SEPTEMBER 2025 TAKE 342

John Lennon called them “sons of The Beatles”. Axl Rose said there was nothing like them. But how did a trio of Brummies create the progressive orchestral pop rock band who eventually became a global phenomenon following 1975’s breakthrough album Face The Music ?

“Words don’t make sense/Words won’t make it right” ...

IF IT’S OUT THERE, IT’S IN HERE

13 Four years before his first hit, the rapper MC Hammer releases his non-charting debut album, Feel My Power. 23 Boris Gardiner starts a three-week run at No.1 on the UK Singles Chart with I Wanna Wa

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’.