Prog Magazine Issue 140 (May 2023) Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield graces the cover of the latest issue if Prog Magazine. Tubular Bells turns 50 this month and Prog gets the only interview Mike Oldfield has granted to celebrate the Golden Anniversary of this seminal album. Plus we talk to an all-star cast involved with the creation of the album including Richard Branson, Tom Newman, Simon Heyworth, Jon Field, Sally Oldfield and loads more as we look at the making of a true prog classic.

Plus: the prog world pays tribute to the late Ray Shulman of Gentle Giant, prog legends Yes tell us all about their brand new album Mirror To The Sky, Mike Batt reveals a particularly proggy side to him beyond The Wombles and Katie Melua, Amplifier chart their return with Hologram and Pendragon reveal the secrets of their new The North Star EP. And we get the very latest from Blood Ceremony, Eivør, The Ocean, David Paton, Stuckfish and more...

Prog 140 also comes with four Mike Oldfield postcards and a free downloadable sampler from Sonic Cathedral Records featuring Mark Peters, Andy Bell, Molly Sennen and more…

Also in Prog 140...

Ray Shulman - the prog world pays tribute to the Gentle Giant musician, who has died aged 73.

Einar Solberg - the Leprous singer bares his soul on his heartfelt solo debut, 16.

Yes - the prog legends talk us through their brand-new studio album, their 23rd, Mirror To The Sky.

Amplifier - now pared back to a duo, the space proggers discuss their new mini-album, Hologram, their first for six years.

Blood Ceremony - Canada’s occult proggers return with The Old Ways Remain, their first new music for seven years.

Pendragon - Nick Barrett discusses finding fresh ways of making and performing music for a living in a post-pandemic world.

Eivør - the Faroese singer talks us through her new record with John Lunn and Danny Saul, The Last Kingdom – Destiny Is All.

The Ocean - the German prog metallers tell us all about their new album, Holocene. It’s their most accessible yet!

Mike Batt - he might be famous for penning songs for TV show The Wombles and discovering Katie Melua, but he reveals there’s a lot of prog in his musical DNA too.

Dvid Paton - former Pilot singer and bassist David Paton discusses his time working with The Alan Parsons Project, Kate Bush and more.

Stuckfish - singer Phil Stuckey on a prog world full of Steve Hillage, Be-Bop Deluxe and Andrea Bocelli.

Plus new and reissue reviews of Yes, Marillion, Einar Solberg, The Moody Blues, Pendragon, Sleep Token, Mike Oldfield, Blackfield, Lindisfarne, Renaissance, The Ocean, Lars Fredrik Frøislie, Kavus Torabi and Richard Wileman and more…

This month we’ve been to Prognosis and Winter’s End festivals, and seen gigs by Steve Hillage, Haken, Devin Townsend, Voyager, King’s X, Faust, Focus and more!