How This Forgotten Prog Rock Band Sparked My Spiritual Journey

My lifetime in Christian Ministry had an odd “Genesis.”

A later picture of After The Fire playing live — early 1980s, I’m guessing

Good evening. Welcome to the Princeville Rock Club.
We are After The Fire. 1…2…3…

…and vocalist Andy Piercy launches into the opening stanza of “Pilgrim” — an 11-minute prog rock epic based on John Bunyan’s spiritual allegory Pilgrims Progress.

It was March 1977, and this 18-year-old, with hair flowing over his denim jacket collar, nestling a pint of hand-pulled ale, was captivated by the musical treats unfolding on the cramped stage at the far end of the grotty concert room.

This was Princeville Rock Club in Bradford, West Yorkshire — possibly the most unlikely place to begin a spiritual quest EVER…

I couldn’t find anything on Google about the venue, so I screenshotted this from Google Street View. The club is now an Islamic youth club, and the house on the right wasn’t there then.

For six nights every week, this was Princeville Working Mens Club — but one night each week, it became “Princeville Rock Club.”

You can just see “The Concert Room” in the photo above. It’s the single-story building you just see at the back.