Mott the hoople

WE WERE THE first band of our generation that started to grow up,” Billy Corgan says, reflecting on the making of the Smashing Pumpkins’ 1995 grand opus, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. “The b

SEPTEMBER 2025 TAKE 342

Fondly remembered this month...

I recently finished reading Scottish author Irvine Welsh’s new novel Men in Love, a sequel to his 1993 debut Trainspotting – the all-time classic tale of youth, poverty, addiction, the working class a

Born in the titular Kent city in the late 60s, the Canterbury scene spawned some of prog’s most creative and quirky acts. From The Wilde Flowers and Soft Machine to Caravan and Gong, each had a distinctive sound and, in many cases, image that captured the hearts and minds of their followers. But the scene’s impact didn’t end in the 70s. Phil Howitt, Facelift editor and Hugh Hopper’s biographer, explores the new breed of progressive acts inspired by it, both consciously and unwittingly, and unearths the secrets of the ‘Canterbury chord’.

Podcasts: from Alan Partridge to Gary Oldman