here!
SAGA, who were huge in germany during the early/mid 80s.
preceded by ELO, who had some proggy moments. as well as BJH, who were inescapeable during that period.
then: ASiA. some people in there who used to be in a band called YES?
then: MARiLLiON, who are still my favourite band ever. who also went on about YES all the time.
not to mention the omnipresent sanguine background hum that was the collins-led GENESiS.
oh, YES. those owners of a lonely heart blokes? time for a closer listen. i never looked back.
then: seeing MARiLLiON at wembley in 1987. crap gig, but something blossomed.
then: seeing RUSH at the nec in 1988. boy, you have now missed the exit to mainstream big time.
then: seeing PALLAS at the old marquee in 1988.
then: everyone else that i could get my grubby palms on. hooray for band reunions! let the evolution commence.
so here i am once more.
I started getting into prog when it was introduced to me when I was in high school — so, yeah, mid to late '80s...unless you count some of the records in my parents collection — Jean Luc Ponty, Alan Parsons Project — which would mean I was hearing prog already as a youngster in the '70s.
Me - I got into prog in 1985 when a roommate played me old Yes albums (as well as Beatles albums, but that's less relevant) and I was hooked. I think I count the official moment I got hooked on prog as a genre was when I first heard the pipe organ section of "I Get Up, I Get Down." From there, there was no turning back.
I was hearing Rush's "Subdivisions" on the radio around the same time I was discovering "Freewill" and "The Spirit Of Radio" in my uncle's car. From there onto Marillion (after seeing them open for Rush at NYC's Radio City Music Hall in September '83), Yes, Genesis, ELP, Jethro Tull and later Gentle Giant...funny though-before Rush became my favorite band in late '82, my favorite band was Asia because of their debut album! Gateway drugs indeed!
Me too. Started with both Yes & Rush in the summer of '84. Never looked back since.
GET OFF MY LAWN...you young whipper snappers!
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
Me! Hearing “Roundabout” and “I’ve Seen All Good People” on FM radio was the gateway drug. Fragile and Nursery Cryme were my first prog LPs.
The only “new” prog band I knew about was Marillion. I liked them at the time but I’m kind of “over” them now. Once the 90s hit and I discovered Änglagård and Italian prog, my love affair (it was really more of a “like affair”) with them was all over.
-------------
MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")
"Siento que debemos saber para el sueño de quién brillará esta luz
o consagrar una propia estrella" --Alberto Felici
N.P.:“Get the Ball”-Release Music Orchestra
I'm in, I got into prog early 80's listening to a friends older brother -yes, genesis and rush albums, before that I was into new wave and punk. Started to read sounds and kerrang and found about the prog revival so got into iq, Pallas, marillion, pendragon etc. all the uk early 80's bands. There were lots of fanzines available to find out about the emerging scene, and I bought tapes and records from the bands, got on their mailing lists and joined fan clubs. I also continued my education of the classic 70's bands but it was the bigger bands as above plus Elp, pink floyd and anything more obscure like eloy that I could track down. I also got into saga after they were shown on late night tv- I managed to find a copy of silent night which blew my mind with the synths alongside rock instruments.
Living in mid Wales for a lot of the 80's I lived the new prog scene mostly through press and Friday rock show plus info from the bands, but when I moved to Swansea to study I was lucky enough to see iq, Pallas and the Enid locally, I even managed to get pendragon booked to play at my college. Happy days.
When the scene kicked off again In The 90's I had money and transport so was a regular at the classic rock society gigs in rotherham for quite a few years, in more recent years gigs are a lot closer to home with venues like the robin2 in Wolverhampton and also gigs in Cardiff and of course summerend in nearby Lyndney.
Bookmarks