YOUR SHOUT!

Concept albums, experimental jazz collaborations and performance poetry: there’s far more to Penny Rimbaud than just anarcho punk. But is he really prog? It’s over to you!

“Never heard of them. Him? Her? It?” JAMES SPENCER

“Crass were very progressive.” MATT STEVENS

“No thanks.”

BRIAN STANBROOK

“One can draw a straight line from Crass to Andy Tillison and The Tangent. Christ – The Album was as progressive as anything released in 1982 (or any other year for that matter). A true artist that Penny Rimbaud.” WEDGEPIECE

“Before my prog awakening when I saw Marillion on Top Of The Pops, I was into punk. I was a big fan of Crass. They made double albums and concept albums in the middle of their anarchist dream. Crass and particularly Rimbaud never saw the hippies as the enemy, in fact before Crass Rimbaud was a co-founder of the Stonehenge Free Festival, that hosted bands like Hawkwind, Gong, Man, Wishbone Ash, The Enid, Ozric Tentacles etc. alongside punk and reggae bands. Today he releases albums of spoken poetry accompanied by free-form jazz artists. He is one of the most progressive minds out there, and to me that makes him prog.”

PAUL LEADER

“A visionary.” DEAN THORN

“Nope. I got nothing.” MIKE SARGENT

“I’d say he is, Crass were certainly lyrically more progressive than most bands at the time. If some people still pigeonhole progressive as 20-minute songs with rampaging keyboards then Crass aren’t for you!”

JASON RICHARDS

“Who?”

JOHN KAYSER

“Penny is a legend. Crass is one of the most important punk bands ever and the ethics behind the label spot on. His post-Crass stuff with Crass Agenda and under his own name has been interesting and diverse and I recommend Arthur Rimbaud In Verdun, which you can find on his Bandcamp page.”

ROB HURST

“Are you deliberately trying to annoy me? Punk rock? You’ve lost your minds!”

MATT TIELMAN

“Never heard of him. And proud of the fact.” ED ‘TRUE PROG’ REID

“Penny Rimbaud is a really interesting choice. I’d understand a lot of your readers’ knee-jerk reactions will be to start shouting because of the Crass connection. But prior to Crass he had strong connections with the free festival scene and his solo material is really interesting. Conceptual and quite jazzy, which I think brings it pretty close to progressive music.”

VALERIE JAMES