Saturday 18 July 2026
Royal Albert Hall, London
★★★★
There’s life in the old prog yet… A celebration of the classic era of British prog rock
Image © Andy Paradise
The first-ever rock band to appear at the Proms was Soft Machine on 13 August 1970. The first-ever Prog Rock Prom took place on Saturday evening, over 50 years later. The concerts were united by one Soft Machine track, Out-Bloody-Rageous. A contemporary critic for Music Review wrote of the earlier concert, which dared to feature rock music,
‘I should like to know on what premises I am expected to take seriously a small group of musicians whose range of tone does not exist and whose scale of dynamics is no more than an unvarying FFF’
Oh dear. Martin King of Jazz Journal described it as ‘an exciting, juxtapositioning of some of the more recent developments in both pop and classical fields’. Saturday’s concert juxtaposed a classical symphony orchestra with ‘the love that dare not speak its name’, as presenter Stuart Maconie described a love for prog rock. The concert began with a direct link between the two genres – Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, which had opened the First Night of the Proms the previous evening. Like the other pieces in the concert, it was arranged for full orchestra, joyfully replicating Keith Emerson’s keyboards from the Emerson, Lake and Palmer version. Carl Palmer, sadly the only surviving member of ELP, added further authenticity, playing thunderous drums in what looked like a glass-walled prison at the corner of the stage (had he committed The Crime of the Century?)
The concert featured arrangements of songs from the classic era of British Prog, from around the late 60s to the mid 70s, when prog rock often bothered the upper reaches of the charts. This was a celebration rather than an excavation of former glories.
The excellent flute soloist in Jethro Tull’s Living in the Past, disappointingly, didn’t stand on one leg. Singer Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals), standing on both legs, seemed a little bit wobbly in his interpretation of the song, although he recovered his composure later in the concert.
Peter Hammill. Image © Andy Paradise
Jane Weaver reminded us that 60s prog also included ballads, bringing her powerful vocals to The Northern Lights and Nights in White Satin in massive orchestral arrangements that brought all the pomp and circumstance for which prog rock is sometimes criticised. But there was delicacy too, in the gentle pastoral section and flute solo at the end of the latter piece. And Prog Rock Royalty, Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator, delivered a phenomenal performance of his classic ballad Refugees, turning it into a mini-epic with a gorgeous ending on harp and strings.
The Staves. Image © Andy Paradise
The Elder Statesman of Prog was followed by two much younger singers, the Staves, whose lovely duetting was perfectly suited to the elegant stylings of And You and I by Yes. Sadly, we embarrassed ourselves by applauding before the song had finished; we consoled ourselves by applauding a BBC engineer who removed the Staves’ mic stands, to show that our applause was intended to be witty rather than misplaced.
At the end of the first half, there were awed gasps of recognition at the opening of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells (or were they gasps of horror at the opening theme of The Exorcist?) After the proggiest of themes – it’s in 15/8 – we jumped to the end of Part I of the piece in which the instruments were introduced by a Master of Ceremonies. In a clever twist, Matt Berry, channelling the voice of Vivian Stanshall, turned it into a Prog Rocker’s Guide to the Orchestra.
The second half began with an opening flourish, the late Greg Lake singing, ‘Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends.’ Maconie reassured us that it would actually end before ten o’clock, good news for England football fans who were desperate to see if England could beat France. (If football didn’t Come Home during the World Cup, then at least the Bayeux Tapestry is coming home.)
Maconie introduced a detour from British Prog Rock: Sylvia by the Dutch group Focus, Komfo by the Ghanaian-Caribbean group Osibisa, and Peaches en Regalia by Frank Zappa. It could be argued that these songs are prog-adjacent rather than pure prog, but the Concert Orchestra played them with swing and panache.
Guy Garvey © Andy Paradise
An early highlight of the second half was a sequence from King Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King, the album that arguably started it all, . It was perfectly suited to an orchestral arrangement, the music opening ‘like a rough beast slouching towards Bethlehem’, in W.B. Yeats’ memorable phrase. Guy Garvey did a superb job, creating a dystopian atmosphere in 21st Century Schizoid Man, donning dark glasses and singing through a megaphone. Rhys and Garvey duetted melodiously in I Talk to the Wind, with gracious orchestral accompaniment. An appropriately majestic orchestral theme introduced The Court of the Crimson King, as Jane Weaver and The Staves joined the regal choir.
Garvey told us that to sing Entangled by Genesis was ‘a dream come true for a boy born in 1974’, only a year before the song was released. After the terrible glory of King Crimson, the elegant Baroque version of the song, in a duet with Weaver, was a fascinating contrast. There was more Baroque inspiration in the arrangement of Gentle Giant’s On Reflection, which would have felt at home on BBC Radio 3’s The Early Music Show.
Vanessa Haynes © Andy Paradise
Another highlight of the second half was Vanessa Haynes’ astonishing rendition of Richard Wright’s The Great Gig in the Sky. There were whoops of recognition in response to the spellbinding piano chords, with evocative slides from the orchestra. Haynes sang with raw emotion, soulful and profoundly moving, and a huge wave of orchestral power brought this classic to an end.
The Great Gate of Kiev was written for piano by the Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, arranged for orchestra by Ravel (and many others), arranged for rock band by ELP, and in turn arranged for orchestra by conductor Robert Ames. Carl Palmer joined the orchestra again, adding his trademark heavy and virtuosic drumming to the final, incredible climax of the concert.
The back cover of Atom Heart Mother © Pink Floyd Music/Hipgnosis
We could argue until the cows come home whether the set list truly reflected the complete range of prog rock; passionate debate about the definition of prog rock still rages online, and there is a new generation of prog rock artists whose work also deserves to be heard. But the fact that prog rock of any kind has reached the Proms at all is worth celebrating; the standing ovation at the end showed that the audience was very happy to be there. Can we dare to hope that a Prog Rock Prom will become an annual event… or are those hopes just ‘pigs on the wing’?
Performers
Guy Garvey vocals
Jane Weaver vocals
Gruff Rhys vocals
Carl Palmer drums
Peter Hammill vocals
Vanessa Haynes vocals
The Staves (Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor) vocals
Stuart Maconie presenter
BBC Concert Orchestra
Robert Ames conductor
Programme
Fanfare for the Common Man Aaron Copland arr. ELP, orch. Robert Ames (Emerson, Lake and Palmer single 1977)
Living in the Past orch. Sam Gale (Jethro Tull single 1969)
Out-Bloody-Rageous – Part 1 orch. Sam Gale (Soft Machine Third 1970)
I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) orch. Sam Gale (Genesis single 1974)
Northern Lights orch. Christian Balvig (Renaissance single 1978)
Nights in White Satin orch. Fiona Brice (The Moody Blues single 1967)
Refugees orch. Adam Dennis (Van der Graaf Generator The Least we can do is Wave to each other 1970)
And You and I orch. Peter Riley (Yes Close to the Edge 1972)
Tubular Bells Part One (excerpt) orch. Adam Dennis (Mike Oldfield Tubular Bells 1973) with the voice of Matt Berry
Karn Evil 9: First Impression Part 2 orch. Chester Tribley/Bronte Tucker (Emerson, Lake and Palmer Brain Salad Surgery 1973) with original vocals recorded by Greg Lake
Sylvia orch. Christian Balvig (Focus single 1972)
Komfo orch. Christian Balvig (Osibisa Osibirock 1974)
Peaches en Regalia orch. Christian Balvig (Frank Zappa Hot Rats 1969)
21st Century Schizoid Man – I Talk to the Wind – The Court of the Crimson King orch. Fiona Brice (King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King 1969)
Entangled orch. Fiona Brice (Genesis A Trick of the Tale 1976)
On Reflection orch. Sam Gale (Gentle Giant Free Hand 1975)
Maker of Islands orch. Christian Balvig (The Incredible String Band Hard Rope & Silken Twine 1974)
The Great Gig in the Sky orch. Fiona Brice (Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon 1973)
Crime of the Century orch. Christian Balvig (Supertramp Crime of the Century 1974)
Pictures at an Exhibition – The Great Gate of Kyiv Modest Mussorgsky arr. Keith Emerson, orch. Robert Ames (Emerson, Lake and Palmer Pictures at an Exhibition 1971
The concert will be broadcast on BBC 4 on Friday 24 July at 19.00. It‘s available to listen on BBC Sounds until the end of the 2026 Proms Season
Now read on…
Peter Hammill live
Van der Graaf Generator Live
Mike Oldfied’s Tubular Bells Live
How I Learned to Listen to King Crimson