Q/MOJO Special Prog Issue

Spot on Salmacis, I don't think there was ever any suggestion of EJ joining Heep, but the link with David Byron through the Avenue records recordings is absolutely right. A couple of names who might have joined Uriah Heep are Paul Rogers (Free) and Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople). Ken Hensley wanted Rogers after Byron left, and at one stage Hunter was offered substantial amounts of cash to join, but turned it down.

On the King Crimson/Elton John thing, "almost joined" is perhaps too strong, but King Crimson's management did contract him as a sesion singer to add vocals to the second album. When the band found out, they instructed their managemnt to cancel the arrnagement.

In
reference to Dick Heath's earlier post: these writers haven't
been "hiding for the past 25 years"; they've all been writing
about popular music in its many shapes and forms.

They may have been been writing about the many shapes and forms of music, but as for writing on the subject of progressive rock constructively, and/or pushing the rock magazine editors for copy space, this has not been evident with the majority.  I know Sid Smith and met with him after it was suggested he contact me in his researches, as one of the few who had kept my head above the parapet all this time, played the music on radio and not hidden in the closet. I've written too more often to the former editor of the Times Saturday Arts Supplement, because of their occasional anti-prog  reviews - he replied politely but.... Along with Sid Smith, I can only think of the handful of authors who have researched and written prog biographies and most of those in the last decade, who have kept the faith. Add to that list the likes of  Jon Newie, the present managing director and managing editor of Jazzwise,  who has been known to sneak in prog reviews into his magazine (btw he also did Q Collectibles jazz rock top 10 albums).

When once it was said any pop or rock group surviving more than 18 months,  went in and out of favour through a 7 years cycle, questions have to be asked why the music media has shown no tolerance for the genre since at least Marillion stopped getting hits? Or probably more likely the height of punk in the late 70's and the new generation of rock/pop writers, for instance those encouraged by NME. Q as opposed to Mojo have been guilty - Mojo was originally set up to parallel what the excellent Zig Zag magazine did in the 70's - good researched articles on an eclectic variety of musics.

However, I appreciate what Q/Mojo have produced here - I bought a copy (and in the local WHS). I now don't think they have jumped onto a band wagon, rather opened the door within the mainstream printed musical media, employing more than just a neutral level of enthusiasm for the subject. I've strongly  recommended  that the Prog Special  is a good written guide for any new boys/girls to prog who want something of the history,  putting the old and new into some context, providing details of important bands and the discography.  (BTW inclusion of Soft Machine did it for me - trust you guys at Q/Mojo review Graham Bennett's forthcoming biography of the band - but in passing, how old were the Mike Ratledge quotes??). Besides it doesn't pretend to be as academic as Rocking The Classic or as expensive!

Well spoken.

And as I have documented in the thread mentioned above, Q/Mojo seems at the moment about to rewrite History when inisisting that they have not met any criticisms for their condescending attitude to prog...

I think they finally may have come to understand that music magazines have pissed off thousands of readers in the last decade and are attempting to regain some of the market.

I gave up buying Q and Mojo regularely years ago, the few issues I have bought have made me write angry letters each time

FYI:

I indicate some of Q's more general treatment of the ususal suspects of prog in the New Prog Rock history book... thread, see http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8191&a mp;PN=1&TPN=2.