The long-running UK magazine Classic Rock has decided to branch out into a respected genre - prog rock - with the first in a regular series of issues devoted to this branch of music. The first issue is out now, and its brightly coloured, heavily detailed card outer cover (click thumbnail to the right) will grab the attention of any Pink Floyd fans browsing the magazine racks!

Inside the card sleeve, the real cover of the magazine is revealed: Jill Furmanovsky's stunning, almost black and white image of David Gilmour's Comfortably Numb solo atop The Wall during the band's Earl's Court concerts. It sets up the reader nicely for the three features on the band.

Their cover story about the band, "Must The Show Go On?", takes a four page look at what - if anything - the future holds for Pink Floyd, the surviving members, and the band's archives, illustrated with some nice pictures.

That's followed by a four page look at Syd Barrett (not someone we would consider prog, but anyway...) and his life, in particular once he'd left the Floyd.

Finally, there's a five page, "largely unpublished" interview with Richard Wright, which was conducted back in 1999 and is a truly fascinating look at his own view on the Floyd's history, taking in his solo material too. Disarmingly honest, it takes in the faltering in his relationship with certain other band members, and the consequences of this.

Elsewhere in the magazine are articles on, and interviews with, the likes of Rush, Marillion, Rick Wakeman and Yes. It comes with an hour long CD of current prog music from around the world.

An expensive magazine, priced at a hefty £7.99, which has proved hard for many to find in UK stores, nevertheless it is arguably worth tracking down just for the interview with Richard. Supplies to stores seem to be improving a little now so our UK readers should find it a little easier to track down, and our friends across Europe and North America should find it in selected outlets as an import in due course. They also sell back issues online through this link and this special will hopefully become available there shortly.