91Èȱ¬

This summer 91Èȱ¬ South East will be lifting the lid on one of Kent's best kept secrets. Starting this Friday, 19 June, South East Today and 91Èȱ¬ Radio Kent will be exploring how Canterbury helped create a whole genre of popular music.

Reporter Robin Gibson will be uncovering how the city, best known for its religious connections, harboured a hot bed of musical creativity spawning what is now known as progressive rock.

The Canterbury Scene is a series of five films, together with radio output and online material, exploring the heady days which made the city one of the weird jigsaw pieces in the progressive music puzzle of the Seventies. It is a unique, untold story of the city's amazing contribution to Britain's cultural life.

Talking with founder members of the Wilde Flowers, a Canterbury-based band renowned in venues like The Beehive and The Westgate Hall, and acknowledged by many as vital roots to the movement which inspired the likes of Yes, Pink Floyd and Genesis, Robin finds out how the desire of these musicians to push boundaries led to the creation of Gong, Soft Machine, Caravan and the Steve Hillage Band.

Including archive footage and new interviews with prog rock aficionados like Robert Wyatt, Daevid Allen and Geoffrey Richardson, and fans like Mark Radcliffe, the series then comes right up to date, learning how local bands such as Syd Arthur are now creating their own Canterbury Scene.

And it is certainly all about the music on Radio Kent.

Robin will join presenter Roger Day for a special one-hour programme, playing the best of The Canterbury Scene, between 9.00 and 10.00pm this Monday 22 June, while every show on Radio Kent will be dipping into a special prog rock play list each day during the next three weeks to help take listeners back to where it all began.

The culmination of the project will be live TV, radio and online broadcasts from the Lounge on the Farm Festival in Canterbury on 10 July.

91Èȱ¬ South East will be hosting The Canterbury Scene at Lounge on the Farm as Steve Hillage, Daevid Allen and Gong all take to the stage in the place where their musical adventures first began, all broadcast live into Roger Day's programme on Radio Kent.

And viewers to South East Today and listeners to Radio Kent will be able to experience The Canterbury Scene for themselves as the 91Èȱ¬ is giving away 100 pairs of tickets for the event on Friday 10 July.

For information on how to enter visit bbc.co.uk/kent or call the ticket registration line on 0800 13 80 478. The draw closes on Friday 26 June.

All Robin's films and the Radio Kent one-hour special will be available on 91Èȱ¬ iPlayer at bbc.co.uk/iplayer.

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