Henry Cow

Formed at Cambridge during the political and social tumult of 1968, Henry Cow maintained that sense of intellectual rigor, fierce left-wing politics, and rejection of received wisdom throughout their lifespan. They released several albums on the pioneering progressive label Virgin Records, including an album-length collaboration with labelmates Slapp Happy, but split in 1978. Drummer Chris Cutler and Fred Frith forming the more song-oriented Art Bears while reeds players Lindsay Cooper and Tim Hodgkinson moved into abstract, free jazz pursuits. A 1978 festival curated by Henry Cow called Rock in Opposition spawned an experimental rock subgenre of that name.