Kingmaker Publishing is delighted to announce the publication of its latest book. A Playground Of Broken Hearts – The Progressive Rock Revival 1984 To 1989 by Andrew Wild will be published on July 3rd, 2025.

Following Wild’s acclaimed 2024 book A Mirror Of Broken Dreams – The Progressive Rock Revival 1981 To 1983, A Playground Of Broken Hearts is the second of two books which provide the definitive account of the intertwined stories of the six bands which led the progressive rock revival: Marillion, IQ, Pallas, Pendragon, Solstice and Twelfth Night.

For A Playground Of Broken Hearts, Wild interviewed over 80 musicians and other participants in the 1980s progressive rock scene. The book also includes in-depth profiles of many of the other bands involved in the era: Abel Ganz, Airbridge, Comedy Of Errors, Electric Gypsy, Galahad, Haze, It Bites, Jadis, Janysium, Lahost, The Lens, Liaison, Multi Story, No-Man, Pride Of Passion, Quasar, Tamarisk, Trilogy and Twice Bitten.

The book features over 300 photographs and illustrations, many of which have either been previously unpublished or are very rare, and a foreword by Prog magazine editor Jerry Ewing.

A Sunday lunchtime and afternoon event to celebrate the book’s publication will be held in association with London Prog Gigs on 6th July 2025 at The Camden Club, London NW1 8AN.

The afternoon will include a panel discussion with Andy Glass (Solstice), Martin Orford (ex IQ), Brian Devoil (Twelfth Night) and more to be announced, as well as an audience Q&A. There will also be some acoustic music from Andy Glass and Solstice lead singer Jess Holland and from Martin Orford. The book’s author will be attending and signing any books purchased at the event. Doors open at 1pm, with lunch and drinks available.

Tickets are available here: https://wegottickets.com/event/648841

Andrew Wild is an experienced writer, music collector and film buff with numerous books to his name including the official biographies of Twelfth Night, Galahad and Geoff Mann and recent publications about artists as diverse as Queen, Pink Floyd, Phil Collins, Dire Straits and the Allman Brothers Band. The first of two volumes analysing the songs of The Beatles, co-written with Big Big Train vocalist Alberto Bravin, will be published by Sonicbond in February 2025. Andrew lives in Rainow, Cheshire, UK. His website is: www.andrew-wild.co.uk.

A Playground Of Broken Hearts – The Progressive Rock Revival 1984 To 1989 is available for pre-order now from Burning Shed via https://burningshed.com/store/kingmaker and The Band Wagon USA via https://thebandwagonusa.com/en-gb/collections/kingmaker-publishing

All pre-orders received by 22nd June will be signed by Andrew Wild.

To request a review copy or to arrange an interview with Andrew Wild, please contact Roie Avin at roie.avin@royalavenuemedia.com.

***
Praise for A Mirror Of Dreams—The Progressive Rock Revival 1981 To 1983
“Andrew Wild’s book is an essential read.” – Johnny Sharp, Prog

“A hugely informative yet eminently readable book… gloriously written and lavishly illustrated.” – John Tucker, Record Collector (July 2024)

“[An] in-depth analysis, methodically researched.” – Chris Roberts, Classic Rock

“A book documenting something that has actually happened, something that was not just a blip on the radar, but something that touched the taste of a lot of people — that is an important book. The fluent writing and an interesting take of six bands travelling their own paths on the timeline, makes it such a wonderful read. This book made me feel like I was part of it.” – Jerry Van Kooten, DPRP.net

“To me, there is nothing interesting about reading a person who despises a variety of music writing about how much they dislike that style of music. Conversely, there’s plenty of interest to be had from a sympathetic writer going on a deep dive into something which they and you have a common interest in, and that’s what A Mirror of Dreams delivers in spades.” – Fake Geek Boy

“A Mirror Of Dreams is an ode to this progressive rock revival and to the youth of those who remember it… it’s a work of a love, a book from within the scene for people who remember the scene.” – Professor Martin Johnes, Buzz

“Andrew Wild has given us an extremely well-researched, well written and very readable account of how a much maligned genre was resurrected, if not from the dead, then from its deep slumber, telling us how and why musicianship, experimentation and pieces of music longer than three minutes once again found favour with fans” – Velvet Thunder

“This is a very well written book about a seldom-visited time with great music. Wild [has an] easy and never breathless style – [he] really knows his stuff.” – Fireworks

“This excellent exhaustively researched book gives an absorbing in depth account of the resurgence of prog in the UK in the early part of the 80’s. As well as providing a meticulously detailed overview of the scene as a whole, the author intertwines the histories of half a dozen influential key bands from the period who would all have their roles to play at the forefront of the burgeoning movement. A superb, comprehensive and dare I say definitive look at this era.” – The Afterword

“Written with a unique scholarly fandom, this story revolves around the Big Six (IQ, Marillion, Pallas, Pendragon, Solstice, Twelfth Night) who powered the 1980s revival and makes for a comprehensive compendium of those heady days. Some of the bands featured in this book went on to achieve amazing heights while others remain cult favourites. But whatever heights they attained, their stories have never been told with such chutzpah and sparkle.” – The Midland Rocks

“For all of us who were there or who’ve discovered the music subsequently, this is an absolute treasure.”- Andy Glass, Solstice