| Time | Musical Styles | Subcultural Structures |
|---|
| late 1960s |
early canonical bands in the U.K., unstructured stylistic experimentation |
rise from British art schools, strong links with bourgeois counterculture8 |
| early 1970s |
commercial success (centrally, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, 1973),
attracting growing music industry interest9, tours of the U.S.10 |
strong consumerism; especially in the U.S. recognition of a distinct artistic genre,
and need to rely on U.K. music imports and information resources11 |
| mid-1970s |
division into bands continuing musical experimentation (creating a widening range of styles),
and those continuing in their established styles (the latter also encouraged by the music industry),
internal division in bands also leads to band break-ups and lineup changes12 |
gradual subsiding of countercultural ideas due to increasing cynicism, growing alienation of musicians from
their fans; also because of the bands' commercial success, which leads to increased use of larger stadiums, and on-stage props and effects |
| late 1970s |
some unsuccessful industry-led salvage attempts, continuing through the 1980s,
by forming 'Prog supergroups' like U.K. and Asia13; advent of punk14 |
continued disenchantment with the increasingly commercial output of major bands, but still support for some smaller, 'underground' sub-genres |
| early and mid-1980s |
style vacuum after the implosion of the punk movement, in Britain emerging neo-Prog bands from the underground
scene; King Crimson reforms in 1981, other older bands produce pop music |
sufficient audience in Britain and continental Europe, made up both of original Prog fans and a second generation,
little U.S. success; division into traditionalists and progressives |
