Latest articles by Paul Lester
Tiring of making frothy pop, the late Brian Wilson threw away his Beach Boys’ template, assembled a battalion of top session players, and began recording an all-time classic
More than just a flashy sidekick?
The multi-faceted guitarist looks back on a career including stints with Robert Fripp, John Cale, Kevin Ayers and others
The “Dada version of Bryan Ferry” – who says he uses bandmate Boris Blank’s audio imagery to find structure then leap off into chaos – admits he was never a tortured artist
Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent look back on finding fame in their teens and experiencing the highs and lows of the music industry over six decades
Known as “ABBA from Hell,” the German synth-poppers’ 1985 debut had links to Yes, Mike Oldfield and Die Krupps
Their third album, complete with I’m Not In Love, moved away from three-minute singles and embraced opera and concept pop. Did it also inspire Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody?
With a stack of references to the 70s giants, and three members of Yes involved, how could any debut double album arrive without prog credentials?
The breaking of a deal made when they went separate ways in 1983 made a 21st-century reunion impossible – although Hodgson said he’d offered and been rebutted
A unique insight into the short career of Sky, a band of musos more interested in their chops than chopping out lines
From working with Roy Wood and hanging with the Beatles to finding that songs simply poured out of him, the bandleader still can’t believe his luck
British electric folk pioneer is certain his movement was more radical and courageous than their American counterparts because “there was no immediate audience for what we were doing”
They were more likely to go out for dinner than indulge in drugs and groupies - but that didn’t stop their 1979 album becoming the second-biggest selling prog album of all time
It was a long lonely journey from being reviled to being adored – but for the Electric Light Orchestra maestro, it’s always been about variety
The eccentric post-punk outfit certainly progressed with albums including More Songs About Buildings And Food, Fear Of Music and Remain In Light… but were they actually progressive?
A ballad written by teenager Eric Martin to impress a girl he'd fallen for gave his band their biggest hit, topped charts around the world, and became their calling-card
The man who had a public spat with John Lennon and made David Bowie cry says he’s a hard-worker more than a genius, and that music has been devalued
From underground punk to chart-topping pop star, reviled has-been to highly regarded seminal influence, the electronic pioneer has enjoyed four decades in music. But just how prog is he?
From psychedelic troubadour to art rocker, the Be-Bop Deluxe leader has always been about crossing musical boundaries and encouraging others to do the same
Kicking off their seventh studio album with the 12-minute title track, War Is Over found Finland's Von Hertzen Brothers on fine prog form
Thomas Dolby wrote about the golden age of science, of Buick-eating aliens and has worked with the likes of Roger Waters, Peter Gabriel, Andy Partridge, David Bowie and more...
Take five prog and rock musos, give them complete creative freedom and the result is US supergroup Flying Colors’ second full-length, the aptly named Second Nature.
From New York folk through 60s psych, soul, punk, riot grrrl and beyond: a history of the women who've have had an insurrectionary impact on rock’n’roll
They’re the coneheaded “alien” stars whose controversial anthems and madcap behaviour wound up the masses – but how prog were Devo?
