Ed’s Letter

Hello, and welcome to the new issue of Prog. If any record was the definition of the old adage “the difficult second album”, then surely Marillion’s Fugazi is it. You know the score: years to write your first album, mere months to better it with the second. And yet it also remains a massively rewarding listen and one that has really grown into its own in the ensuing 37 years, to the point where it was a no-brainer to feature Mark Wilkinson’s excellent artwork on the cover this issue. Dave Everley digs deep to bring you a proper look behind the scenes at how things didn’t end up totally ‘fugazi’ after all.

I hope you enjoy the Marillion art print that comes with this issue, as well as the Genesis one. We had such an incredible reaction when we posted our reimagining of the Nursery Cryme artwork on social media that we decided to accede to the many requests and give you that artwork in its own right as well. Oh, and the details to download your free Prog Collection Vol 2 eBook are on this page. Remember to type the URL into the address bar of your browser!

At this juncture I’d normally comment on the rest of the magazine’s contents, but this issue I’d like to pay my respects to my good friend Andy Hall, who sadly and unexpectedly passed away as we were finishing the issue. Andy was good friends with many of you, as he was my colleagues on the magazine and many of the bands we write about as well. He was a staunch supporter of the magazine and the music. The progressive rock community is a lesser place without him. Needless to say, a lot of us will miss him very much and I’d like to dedicate this issue to his memory.

A sombre note to end on maybe, but sometimes it’s good, every now and then, to pause and take a moment’s reflection. Take care of yourselves.