Created in the late 60s, fashionable in the early 70s and hated in the 80s, the rise, fall and rise again of Progressive Rock is a colourful and eventful story. Many of the genre’s main protagonists, including Genesis, Yes, King Crimson and Emerson. Lake and Palmer, remain as popular today as ever, while lesser-known names like Camel, Caravan, Renaissance, Van Der Graaf Generator and Gentle Giant retain cult status.

 

“Prog” expert Stephen Lambe guides the reader through the early years as the music developed out of the late 60s British Progressive Music boom into its own genre, and reached full maturity in the early 70s. He also discusses how the music was received and continued outside the UK, particularly in the USA, Italy and the Scandinavian countries.

 

Received wisdom has it that Punk swept Progressive Rock away in the late 70s, yet the genre never died. An early 80s revival, spearheaded by major label signings Marillion, IQ and Pallas, burned brightly but fell away sharply later in the decade. However, in the early 90s the movement began to re-establish itself, largely below the radar, led by Swedish band The Flower Kings and American group Spock’s Beard. The rise of the internet and the decline of the worldwide pop industry allowed niche music, as Progressive Rock had now become, to flourish once again in the new millennium.