Bringing it back

A monthly look at must-hear artists from all corners of the guitar world, from the roots of their sound to the tracks that matter most

Thirty years ago, Marillion released their final album on EMI, their first not to reach the UK Top 10. Afraid Of Sunlight has since been hailed as one of the band’s greatest recordings, but tragedy lay at its heart, even though it kickstarted their career as one of the most successful independent groups. The band recall the challenging times that threatened their career and, at times, their sanity.

The John Hackett Band are celebrating a decade of making music together with their second album, the recently released Red Institution . The four-piece talk about their easy chemistry, songwriting inspiration and those pinch-me moments of performing material originally by King Crimson and the other Hackett.

Eleven years after his first ambitious homage to Mike Oldfield, Robert Reed is back with the long-awaited fourth instalment in his Sanctuary series. With a little help from Oldfield collaborators Les Penning, Tom Newman and drummer Simon Phillips, the Magenta and Cyan mastermind tells Prog about his mission to keep long-form music alive.

RICHARD SINCLAIR

The song that rebuilt the band for the 21st century