I can’t let today go without saying “Happy Birthday Jon” to a man who has been a constant part of life for over 30 years now.
For those of you who have read the latest edition of Snapshots you will have seen the name Jon Anderson in the “Find out About Nick Forsyth” article on the back page. But who is this man?
Jon Anderson was a founder of and for many years the lead vocalist of Yes a progressive rock band formed in 1968 at Le Chasse London. They played their first gig later that year at East Mersea but being only 6 I didn’t get to go to it. Ten years later it was a different story as the band triumphantly played four shows at Wembley Arena and helped mark my concert debut. In truth I didn’t know a lot about them at the time but I do remember Jon saying, “I think we all feel a teeny weeny bit cosmic sometimes” when announcing Starship Trooper and seeing the guys up close during Roundabout with the revolving circular stage turning and Steve Howe leaping around playing his Gibson 175.
I’d reached the band through John Peel of all people when he played “Don’t Kill The Whale” on his evening show on Radio One and I remembered the voice from “Wondrous Stories” the previous year. I went out and bought the single, liked the B side Abilene and thought get the album upon release. Tormato might not be the best Yes album but it has some stand out tracks such as “On The Silent Wings of Freedom”, “Onward” “Release Release” and “Madrigal” and from there you go back and pick up the back catalogue, survive the Buggles taking over from Jon and Rick Wakeman and then hear that voice singing “Owner of a Lonely Heart” in your Sisters room on Radio and think what’s happening here?
Since 1978 I’ve seen all the Yes tours and most of them solo and for me they’ve been probably my most important band along with maybe Rush. Having left Yes for a second time in the mid eighties Jon got back with Steve, Rick and Bill Bruford for the imaginatively and underrated album Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe. The tour of that was astonishing with the solo sections starting the show and there is a great DVD of the show at Mountain View.
After that Yes merged for a Union tour and then split again for Talk before the classic line up on 1978 got back together. In much of this Jon was the driving force and it is his voice that most fans seek. This reunion in 1995 brought two decent albums The Ladder and Magnification plus a strange offering Open Your Eyes. What it did do was produce a series of tours that allowed us to see songs played that we could only previously dream of.
The Magnification tour brought back The Gates of Delirium to the stage for the first time since 1976 and backed by an Orchestra it was astonishing. The version of Awaken played at The Royal Albert Hall was the best I’ve seen with Billy Sherwood adding depth on guitar and rose pettles falling from the ceiling at the conclusion. At Wembley we saw the most awesome version ever of “And You and I” with the bass sound travelling right through you. The version is captured on Tsongas DVD and it is worth seeing.
We’ve also witnessed The Revealing Science of God and Ritual off Tales from topographic Oceans and South Side of The Sky from Fragile plus one of Jon’s best songs “Show Me” (click to go to YouTube) which is the band’s most recent composition.
People say Yes lyrics can’t be understood, what are these songs about and why do they have to be so long? Listen today to The Gates of Delirium and think of conflict around the World. It can make sense. I met Jon in Ipswich a couple of years ago. I asked him about some lyrics from the Magnification album and he talked about his brother and my feeling for what he’s written was right. He’s a great guy, very quirky probably deemed eccentric by many but such an important person in the development of progressive rock music that he and Steve, Chris Squire, Rick and Alan White or Bill should be in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. But that’s Prog – not sexy or hard core enough to get listed!
Jon is no longer in Yes. Serious illness befell him over a year ago and his respiratory problems mean it would be unlikely to last the stress and pressure of a major arena tour. He still plays live in solo shows and is currently touring the UK with Rick Wakeman in their second tour which is showcasing a recent album the two have put together.
I went to the last tour and it was great. Jon’s voice over the piano is delightful and Rick’s verbal dexterity helps the evening run smoothly with a series of jokes and anecdotes from their time in Yes. Yes are also still playing with Rick’s son on keys and Benoit David on lead vocals. I saw them in the UK and they were very good but the bands lacked the personality of the Anderson Wakeman line up.
When Rick first rejoined for his final stint the band received a standing ovation for merely walking onto the stage. Our reverence is that strong!
I will be going to either Ipswich or Southend to see them play in November and if you like Yes or just want to hear a beautiful voice and see a great pianist I’d suggest you get along to it too. I’ve already had good reports from a Yes fan who saw the Stevanage show so don’t just take my word for it.
And You and I (YouTube from Madison Square Garden 2004 where the audience would not let them finish the song!)
Coming quickly to terms with all expression laid,
As a moment regained and regarded both the same,
Emotion revealed as the Ocean made,
A clearer future morning evening, nights with you.
And You and I climb, crossing the shapes of the morning,
And You and I reach over the sun for the river,
And You and I climb clearer towards the movement,
And You and I called over valleys of endless seas….
Happy birthday Jon.
If you’d like to go see Jon and Rick on tour use this link to access the dates - you have to scroll down the page
Happy Birthday Jon!