Steve Wright
Since 1997, Steve has written about music, theatre, and visual art for a range of magazines and newspapers including BBC Music Magazine, Venue Magazine and The Guardian. His musical passions include prog rock, krautrock, postpunk... basically anything composed between 1966 and 1985 that had a bit of an edge to it.
Recent articles by Steve Wright
11 lost rock albums that could have been classics
From synth-heavy alter egos to symphonies played on wine glasses, we explore the greatest albums that were recorded but shelved
Radiohead are heading back out on tour – here are 10 songs we'd love to hear them resurrect
They’ve already revived some long-lost gems. But which forgotten Radiohead songs could make an unlikely return on the 2027 tour?
History's 20 most musical monarchs, ranked (he's up there)
From Henry VIII to Bhumibol Adulyadej, these monarchs didn’t merely patronise music – they played, composed, sang and shaped it
These 17 bands were brilliant together – but never quite the same apart
Iconic bands who, apart, never managed to recreate the intoxicating musical chemistry they generated together
13 great, forgotten American bands we should still be talking about
From psychedelic pioneers to punk innovators, these 15 great American bands deserve to be rediscovered – and remembered
Rock kept changing. These 6 legends somehow stayed relevant (no. 5 came back from the dead)
The story of rock is littered with casualties. These 6 acts ignored, embraced or outlasted every trend – and are still standing today
These 11 strange, dark albums are the sound of the 1960s dream falling apart
11 shadowy, unsettling albums that signalled the ’60s dream was dying – and something stranger and darker was coming
The cult singer who vanished into the desert and never returned
Jim Sullivan drove into the New Mexico desert in 1975 and simply disappeared. It’s one of rock’s most haunting cold cases
Rock's 13 strangest duos
Two people, one very strange sound: 10 of rock’s most adventurous duos
This ill-fated band created a masterpiece... then broke up just before the world realised
They created a psychedelic masterpiece, broke up... and watched helplessly as their biggest hit became a worldwide sensation without them
'A total disaster': 11 albums rock's greatest bands just wish they could forget
Even the greatest artists stumble – or feel they did. Here are 11 albums their makers later dismissed, ignored, or outright disowned
‘Sucked my blood like a leech’: the Queen song that tears into their former manager
Discover the story behind Queen's most venomous track, a song so legally radioactive they had to pay to release it
These 9 supergroups had all the talent in the world. So what went wrong?
Rock’s biggest names don’t always create magic together. These nine supergroups promised greatness, but were less than the sum of their parts
13 bands who went huge... then just vanished
One moment they owned the airwaves; the next, they were ghosts. Discover the legends who conquered the world... then disappeared
Here's the best selling album from each 1970s year (this band got two of them)
From monumental rock operas to the unstoppable pulse of disco, explore the ten records that defined the decade’s commercial summit
These 19 brilliant third albums are where great bands finally found their sound
Forget the ‘sophomore slump’ – the third album is where the training wheels come off and legends are truly forged in gold
One-hit wonders: 25 bands who left us just one unforgettable song
From jangling indie to late-’90s pop, these bands left their mark with a single unforgettable hit that defined then forever more
These 9 huge rock songs brought their creators back from the brink of oblivion
Just when these rock stars needed a lifeline, they delivered the songs that brought their careers roaring back
Satanic Panic: 11 bands accused of corrupting America’s children
In the 1980s, America feared rock music could summon Satan, trigger suicide and corrupt children. These 11 bands found themselves accused
Did Deep Purple witness a murder? The terrifying story of their 1975 Indonesian nightmare
One bodyguard dead, three men jailed and $750,000 missing: the terrifying true story of Deep Purple’s Indonesian nightmare
Rock's 7 most underrated band members – and why they were so important
The unsung architects of rock: these are the quiet geniuses who provided the essential DNA while others took the spotlight.
The 15 greatest albums made by bands already falling apart
When great bands start to fracture, the studio becomes a pressure cooker – and sometimes that tension produces their finest work
What was No. 1 on this day in 1971? 50 years of US chart toppers, from ‘Summer in the City’ to ‘Cheap Thrills’
What was America listening to every five years? These ten chart-toppers trace pop’s astonishing journey from 1966 to 2011
The 1970s were over. These seven rock giants reinvented themselves for the ’80s
Some 1970s rock giants lost their way in the '80s – while others reinvented themselves and thrived in bold new directions.
