Fully aware of the horrors perpetrated by Soviet leaders against their own citizens and knowing that the Soviet form of communism was deeply flawed, I was still more tolerant of the USSR than of the USA up until Boris Yeltsin oversaw the disbandment of the bloc in 1991 and then carried out dramatic economic reforms in the early 90s; I’d even wanted to expand my horizons with a visit to Leningrad from Helsinki while on an InterRail trip in 1983, but organising a visa while alr

If you thought that the only musical export from Sweden was the over-produced Abba singing meaningless nonsense, you need to reappraise. Not only was Bo Hansson riding the golden age of progressive rock, it was the Swedes who resurrected the genre and began the ‘third wave’, not just as ‘prog’ but as genuine progressive rock in the 90s. Bring on the Bo Hansson, Anekdoten and Änglagård T-shirts!

ProgBlog goes in search of Norwegian prog

It was the 20th anniversary of the live reunion of Van der Graaf Generator in May this year. I eventually secured my seat at the concert...

A history of progressivo italiano group Alphataurus - the voyage continues as they release their third studio

When social media turns sour, discard it

A band's second album (American: sophomore) is frequently cited as 'difficult' but should it tread the same ground as its predecessor?

I’ve just reposted, with only minor editing, the blog ‘ 100 not out ’, the story of Prog magazine reaching its 100th edition in ten...

Everything the prog fan needs to know about Milan

There are a number of different reasons to make the pilgrimage to Canterbury; 3 independent record stores and an HMV to cater for all tastes

By 1974 I’d had over a full year of immersion into progressive rock, a term which wasn’t yet being applied to the genre, though what I...

I'm very much in favour of buying recordings of gigs I've attended, should they become available at some date after the concert in...

I grew up at a time when progressive rock was a successful musical form and when there were programmes to stimulate my teenage imagination.

For someone who was into progressive rock in 1972, my appreciation of the music of Jethro Tull, indisputably one of the genre’s ‘big...

I’ve always been something of a US sceptic and never bought into the American Dream. While entirely admirable, the Declaration of...

My first dalliance with a form of rock music other than progressive or jazz/jazz-fusion came in the guise of Robert Fripp and the League...

Ten years ago (11th November 2013) I went to see Think Floyd, who made the claims ‘the UK’s premier Pink Floyd tribute band’ and ‘the...

Any fool knows that progressive rock was invented by the English and by extension, the best beverage to consume while you’re listening to...

With Christmas not long past, I’ve been attempting to wade through the novels I received as gifts, and have just completed Hugh Howey’s...

I’d been to Rome a couple of times before 2017’s Progressivamente Free Festival, in August 1980 by InterRail as a student and in 2006 as...