Prog Me: 5 favourite things from Tony Patterson

OK COMPUTER

I have an iPhone 6 which I really cannot do without. I do absolutely everything on it, except record music and make phone calls! I also have a couple of computers in the studio and if they go wrong, I lose sleep until I can work out a solution.

MASTERMIND

James Bond or Genesis. I’m a massive, massive James Bond fan and have been since I was about 10. You could ask me anything and I would probably know the answer. My favourite era is now; I love the new Bond.

RELICS

My wife says I’m a hoarder but I don’t really collect anything specific, except maybe musical instruments. My oldest is probably a 12-string guitar that’s been lying around for about 10 years.

SOUND & VISION

Selling England By The Pound by Genesis. That was the first album I bought when I was about 12 and I’ve been a fan ever since. Although I love Bond, my all-time favourite movie is probably Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence with David Bowie. It’s a beautiful film.

SUPPER’S READY

I love curry; nothing too hot but maybe something like a chicken korai. I’m a big fan of liquorice too – that’s supposed to have aphrodisiac properties but hasn’t worked for me yet! Champagne is my favourite drink, but not with curry! I wish I could afford to drink more of it…

Natasha Scharf
Deputy Editor, Prog

Contributing to Prog since the very first issue, writer and broadcaster Natasha Scharf was the magazine’s News Editor before she took up her current role of Deputy Editor, and has interviewed some of the best-known acts in the progressive music world from ELP, Yes and Marillion to Nightwish, Dream Theater and TesseracT. Starting young, she set up her first music fanzine in the late 80s and became a regular contributor to local newspapers and magazines over the next decade. The 00s would see her running the dark music magazine, Meltdown, as well as contributing to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Terrorizer and Artrocker. Author of music subculture books The Art Of Gothic and Worldwide Gothic, she’s since written album sleeve notes for Cherry Red, and also co-wrote Tarja Turunen’s memoirs, Singing In My Blood. Beyond the written word, Natasha has spent several decades as a club DJ, spinning tunes at aftershow parties for Metallica, Motörhead and Nine Inch Nails. She’s currently the only member of the Prog team to have appeared on the magazine’s cover.