The legacy

Choral singers and their music directors around the UK will be raising brimful glasses on 24 September in celebration of Sir John Rutter’s 80th birthday. His music is, after all, buried deep in the mu

While attendance at most churches has been in decline for many decades, a recent trend reversing this trajectory is emerging – that of attending evensong. Evensong (‘choral vespers’ if associated with

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’.

When I was aged 10, the farmers used to come round the schools to pick volunteers to work on the farms during the summer holidays, mainly to help bring in the harvest. The country was still building u

I must extend my huge thanks to Jon Winder for his excellent article Swings and Roundabouts (July). I am currently scribbling notes which I hope to turn into a memoir of my childhood, and one chapter

The 1960s are widely regarded as the decade that produced the best ever popular music. This is why BBC Radio 2’s Sounds of the Sixties has been running since 1983, why any pub quiz worth its while inc