Alive at Work

As far as the more casual observer is concerned, the prog rock revival of the 80s was kicked off by Marillion and their ‘Market Square Heroes’ EP and subsequent hit album ‘Script for A Jester’s Tear’ in 1983. Marillion certainly flew the flag for prog’s unexpected commercial success during that decade, but the rumblings of a brilliant, but terminally unfashionable musical revival had actually begun much earlier.

Singer/actress Lena Horne's primary occupation was nightclub entertaining, a profession she pursued successfully around the world for more than 60 years, from the 1930s to the 1990s. In conjunction with her club work, she also maintained a recording career that stretched from 1936 to 2000 and brought her three Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989; she appeared in 16 feature films and several shorts between 1938 and 1978; she performed occasionally on Broadway, including in her own Tony-winning one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, in 1981-1982; and she sang and acted on radio and television.