MY PROG HERO
Inspiring the wider music world…
He may have made his name fronting Belfast alt-rockers Therapy?, but this singer/guitarist has a special affinity with Peter Hammill.
“I first got into music through punk rock. For me and my school pals in Belfast, at 12 or 13, anything that was long hair and flared trousers was The Enemy! But we all had big brothers who’d been into music before punk scorched the earth, and they’d have records by Zappa, Beefheart, Genesis. I was intrigued.
I remember buying myself Trout Mask Replica, Trespass, Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot, and thought they were amazing; they’re still unparalleled. I loved Be-Bop Deluxe, The Stranglers, who aren’t averse to a prog influence. Therapy?’s first tour manager was a committed progger, and he introduced us to King Crimson’s Red, and all of us were already into Can and Neu!.
Fish did an interview around the time of Script For A Jester’s Tear and listed one of his favourite albums as Over by Peter Hammill. And I’d heard John Lydon [Johnny Rotten] on a radio show saying two songs from Nadir’s Big Chance were on his playlist. That was my gateway into Peter Hammill.
I’d always liked Van der Graaf and I’m beginning to appreciate them a bit more now. It’s amazing how prescient some of it is. A lot of it is way a
