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The last Top 10 prog rock single?
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Squonk19 View Drop Down
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    Posted: August 12 2018 at 16:06
Singing and dancing along to Kayleigh, Lavender and Incommunicado the other night when watching a great tribute band called Stillmariliion - it crossed my mind when was the last time a genuine prog rock band troubled the singles charts? If I can remember right, I think all three made the UK Top 10 in 1986-87, and maybe even Sympathy squeezed in a few years later. However, not sure if there were many other commercial successes, at least here in the UK (elsewhere, is it the same?)

Genesis obviously kept going a little longer (although not sure if the term prog really fitted them then!). It Bites and Tears for Fears came out with proggy-stuff in the 80s, but anything else I missed? Would Muse and Radiohead be considered prog or more alt-rock? Does Kate Bush fit the bill?

Your esteemed views are very welcome - especially outside the UK!

Edited by Squonk19 - August 12 2018 at 16:08
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Don't know about the singles, but for what it's worth, Steven Wilson's latest album went to No. 3 in the UK and US.

According to Wikipedia, Rush has pretty much consistently made it to the singles charts since the 80s, with the most recent being Headlong Flight (2012) getting to #23 in the US Mainstream Rock Charts, and their most recent #1 single was Test For Echo in 1996 - although I don't feel like these songs lasted too long in the public conscience since radio stations here in Canada (not surprisingly) more commonly play Working Man or something off Moving Pictures.

Tool also had a few #1's with Stinkfist (1996) and The Pot (2006). I was even surprised when a cover band I was in briefly had wanted to cover The Pot alongside the old cliches like 867 5309 and Sweet Home Alabama.


Edited by ForestFriend - August 12 2018 at 17:24
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Originally posted by ForestFriend ForestFriend wrote:

Don't know about the singles, but for what it's worth, Steven Wilson's latest album went to No. 3 in the UK and US.


No.8 on the UK rock albums chart and no.3 on the US independent rock albums chart.  Not bad but nowhere near a top 10 on the hot 100.  

In the UK, Marillion had plenty of singles in the 80s as well as later with Hogarth. 

But I am not sure a pure prog track has ever got to the top 10 in the US. Another Brick In The Wall was, of course, a no.1 hit in both the US and the UK.  Roundabout did well on the hot 100 but fell short of a top 10 position.
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I know not everyone agrees with calling Kansas prog, but I'm cool with it, so I'll throw this out there. 

Carry On Wayward Son (definitely a proggy piece) hit #1 in Canada and #11 in the Billboard Hot 100.  

Of course the single that was certified gold was chopped from 5:26 on the album to 3:26 for the single, so most people weren't hearing the truly proggy version.  

Kansas of course went on to have an even bigger hit with Dust in the Wind, but that wasn't so prog.
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Not sure what a genuine prog rock band is but here...
...we learm that Radiohead's "There There" (which is actually a killer song) peaked at no. 4 in the UK in 2003.

The same website informs us that Uprising by Muse reached no. 9 in 2009.  

Any more recent offers?

Edited by Lewian - August 13 2018 at 08:21
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Originally posted by Lewian Lewian wrote:

Not sure what a genuine prog rock band is but here...
...we learm that Radiohead's "There There" (which is actually a killer song) peaked at no. 4 in the UK in 2003.
 
Yes its brilliant... Radiohead Nude was a top ten hit in quite a lot of countries in 2009 (but "only" reached 21 in the UK).

Mars Volta's The Widow was in the UK top 20 for a week in 2005. I do remember it as a hit that got lots of airplay as well. 

-but nowadays hardly any kind of rock enters the single charts.
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Originally posted by ForestFriend ForestFriend wrote:

According to Wikipedia, Rush has pretty much consistently made it to the singles charts since the 80s, with the most recent being Headlong Flight (2012) getting to #23 in the US Mainstream Rock Charts, and their most recent #1 single was Test For Echo in 1996
That's not quite the same as entering the actual single charts though - where none of these two reached the top 100. 
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Lewian View Drop Down
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Taking a hint from the opening posting, I find on the website linked above that Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill reached no. 6 in 2012, which might be the last entry for any prog artist - but the song is from 1985 of course, when it had its first run.
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Surely one of the points that defined prog rock when it was first named was that it didn't go out to produce hit singles.

I can think of a number of prog bands who have never actually released a single.
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Originally posted by Hercules Hercules wrote:

Surely one of the points that defined prog rock when it was first named was that it didn't go out to produce hit singles.
One interesting aspect is that back when a band or artist could actually make a living our of playing "experimental rock" is that the record company could release a #7 that became a hit - although the band wasn't nessecarely aiming for the singles chart themselves while recording the song. 
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If we look a little further back in Muse and Radiohead's discographies:

Three of Muse's more progressive tracks have reached pretty high on the UK Singles chart: "Knights of Cydonia" reached #10 back in 2006, and before that, in 2001 and 2004, "New Born" and "Butterflies and Hurricanes" just missed the top 10, coming in at #12 and #14 respectively.

As for Radiohead, two of their proggy singles from 1997 and 2001 hit pretty high on the same chart: the epic "Paranoid Android" at #3 and the whacky "Pyramid Song" at #5 respectively.

In general, this follows a trend that has always been prevalent in the history of progressive rock, which is the UK being more receptive to prog than the US. It's hard for any rock band, let alone a prog rock band, to get into the Top 100 these days.

However, if we look at the Mainstream Rock chart (admittedly much easier for them to get onto), Dream Theater's "Pull Me Under" reached #10 back 1992. Tool has had quite a few major hits on this chart, including "The Pot" which reached #1, "Schism" and "Vicarious", both of which hit #2, Jambi, which reached #7, and Parabola at #10. The epic title track from Lateralus also reached #14. The only song Mastodon ever had in the top 10 on this chart was the very un-prog "Show Yourself" at #4, with the only songs coming close being "Curl of the Burl" at #15 and the prog-ish "Steambreather" at #18. If we stretch it to the top 40, though, they've had a few real prog hits, including "The Motherload" at #24, "Oblivion" at #30, and "Colony of Birchmen" at #33.

As someone pointed out, it's much more common for prog bands these days to hit high on the album charts, rather than the singles charts; while it's still hard to break into in the US, top album charts are usually a little more receptive to other forms of music, rather than just pop. Using the examples already here, Muse hit #3 with Origin of Symmetry and has hit #1 with everything from Black Holes and Revelations through Drones. Radiohead has hit #1 with everything from OK Computer through In Rainbows, as well as with their latest, A Moon Shaped Pool. Their only mildly prog sophomore album, The Bends, reached #4, and The King of Limbs reached #7. As for other UK acts, the main one that comes to mind is Steven Wilson, who almost broke the top 10 with Hand. Cannot. Erase. at #13, and later did with To the Bone at #3.

As for our US bands, Dream Theater has reached the top 10 with 3 of their latest albums, and has hit the top 20 with the past 5—Systematic Chaos, Black Clouds & Silver Linings, A Dramatic Turn of Events, Dream Theater, and The Astonishing—at #19, #6, #8, #7, and #11 respectively. Tool hit #2 with Ænima and #1 with both Lateralus and 10,000 Days. Mastodon almost broke 10 in 2009 with Crack the Skye reaching #11, and The Hunter, Once More 'Round the Sun, and Emperor of Sand have all broken 10 at #10, #6, and #7 respectively. Another US band, The Mars Volta, had 3 top 10 albums in a row with Frances the Mute, Amputechture, and The Bedlam in Goliath reaching #4, #9, and #3 respectively. The Decemberists have also charted pretty high, and while only their last three albums, none of which are prog, have broken the top 10, their most recent prog album, The Hazards of Love, almost broke 10 back in 2009 at #14.
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In my head Paranoid Android was the last real prog track to make an impression on the charts although perhaps Kate Bush - King Of The Mountain (2005) could be a contender?. Muse often make the charts but their most proggie tracks are usually left on the albums although Knights Of Cydonia certainly qualifies.

In the seventies there were a number of big prog hits . Curved Air - Back Street Luv with that wonderful Moog at the heart of the track is probably my favourite.
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Originally posted by Hercules Hercules wrote:

Surely one of the points that defined prog rock when it was first named was that it didn't go out to produce hit singles.


I'm under the impression most prog bands just wanted to make good music. And if their definition of good includes a 20 minute exploration one day and a catchy pop tune the next, so be it. Even Genesis' 70s albums would be prog epic - silly short tune - prog epic, etc.
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Songs......Pink Floyd~Another Brick = US Billboard Hot 100, peaked at #1

Album........JTull~TAAB = US Billboard 200, peaked #1 and A Passion Play also peaked at #1

source:wiki
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Does anybody know of a CD with extended versions of famous pop/prog hits like life on mars and Vienna...those tracks extended would be awesome prog tracks...
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As bands stay prog throughout their career (once defined, always defined, despite what certain snobs will tell you)...Marillion's You're Gone got to the UK top 10 in 2004.
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David Bowie's "Lazarus" peaked at #40 on Billboard Hot 100 on 1-30-2016. But then, is/was Bowie prog or was he not prog? Was this song prog or was it not prog? Was that last album (so highly acclaimed on this site) prog or not??

                   ?
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Franco Battiato has been #1 in the Italian charts several times. The last, I think, with "La Cura" which is now considered a classic also in the mainstream world.
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Originally posted by ForestFriend ForestFriend wrote:

Originally posted by Hercules Hercules wrote:

Surely one of the points that defined prog rock when it was first named was that it didn't go out to produce hit singles.


I'm under the impression most prog bands just wanted to make good music. And if their definition of good includes a 20 minute exploration one day and a catchy pop tune the next, so be it. Even Genesis' 70s albums would be prog epic - silly short tune - prog epic, etc.

That's pretty much it. Very few prog bands specifically wrote a song to try to get a no1 hit. Kayleigh and Part of the Union are two exceptions that come to mind. Both nearly succeeded.
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Is chart position even relevant in the 21st Century?  

What about Youtube watches, digital downloads etc.?  Or are these calculated into the "single" designation?  

In 1972, "Roundabout" by Yes peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on the Cash Box Top 100 singles charts.[3]

ELP's "From the Beginning"  reached No. 39 on US Billboard's Hot 100 in 1972.  

Focus' "Hocus Pocus" reached No. 9 on US Billboard's Top 100 in 1973.  

Etc. etc.  I believe that singles from GTR, Asia and other later bands also charted very high.  
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