h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

First of all, I think the 1970s entry is great - I'm 30 years old and the youngest in the family so I remember a lot about my elder siblings' fashion sense. Afro perms, tight leather jackets, cheesecloth shirts, huge flares and platform shoes. I have a photo taken of me at 5 years old sporting a bright yellow polo neck, pink flares, blue dufflecoat (with red lining) and red boots. What was my mum thinking dressing me like that?

Also, I feel compelled as Keeper of Progressive Rock Music to point out a certain ommission when discussing the music scene. I know many people would like to forget that Prog Rock ever happened ... but bands like Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd etc were quite popular in the early 1970s.

Sister Bluebird

Hear Hear!!! on the prog rock front - but what about the lesser known but still great bands like Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash , Tiger et al


Any one remember these?

Yes, dammit, YESSSSS!!! I remember Pink Floyd and Uriah Heep very VERY well! I have this memory of buying a double LP (vinyl!) conglomeration of a variety of bands recorded on 'Vertigo' label, and playing it in the corner of my parents' lounge on their 'bought in an op-shop' record player (with them shouting at me to turn it down!!!) And as I played it, I discovered 'Gypsy' on side two of the second disk. Wow, what a track! Then a year or so later came Floyd's most famous, and in many people's opinion, finest LP, 'Dark Side of the Moon'. I melt when I think of it. I bought a version specially engineered for quadraphonic. OK, I never got to hear it in quad, (I never had access to the required technology!) but I GOT A QUAD COPY! Orright?! (and I still got the damned thing!)
Then I got it in CD when the 20th anniversary version came out. And I relived all the joy of that delicious music all over again!
Heep and Floyd - I love you still!

To my mind, so-called Progressive Rock was the main event of the 70's music scene, (as long as I'm permitted to include Led Zeppelin in that category).

Bands like Yes, Genesis, and Pink Floyd were not just "quite popular" in the seventies, they were absolutely MASSIVE!! For example, Yes sold out the JFK stadium in USA, with 110,000 fans, back in 1976, and there were still people fighting to get in! And the audience was drawn from every age-group and both sexes. This is what you listened to in the 70s while all the boring kids were into Slade or Rod Stewart (not that there's anything wrong with those artists; they're just mainstream, that's all).

It's true that you you don't hear too much about them these days, mainly because their music needs listening to, and isn't generally for dancing. But it is the most rewarding music (IMHO) outside of classical music. You can listen again and again and still hear new ideas.

Check out this article for more info: A925797.

Uriah Heap were a more er... "mysterious" version of Deep Purple. I loved "Camel" too, especially their Moonmadness album.

Born in 1967 I grew up in the 70's, and they were all toys, TV shows and Star Wars to me.....the music they played on the Lawrence Welk Show and AM radio ruled untill I was a teen in the 80's When I finnally started to listen to FM radio - Heavy Metal and what they like to refer to as "Classic Rock " today. Only then did I catch up on my 70's music, and I never looked back.