The Prog Awards ____
From Hawkwind to Pink Floyd, Big Big Train to TesseracT – all of the prog stars young and old congregate in their finery for the eighth annual Progressive Music Awards. Prog provides you with a front row seat to the proceedings…
Prog rockers from around the globe don their finest capes, head to London and party!
“It’s my first time here. Every other time I’ve been invited I was on the road in America. But this is such an amazing sight that I have to take a photo!” John Lodge
Here’s a riddle for you: what do three frontmen, two keyboard players, one guitarist and a drummer have in common? The answer is they all belong to an elite group of people who’ve been crowned as Prog God, the highest honour at the Progressive Music Awards. This year, a second drummer has joined the ranks: Nick Mason.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Nick Mason’s elevation to such rarefied heights is the climax of the eighth Progressive Music Awards. First, let’s go back to the start of this annual occasion.
At the beginning of the night, Prog finds
The Moody Blues’ John Lodge stood in awe on the stairs leading down to The UnderGlobe.
“It’s my first time here,” he says. “Every other time I’ve been invited I was on the road in America. But this is such an amazing sight that I have to take a photo!” And that’s exactly what he does, before mingling with everyone during the champagne reception that begins tonight’s festivities. This hour-long occasion gives people a chance to get to know one another, or to reconnect, and emphasises
just how much this is an annual family gettogether. Legends mix with new bands, and everyone here is part of the prog community, with no egos involved.
Sadly, the planned performance by The Anchoress just prior to the start of the awards ceremony had to be cancelled at the last minute, on doctor’s orders. So following the sumptuous dinner, Prog editor Jerry Ewing walks onstage to begin the more formal part of the evening.
Ewing uses his speech to celebrate and commemorate both the magazine’s 100th issue and 10th anniversary, thanking those who’ve been instrumental in this remarkable success story. He then hands over to returning host Al Murray, who presented the awards for the first time last year. It went so well, Murray says, that, as an unashamed fan of the genre, he’d openly admitted on national TV that he was a prog fan. “People want modern comedians to be edgy,” he quips. “But I’m not sure they want me to be as edgy as that!”
He then compares prog to “The damp patch behind your sofa. Every so often you have a look to see how it’s changed.”
Tonight’s first award, the Visionary, is presented by Rosalie Cunningham. The singer and guitarist is known for her work with her previous band, Purson, and recently released her debut, self-titled solo album. She is presenting the award tonight to the incomparable Arthur Brown, who she has met before and found delightful. Of course, Brown can never do things in a conventional manner. So as Fire blazes, he dances onto the stage down the centre of the venue, using his speech to celebrate the power of experimental music. Oh, and the fact that his mother was spreading misinformation – about him having a doctorate, which people began to believe – long before Donald Trump!
The Album Cover Award goes to Daniel Tompkins for his debut solo release, Castles. The TesseracT frontman himself readily admits: “Most of you here don’t know who I am. But that’s okay. Because we are in a room full of legends.”
Switzerland’s Cellar Darling get the Video Of The Year award for Insomnia. The artwork for the video was created by Costin Chioreanu, who came up with the artwork for all of the music videos from the band’s current album, The Spell.
TesseracT guitarist James Monteith presents the Chris Squire Virtuoso Award to a man who helped to introduce him to the wonders of progressive music, as he
tells us that hearing a Dream Theater album opened up a new musical world. The recipient is guitarist John Petrucci, who says that simply being able to influence others is still humbling.
The Limelight Award goes to avant-garde cellist and composer Jo Quail, and she tells the gathering how delighted she is to have found a home in the progressive world. “I am so pleased she’s got this,” exclaims a happy Amy Birks, who won this award herself with the Beatrix Players in 2017.
Marillion pick up the Reissues Award for the five-disc version of their 1987 album, Clutching At Straws. Guitarist Steve Rothery accepts this, pointing out how tough it is to find a new way to present such a classic album, but how the band feel they found a way to do it in a manner that pays homage to the music, yet also gives the fans something extra that’s artistically valid.
Rick Wakeman, always a welcome presence at the Prog Awards, presents the Lifetime Achievement Award to John Lodge, and does so in his usual inimitable fashion. Apart from telling everyone how he and the bassist are old and close friends, Wakeman reveals how the latter met his wife Kirsten at a Christmas party more than 50 years ago. “She told John, ‘I’d like to go out with you. But there won’t be any sex for six months.’ So, John said, ‘Okay, I’ll call you in June!’” Lodge himself recalls how he found a Fender Sunburst Precision
Bass in a Birmingham music shop way back in the early 1960s, and actually bought it before he could even play bass. And that instrument has featured on every record he’s subsequently done. A one-instrument man, as well as being married for half a century!
The Event Of The Year goes to the Prog In The Park Stage at Ramblin’ Man Fair. Creative Director Chris Ingham uses the occasion not only to look back at the festival’s success in the past, but also forward to 2020, as he exclusively announces the lineup for the Prog Stage next year. It will be headlined by Big Big Train, joined on the bill by Curved Air, the reunited Pure Reason Revolution, Moon Safari, Lazuli and Blurred Vision. It’s all happening in July 2020.
The newly created Classic Album category has a highly appropriate inaugural winner. In the year they celebrate their golden anniversary, Hawkwind receive this for their 1975 album Warrior On The Edge Of Time. Presenter Jane Weaver recalls how much this inspired her, and that it’s not just an iconic record for one era, but transcends generations and genres. “This is a futuristic classic,” she rightly enthuses.
Main Hawk man Dave Brock (who won the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013) takes a moment to acknowledge that Lemmy, who played bass on the record, is sadly no longer with us, before going on to proclaim that the quality and strength of British music can still make a massive impact across the globe.
This is an evening when Big Big Train’s name comes to the fore more than once. As previously mentioned, the band were confirmed earlier in the night as the headliners for the Ramblin’ Man Prog Stage. Now, they pick up the award for Album Of The Year for Grand Tour. This makes them the only artists to have won an award both in 2018 and 2019, which is further proof of their growing stature.
Jerry Ewing comes back to the stage to present the Outer Limits Award to Jack Hues of Wang Chung. He points out that while the band made their name with an early style that was very much new wave style pop, by 1985’s soundtrack for the movie To Live And Die In LA it was clear there was so much more to their talent. Since then, Hues has worked with Tony Banks (on the 1995 album Strictly Inc), formed a jazz fusion band and also collaborated with Syd Arthur. Hues is at pains to point out that, as a teenager, he was fascinated and inspired by progressive music, something that has become increasingly obvious in recent years.
The International Band Of The Year goes to Dream Theater, who have been creating music of the highest quality now for three decades. So for the second time tonight, John Petrucci goes up to receive an award, this time joined by keyboard player Jordan Rudess. The pair are clearly thrilled, as they recall the way in which the band have established themselves as one of the most important prog artists of the modern era, and in doing so framed and fashioned the world of progressive metal.
The Industry VIP award is presented by
John Giddings, who is one of the UK’s top booking agents and the man who brought back the Isle Of Wight Festival in 2002. He relates how the recipient Tony Smith has taught him so much, as well as being a nice man – unless you get on the wrong side of him. He also points out that through his management of Genesis, Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike + The Mechanics and Nick Mason, Smith has sold an astonishing 500 million records! The man himself explains that he never says much, “And usually it’s ‘Fuck off!’” So he restricts his speech to modestly claiming that, “I was lucky enough to be in the right place.”
As so the field is cleared for the climax of the entire event. The moment when the latest Prog God is anointed. It falls to comedian Rory Bremner to present the accolade to the famed Pink Floyd drummer. As you might expect, his speech is far from strait-laced! At one point he smoothly slips into a Donald Trump impersonation, topically pointing out that his favourite album is The Wall, and how he’d like to put Another Brick In The Wall!
Moving away from mimicking the American president, Bremner also suggests that Mason should get a Nobel Peace Prize for the way he dealt for so long with Roger Waters and David Gilmour, a comment that elicits a huge wave of laughter across the venue.
At this juncture, a video is screened documenting Mason’s 54-year career to date, spotlighting the major moments, as well as featuring archive footage. Then, the latest prog deity walks onto the stage (maybe as a god he should have descended from Olympus? Oh well…) and during a warmly received speech he thanks all of his Pink Floyd bandmates, before turning his attention to the present and future. Mason explains how he thought his drumming days were over, when he found out that Saucerful Of Secrets weren’t just looking for a drummer, “But a Nick Mason drummer, which made the audition easy!”
And so concludes another hugely enjoyable Prog Awards night. All that remains is for everyone to depart… well, not quite. Such is the warm feeling and relaxed atmosphere that loads of folk decide to stay on for one final drink or three. Even elder statesmen and award winners Brock, Brown and Lodge are loathe to leave.
While it’s true that many in the prog community can probably recall the era before decimalisation, there’s little doubt they haven’t forgotten how to have a great time. And it’s heartwarming to see how the greats and legends embrace the younger generation.
The Progressive Music Awards again underlines how healthy the genre is in 2019. And on to 2020…
See www.progmagazine.com for more on the Progressive Music Awards.
“Most of you here don’t know who I am. But that’s okay. Because we’re in a room full of legends.” Daniel Tompkins