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HISTORICAL FACTS: Chris squire | History Defined

Yes to release expanded and remastered edition of From A Page in April

Oliver Wakeman's era as keyboard player in Yes is reassessed with a new in-depth edition of the band's 2019 release From A Page

Louder

“He was grateful just to play some music rather than just dwell on death”: When two members of Yes and one member of Led Zeppelin got together, anything could have happened. Sadly, very little did

The demise of the world’s biggest rock band coincided with two prog icons’ descent into bewilderment. The only evidence of their existence is four unreleased demos and a few other hints at what might have been

Louder

“We didn’t make music for radio. But I thought: ‘Why not try it this time?’”: Sampled by Michael Jackson and namechecked in The Simpsons – the surprise hit that transformed a washed-up 70s prog group into 80s superstars

The song that marked one of rock’s great reinventions

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“It's amazing what you can do with a drum machine - and two of the most expensive sampling and production workstations ever made”: Unpacking the technical genius behind one of the most iconic rock songs of the 1980s

Take an old 4-track demo, add a splash of expensive 80s tech, and the results might be a good enough reason for a band of prog legends to reform!

MusicRadar

“The hidden gem in their sometimes bewildering catalogue. Had they made it in the 80s it would have given them a credible contemporary footing”: Yes’ Fly From Here – Return Trip glows in reissue

Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes’ contributions add futurism to the band’s classic mysticism, as heard better than ever in souped-up mixes

Louder

“They said, ‘You mean we’ve paid $12,500 for a piano player?’ My publisher said, ‘Yes, but he’s a good piano player’”: The label called it “unsellable”, the critics hated it, but this prog icon’s solo album went on to sell nearly 15 million copies

How Rick Wakeman defied the critics and his own label to make The Six Wives Of Henry VIII

Louder

“The bassist’s kids were waiting with autograph books because we were pop stars. But some of the fans were pissed off. I would have been too!” This duo were never meant to be a real band, but their hit single had a massive impact on prog

When an experimental project escaped from the studio in 1980, no one could have predicted the consequences for both prog and pop music – and not everyone was happy about it

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“Chrissie Hynde was getting fed up with our performance. So she stood in front of us and bent over, so we were staring at her backside”: How bassist Tony Butler helped relaunch The Pretenders with this 1982 rock classic

Having fired bassist Pete Farndon for his erratic drug-fuelled behaviour, The Pretenders tapped Rockpile guitarist Billy Bremner and bassist Tony Butler

Guitar World

“It was like we’d climbed the mountain. My head was spinning every time I sang it”: Yes created longer songs than Close To The Edge, but none with as much impact

Classical music, Eastern mysticism and the River Thames came together to inspire the 19-minute title track from their fifth album in 1972

Louder

“Some people were cynical – ‘The Yeggles have spoilt it all!’ We were doing a gig in Brighton and someone shouted, ‘Rick Wakeman!’ It was demoralising”: Geoff Downes’ life and times in and out of Yes

His big break came with the Wombles, then he impressed Trevor Horn with synths he’d only borrowed. He forged a partnership with John Wetton and made it big with Asia – and his easygoing nature means he’s avoided most of Yes’ infamous dramas

Louder

“We were working on Oranges And Lemons. I was putting on a bass part. You don’t want Chris Squire walking in, do you?” XTC’s Colin Moulding on meeting his hero, declining to join Pink Floyd, and working on Billy Sherwood’s Dark Side tribute

Jethro Tull and Atomic Rooster endured a difficult return from the breakup with Andy Partridge, but it led to a happy reunion with drummer Terry Chambers

Louder

“A leopard doesn’t change its spots. There’s going to be certain levels of diva‑ness. It might be nice if there wasn’t, but there is”: Why Yes decided, after some doubts, to make Heaven & Earth

Their first with Jon Davison, and their last with Chris Squire, the 2014 album saw them continuing to release new music after many of their peers had stopped – but didn’t meet the standards expected of it

Louder

“Asked if Going For The One was about God, spirituality or the oneness of all people, he said no – it was about putting a tenner on a horse race. You’re almost better off not knowing that!” Steve Hogarth on his hero Jon Anderson

The Marillion man was so moved by the experience of hearing Yes for the first time that he wrote a song about it

Louder

“He was bedrock to the Yes sound; an incredibly creative player who has inspired so many. It’s unlikely that we’ll see his like again”: Chris Squire’s greatest musical moments, by bandmates, friends and fans

Members of Yes, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, and later-generation musicians are among 30 artists who choose their favourite performances to mark a decade since the bass powerhouse’s death

Louder

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“I don’t worry about labels and I’ve ended up in the premier prog band of all time. If I’d listened to haters I’d have stopped after my first record”: Billy Sherwood’s journey to Yes started with the wayward World Trade

By the time he reunited his 80s group for third album Unify, he’d replaced Chris Squire and started fronting Asia. None of it would have happened without Toto and Gentle Giant

Louder

“We both understood from the beginning that this was a journey into long-form music. It’s time for this kind of music again. It elevates you”: How Jon Anderson and Roine Stolt made Invention Of Knowledge

The former Yes vocalist and the Flower Kings leader spent two years creating and fine-tuning a record designed to be an in-depth experience – and surprised even themselves

Louder

“I told Chris Squire, ‘I really owe you for being an influence.’ He said, ‘Well, pay up, mate!’” When Styx ex Ricky Phillips met his hero, it all went well

American bassist recalls being captivated at an early age by the Yes icon’s approach, and how it felt to tour together many years later

Louder

“You wonder if any other drummer could have glued together all the impulses and influences at play”: Alan White’s 10 best performances with Yes

He secured a place in music history with other artists – but he’s best remembered for covering an extraordinary breadth of styles with the ever-changing prog giants

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Louder

Get an exclusive Chris Squire t-shirt you can’t buy anywhere else with Prog!

Prog has teamed up with Squire's estate to create this special and exclusive Chris Squire memorial t-shirt

Louder

“There were arguments. But they weren’t personal – they were musical. They helped make it what it is”: How Yes defined themselves with Fragile, before success went to their heads

The arrival of Rick Wakeman, the freedom to be adventurous and the discovery of Roger Dean led to the creation of a prog landmark in 1971

Louder

The legacy of Chris Squire remembered on the cover of the new issue of Prog, which is on sale now

The brand new issue of Prog is on sale now! Featuring Robert Fripp, Andy Summers, Stewart Copeland, Katatonia, Cosmograf, Savatage, Ghost Of The Machine, Black Country New Road and loads more...

Louder

“The revolving stage was great fun, especially when it broke down and we got the audience to push it”: If anything mostly worked out during Yes’ Union era, it was the accompanying tour

The 1991 album remains a controversial work for many – but for most of the musicians from both sides of the Yes divide, the road trip was its saving grace

Louder

“Musicians can get upset with each other, but you’re family. Chris Squire and I were like brothers – he was Darth Vader and I was Obi-Wan Kenobi!” Jon Anderson’s time-travelling solo album 1000 Hands

In 2019 he reincarnated 30-year-old demos with former Yes bandmates and a stellar supporting cast, offering positive and long-held opinions to a rapidly-changing world

Louder

“We were whisked off in a limo and I joined them on their Learjet. I overslept in Jon’s hotel suite because they’d been very generous with spliffs”: My 39 days as a cosmic brother of Yes, by Gryphon’s Brian Gulland

He once gatecrashed Chris Squire’s dressing room because he knew nothing about concerts. Later, when his own band were at their proggiest, he took everything he could out of opening on Yes’ Relayer tour of 1974

Louder

“It was awkward – Yes sort of told me never to come back”: Oliver Wakeman had to tour with the prog progenitors while knowing he’d been replaced. Surprisingly, he genuinely enjoyed the trip

If Rick Wakeman’s son had taken an angrier attitude to being fired in 2011, their 2019 mini-album From A Page might never have been rescued from the demo stacks

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