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DARK SECRETS: Geoff downes | Vintage Vibes

“Kate Bush saw me recording at Townhouse Studios, popped her head in, saw the Fairlight and said ‘What's that?’”: We speak to Yes, Asia and the Buggles' synth legend Geoff Downes

From pop to prog, keyboard maestro Geoff Downes charts his journey from auditioning for Wizzard to global success with the Buggles, Yes and Asia

MusicRadar

“The criticism of Heaven & Earth was that there weren’t any big epics. We had a couple of longer tracks on The Quest. With this one we’ve gone overboard!” The story of Yes’ 23rd album Mirror To The Sky

2023 release marked the fastest turnaround in studio projects since 1971, delivered by a band whose personality clashed were emphatically behind them

Louder

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

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“What Keith Moon did on drums, he did on keyboards. Without him the genre would be much poorer”: When Geoff Downes saw Keith Emerson live, he found immediate inspiration

The Yes man hails ELP counterpart as a musician and entertainer

Louder

“I figured people would frown about the group because we had three prog musicians from quite big bands playing bubblegum songs, really. But they were good songs”: Legendary drummer Carl Palmer on the multi-million-selling success of ’80s supergroup Asia

But he admits: “I didn’t enjoy making those silly videos”

MusicRadar

“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

Asia share live video of Heat Of The Moment as they announce new live album

Prog supergroup Asia will release their new live album, Asia – Live In England, in March

Louder

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“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

Foghat haven't played in the UK for over half a century: This weekend, that changes

Foghat will share a bill with Asia feat. John Payne, so we sat down with Payne and Foghat drummer Roger Earl

Louder

"I was blown away!" The greatest prog albums, as chosen by prog legend Geoff Downes

He's been in The Buggles, Yes and Asia – but what does Geoff Downes consider the finest prog albums ever?

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

Louder

“All contemporary pop utilising computers and samplers owes something to the innovations of Trevor Horn”: How Trevor Horn’s anonymous electronic group - the Art of Noise - revolutionised sample culture

Discover how studio and music production was redefined by an unlikely group of Trevor Horn-led English synth geeks

MusicRadar

“Roger Waters’ Amused To Death is something you have to pay attention to. If it had Pink Floyd on the cover, it would have sold millions”: BBC chief football writer Phil McNulty’s prog record collection

The pundit, who met John Wetton and Geoff Downes through their mutual love of the sport, recommends albums by Asia, Supertramp, Marillion and others

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

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Louder

John Payne unveils new Asia featuring John Payne line-up featuring Francis Dunnery and Ryo Okumoto

The new-look Asia featuring John Payne are currently working on a new studio album and will tour the US, Japan and UK later this year

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

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

MusicRadar

“The lyrics talk about machines writing music, and that’s actually happened. All things considered, it was a very prophetic song”: The iconic track that sparked the MTV generation also predicted the entire future of music

This Trevor Horn-helmed classic documented a sea change in music consumption, and its vision of tomorrow was spookily accurate

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Louder

Ace new prog you must hear from Solstice, Vennart, John Lodge, Dim Gray and more in this week's Tracks Of The Week

Cool new proggy sounds you from Lights Of Skadi, Sally Potter, Pearl Handled Revolver and more in Prog's Tracks Of The Week

Louder

Asia to perform first three albums over three nights at Trading Boundaries in April

Geoff Downes' new-look Asia line-up will perform Asia, Alpha and Astra on consecutive nights at Trading Boundaries in April

Louder

"It's unlikely that I'll ever listen to any other Asia albums but only time will tell": Asia upset the prog purists and delight their bank managers on freakishly successful debut album

Featuring members of Yes, ELP and King Crimson, Asia were billed as a prog rock supergroup but kept it concise, to enormous success

Guitar World

“I would call our approach organized chaos, but it drove Allan Holdsworth up the wall”: John Wetton has been the bass force behind a peak-period King Crimson lineup and two prog rock supergroups

A veteran of one of King Crimson’s classic lineups, John Wetton’s amazing career took him through a host of British prog bands

Louder

“We booked a studio and said, ‘Whoever’s here on Monday morning is in Yes’”: How the band regenerated to make Drama, in their own words

Rick Wakeman recalls quitting with Jon Anderson, Steve Howe recalls hoping they’d return, and Trevor Horn recalls being dragged into the line-up that bounced back in 1980

Louder

“When the mood took them, the prog legends of the 70s could write simple but catchy music with aplomb”: The 40 greatest Yes songs ever

When 50,000 Prog magazine readers voted on the band’s catalogue, the resulting chart contained a few surprises

Louder

“He got all these twists and turns that I thought only John Wetton was capable of”: How Geoff Downes assembled his new Asia line-up

US tour with Focus, Martin Turner and Curved Air presents possibility of completing songs left unfinished after original singer’s death

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