In January 1981, Yes met at Steve Howe’s house in Hampstead. The previous year had been a fraught one for the band: following the departure of Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman, the three remaining members – Chris Squire, Alan White and Howe – had recruited Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes from the new-wavers The Buggles. The resulting album, Drama, remains a fan favourite, but was created under extreme pressure with a US tour only months away. During the shows that followed, Horn frequently struggled to fill Anderson’s shoes. All was not well.
Horn was effectively fired after the tour, and Squire and White announced a plan to form a new project with Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. This left Howe and Downes holding the baby, with no appetite to continue as Yes. Within months, the remaining duo joined forces with John Wetton and Carl Palmer to form Asia, while Horn made the second Buggles album and started a production career. Then manager Brian Lane was horrified: he’d lost Yes and the band went on to lose their record contract with Atlantic.
The few months that White and Squire spent rehearsing with Page as part of XYZ are the stuff of legend. Page, himself reeling from the death of John Bonham just months before, was initially enthusiastic and the trio pooled material, producing several demos. It didn’t take long, however, before the relationship began to fall apart, scuppered by both musical and managerial disagreements. At a loose end once more, the pair teamed up with lyricist Peter Sinfield and recorded a Christmas single, Run With The Fox, which was released towards the end of 1981. It’s since become something of an unsung classic in the Yuletide sing-along genre.
This story is from the Issue 145 edition of Prog.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Issue 145 edition of Prog.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
DIRTY SOUND MAGNET
Swiss rockers embark on a psychedelic journey with latest release.
HANDS OF THE HERON
British trio combine multilayered instrumentals and vocals with spellbinding results.
HILARY WOODS
The Irish artist evolves into a creator of totally immersive states.
PETRA HERMANOVA
Transplanted to Berlin, the Czech musician rediscovered her mojo after an injury forced her to change instrument.
TEMIC
Prog-metal alumni band's pulse-driven project forms with a little help from Mike Portnoy.
JANE WEAVER GOES "HEAVY MELLOW" ON HER LATEST ALBUM
With a major 17-date tour to follow, the contemporary psychedelicist moves into a new direction on her forthcoming LP with the help of celebrated producer John Parish.
DEREK FORBES
Forever associated with new wave, ex-Simple Minds bassist Derek Forbes reveals the influence of ELP, Steve Hillage and Genesis on their music.
Set The Controls...
Producer Youth talks to Prog about his new reboot of The Orb David Gilmour's 2010 collaboration album Metallic Spheres into Metallic Spheres In Colour and the mouthwatering prospect of the project being performed live, super-hi-tech, which would be the most amazing gig I could ever witness\".
ALL CHANGE YET STILL THE SAME
Now a band in their own right, the Spock's Beard alumni are back with Pattern-Seeking Animals and their fourth album, Spooky Action At A Distance. This provides the perfect opportunity to catch up with multi-instrumentalist and founder John Boegehold, to discuss changing things up, bonus tracks, and what the future might hold for P-SA.
Strange Band
One of the great and most original progressive bands of the late 60s/early 70s, Family were an influence on so many groups that came along after them. Fifty-two years after its release, Prog talks to Roger Chapman and Poli Palmer about one of their best albums, Bandstand.
