This man said, ‘I’ve brought my wife for a night out and you’re the worst band I’ve seen in my life. You’re crap.’” How the Moody Blues finally came good with Days Of Future Passed

By Jo Kendall published

In 1967, a new line-up of The Moody Blues embraced their symphonic influences to create a groundbreaking album that not only pushed them in a new musical direction but also brought about the birth of progressive rock.

Spinal Tap studio portrait

Hello Cleveland! What's wrong with being sexy? Eleven ways in which Spinal Tap changed the lexicon of rock

By Jo Kendall published

The improvised lines from Spinal Tap that have been assimilated into common rock parlance and beyond

Whom Gods Destroy - Insanium

“Someone’s spiked Derek Sherinian and Bumblefoot’s cornflakes – their virtuosity is hotwired for the next gen”: Whom Gods Destroy’s Insanium

By Jo Kendall published

Not yet rated

Sons Of Apollo offshoot deliver a jawdropping and sometimes preposterous prog-metal storm with their debut release

Lucifer group portrait

"My family were pastors and a lot of injustice was taught to me as a little girl. Now it's my time to put on the collar and preach": The rise of occult rockers Lucifer

By Jo Kendall published

From Stockholm via Berlin, Lucifer are a 70s-inspired occult-rock force on the rise

Virginia Astley

“Serene, melodic and as refreshing as the breeze… complete with looped lambs’ cries”: How prog is Virginia Astley’s From Gardens Where We Feel Secure?

By Jo Kendall published

Her 1983 album turns a summer day into a found-sound experience, resting under a parasol with the work of David Sylvian, Ryuichi Sakamoto and XTC

Matt Berry

“I want these recordings to actually be used, so they have to fit a picture:” Matt Berry’s not joking with his nostalgic album of library music

By Jo Kendall published

Simplicity isn’t just a homage to the label that provided countless TV theme tunes in the 60s and 70s - it’s Berry’s real-life contribution to the genre

Paul & Linda McCartney backstage in 1971

The critics hated it, Ringo Starr hated it, but over the years its experimental ripples widened: 11 albums that owe a huge debt to Paul and Linda McCartney's Ram

By Jo Kendall, Mike Barnes published

Ram's influence on second-generation Beatles fans-turned-musicians cannot be underestimated

Motorpsycho

“What you’re hearing is an emotional reaction, it’s not us being smart or being good at something. It’s us being excited about what we’re doing because we’re discovering it”: When Motorpsycho completed their politically-aware trilogy with The All Is One

By Jo Kendall published

While the experimental Norwegian outfit looked for joy, their 2020 album was also a reaction to the threat of “strong men” like Donald Trump and their “mouthy” politics

Judy Dyble

“I put an ad in Melody Maker – ‘musicians only need apply!’ – and we got Peter and Michael Giles, and Robert Fripp”: So many artists wanted to be part of Judy Dyble’s world

By Jo Kendall published

Late singer decided to avoid staying in bands too long after being fired from Fairport Convention – “I’d leave before they could throw me out” – but believed the split sent both parties hurling into adventures they’d otherwise have missed

Tim Bowness

“We broke up after debating the exact time signature of Solsbury Hill!” Before being able to enjoy lively debate with Peter Hammill, Tim Bowness dated an argumentative prog fan

By Jo Kendall published

If he hadn’t discovered the genre via a childhood Subbuteo tournament, he might have wound up working in flavoured crisps

Deborah Bonham, John Bonham, Peter Gabriel

“John Bonham said rock and blues wasn’t a good place for girls. He wanted me to be a vet or a lawyer… for a while I went down the opera route”: Despite her brother’s misgivings, Genesis helped shape Deborah Bonham’s career

By Jo Kendall published

Singing sister of Led Zeppelin drummer had tried to become Gong’s Shakti Yoni - but that was before Selling England By The Pound and Foxtrot changed her life