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Namesort icon Founded Country
Rutles, The 1959 The Pre-fab Four. United Kingdom
Rutherford, Mike 1950 Founding member of Genesis released two solo albums in the early 80s, before venturing off the progressive map with the hugely successful Mike + The Mechanics side project. United Kingdom
Rustici, Corrado 1957 Italian guitarist was just 17 when he became a member of Cervello. By the mid 70s, with brother Danilo of Ossana fame, he started fusion band Nova. The 80s saw Rustici move to the USA for a prolific career as a session... Italy
Rustic Hinge 1969 After Brown left to form Kingdom Come, the rest of the Crazy World continued on as Rustic Hinge, before morphing into High Tide. Their lone recording was released some twenty years later. United Kingdom
Rush 1969 Canada's finest sons. From their early days copping Led Zep riffs, through the kimono "prog" era, and onto mainstream acceptance and platinum success in the 80s, Rush has defied all odds, remaining true to their spirit... Canada
Roxy Music 1970 Though definitely a glam band at heart, Roxy Music served as a training ground and employer of many "progressive" musicians. United Kingdom
Rovescio Della Madaglia, Il 1971 RDM were pioneers in combining classical music with rock music. Their album "Contaminzione" also saw an English-language release in the US. Italy
Rother, Michael 1950 Guitarist, sound architecht and composer, Michael Rother is one of Germany's original artists of the progressive era. In the mid 1960s, he was a member of Spirits of Sound with Wolfgangs' Flür and Reichemann, then a... Germany
Roedelius, Hans Joachim 1934 Born in 1934, Hans-Joachim Roedelius is a founding father of modern German music. Germany
Riverside 2001 From Poland, Riverside has made an international name for themselves with their progressive music. Poland
Reverberi, Gian Piero 1937 One of Italy's top record producers, Reverberi worked with The New Trolls, Le Orme and countless other Italian musicians. Italy
Residents, The 1972 Though the members of The Residents were perpetually draped in obscurity, their music rose steadily to the forefront of avant-rock in their native America. Found-sounds, tape cut-ups, occasional musical passages (!),... United States
Renaissance (Yardbirds) 1969 Jim McCarty and Keith Relf's post-Yardbirds project was one of the early experiments fusing classical and rock music. United Kingdom
Renaissance 1969 Mark II, this version of Renaissance starts with Michael Dunford, and features the vocals of Annie Haslam. United Kingdom
Reichel, Achim 1944 One of Germany's most legendary musicians, Achim Reichel's career started in 1960 with The Rattles, one of the countries first beat-era bands. The 70s saw him delve into the progressive music scene, first as A.R. &... Germany
Refugee 1973 Prog trio featuring ex-Nice members and Patrick Moraz United Kingdom
Rare Bird 1969 Charisma label band that scored a hit with "Sympathy". In 1972, Mark Ashton and Graham Field left, and the band ditched the dual-keyboard format, recording three infinitely listenable albums for Polydor. Dave Kaffinetti... United Kingdom
Randy Pie 1972 Formed by ex-Rattles members, Randy Pie skirted the progressive with easy going jazz-funk, typical of the mid-70s. Germany
Quiet Sun 1970 United Kingdom
Quella Vecchia Locanda 1972 QVL's first album may be the finest example of "Italian Prog". Their name translates to "that old inn", a reference to where the group had their rehearsals. Italy
Quatermass 1969 United Kingdom
Pulsar 1972 Hailing from Lyon, Pulsar were one of the first French bands to receive a recording contract from an English record label (Terry King's Kingdom Records). Dark, atmospheric, their first three albums are somewhat of minor... France
Procol Harum 1967 Procol Harum's formative years were in an R&B based band called the Paramounts. Named after producer Gary Steven's cat, Harum released their first single and to instant world-wide success. Immediately afterward,... United Kingdom
Pretty Things, The 1963 One of the 60s most underrated bands. From their badder than bad, raucous R&B early in their career, the band shifted gears in the underground, first with freakbeat then psychedelia. Their tenure at Abby Road,... United Kingdom
Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) 1970 Prematia Forneria Marconi, or roughly "Marconi's Award-Winning Bakery", the most successful of the Italian Prog bands. Italy
Popol Vuh 1970 Founded by Florian Fricke, Popol Vuh represents one of the earliest examples of spirituality in music that would later define "new age" music in the 80s. This however, is the real thing. Fricke also composed soundtracks... Germany
Pohjola, Pekka 1952 Bassist for Wigwam, his solo albums showcase his compositional skills. Worked with Mike Oldfield. Finland
PM 1980 Carl Palmer's post-ELP group released one eponymous album to little acclaim. United Kingdom
Pink Floyd 1965 Perhaps Britian's finest psychedelic son, Pink Floyd became one of the world's premier rock bands by the end of the Seventies. Originally founded by acid casualty Syd Barrett, the Floyd rose to the top of the British... United Kingdom
Pink Fairies, The Combining the talents of former Deviants Paul Rudolph, Duncan Sanderson and Russell Hunter, with John "Twink" Alder (ex Pretty Things, Tomorrow), the Pink Fairies were an underground band from London's Ladbroke Grove... United Kingdom
Pinhas, Richard 1951 Pinhas' contribution to the Parisian progressive music scene cannot be underrated. Also, a professor of philosophy at Sorbonne. France
Pierre Moerlen's Gong 1976 Gong gone fusion France
Phillips, Anthony 1951 Founding member and early guitarist of Genesis, Anthony Phillips began a solo career in the mid-70s. Latter work concentrated on library music and soundtracks. United Kingdom
Perigeo, Il 1971 Hailing from Rome, Perigeo was one of Italy's finest fusion bands. Italy
Pentangle 1967 United Kingdom
Pembroke, Jim 1946 After emigrating to Finland in 1965, Jim Pembroke became a fixture of the Finnish progressive scene with Blues Section and then Wigwam, and his own underrated solo career. Finland
Patto 1970 Featuring namesake Mike Patto on vocals and Ollie Halsall on guitar along with the rhythm section of Clive Griffiths and John Halsey, Patto began when the members of Deram-signed Timebox signed with Vertigo Records.... United Kingdom
Passport 1971 Klaus Doldinger's fusion outfit, heralding some of Germany's finest musicians, including drummer Curt Cress. Germany
Pappert, Johannes 1949 Sax player from Kraan Germany
Osanna 1971 Another of Italy's legendary progressive groups, the band featured Danilo Rustici and Elio D'Anna. Italy
Orme, Le 1966 One of Italy's first and finest progressive rock bands, featuring the talents of Aldo Tagliapietra, Michi Dei Rossi and Tony Pagliuca. Italy
Organisation 1967 Precursor to Kraftwerk, Organisation included Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider-Esleben, and Basil Hammoudi, later of Ibliss. Germany
Opeth 1990 From heavy metal prodigies to prog rockers, Opeth are peerless among current rock bands. Sweden
Omega 1968 The crown jewel of Hungary, Omega have sustained a stable lineup since 1971, recording several albums with Peter Hauke for the Bacillius label aimed towards international release. Hungary
Oldfield, Mike 1953 Multi-Instrumentalist, Mike. United Kingdom
Nucleus 1969 Arguably one of the first "fusion" bands, Ian Carr's Nucleus were Britian's parallel to Miles Davis' electric bands of the early '70s. Trumpeter Carr came to prominence in the 60s with saxophonist Don Rendell. A... United Kingdom
Novalis 1971 One of Germany's first rock bands to sing exclusively in their native language. Albums were produced by Achim Reichel. Germany
Nova 1975 Expatriate Italian fusion outfit, led by Elio D'Anna and brothers Rustici all ex Osanna. Recorded their first album at Pete Townsend's Eel Pie studios, and were joined by Percy Jones and Narada Michael Walden for their... Italy
Niemen, Czesław 1939 Perhaps the most important singer in Poland's rock history, Czesław Niemen released three English language albums of world-class progressive rock in the early 70s, most featuring SBB as backing group. Poland
Nice, The 1967 The Nice were originally the backing band for P.P. Arnold, however they gained renown quickly with Emerson's keyboard antics. The Nice were one of the first bands to incorporate classical motifs in a rock context. O'... United Kingdom