Los Angeles Times Calendar, May 25th , 1980: THE ANSWER ON YES IS YES: If there's one thing you can count on, it's that a Genesis fan is also a Yes fan. There were almost as many T-shirts heralding that other British progressive-rock band at the Long Beach Arena on Saturday as there were Genesis shirts. The news this morning is that two members of Yes - lead singer Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman - have left the band and will be pursuing solo work. The group, however, will continue. In fact, continuing members have signed up vocalist Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoffrey Downes from the Buggles band. The new lineup is rehearsing in London and expects to tour later in the year. The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio-Star" was a big hit last year in England. [Thanks again, Jeff!] Melody Maker, ?, 1980: A Yes man's vision (Photo of Rick lounging in a beach chair. Caption: Wakeman contemplates enormous revenue from "1984") Not content with having traveled to the centre of the earth and back in time, Rick Wakeman's now planning to conquer the future in what he describes as "the most extravagant thing I've done" - a work based on George Orwell's "1984" which he plans to premier in Australia toward the end of his eight-month world tour which began in Oslo in June. Rick was looking bronzed, healthy and confident as he sipped a Coke - he's only allowed one Scotch a month, on doctor's orders - and discussed his plans now that he's left Yes for the second and, presumably, final time. He's got the arthritis out of his hands by a course of painful Harley Street treatments and looked well able to cope with possibly the most punishing itinerary since Hannibal crossed the Alps. Obviously, one doesn't just put together a tour like this overnight, and the sheer size of it confirmed what I had suspected all along; that though Rick and Jon Anderson's departure from Yes was only a month or so ago, it had been a fact as long ago as Christmas. "It was decided that we'd all keep pretty quiet until everybody'd got themselves all sorted out, to put it crudely, so that nobody gained any advantage by having themselves ready before anybody else," he said. Though for the most part he'll tour with a five-piece, on the Brazilian and Australian dates he'll have a full orchestra, plus of course the inevitable effects for "1984". "It'll be totally over the top," he said, with enthusiasm. "What you can do with projections and light and holograms has advanced so quickly and so much but nobody so far has actually had time to sit down and put them into a package. For example, someone may have a piece of music and then they'll just decide to use a laser somewhere in it. "What I'm going to do is to actually incorporate it all within the music. If you saw the score of the piece, then you'd see the effects and the holograms scored just like the other musical instruments. It's an attempt at a sort of 3D cinema. "If it works, I can imagine us bringing it back to Europe and performing it here round about next Easter." Meanwhile, from the Jon Anderson camp there's nothing but silence. He appears to have split from manager Brian Lane - who continues to look after Wakeman as well as his ex-Yes buddies - and can only be contacted via a Greek personage known as Yannis. "Jon doesn't want to talk to the press yet," explained that worthy to me over the phone. "There are...er...legal problems to be ironed out." - KARL DALLAS Billboard, May 31, 1980: Buggles Drafted To Join Yes LONDON - In one of the more surprising amalgamations of rock talent in memory, the two main members of the Buggles, Island act which hit the charts worldwide with "Video Killed The Radio Star," have joined established band, Yes. It means that singer Jon Anderson and multi-keyboards man Rick Wakeman have quit the Yes lineup (Wakeman for the second time) and let in Geoff Downes, also a multi-keyboardist, and singer Trevor Horn from the Buggles. Biggest loser in the changeover would appear to be Island records, for "Video Killed The Radio Star" was one of the company's biggest selling records worldwide. But the Buggles have consistently claimed that it was essentially a "plastic group" to meet the needs of a plastic age, latter phrase the title of the group's debut Island album. Chris Squire, who remains with Alan White and Steve Howe, says, "Now we're a revitalized and regenerated band, playing now again as a real unit." This drastic change of personnel for one of the most consistent of British bands leaves its U.S. and Canadian (plus European territories) tour unchanged for the late 1980, and the trek will feature old Yes repertoire, along with material from the new album, which will feature the two ex-Buggles. Eddie Offord has re-enlisted to produce the new album, and Roger Dean will be back working on it's sleeve design. Both Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman will push ahead with solo projects. Anderson has already been involved with other artists, having teamed up successfully with Greece's Vangelis on the "Short Stories" album. Billboard, August 30, 1980: #162 Short Stories-Jon & Vangelis/PolydorPD-1-6272 Wks on chart: 2 (Last wk #182) JON AND VANGELIS "I Hear You Now" - #61 [singles chart] Jon and Vangelis are ex-Yes singer/songwriter Jon Anderson and Greek avant-garde keyboardist/composer Vangelis. The two originally got together to collaborate on a single, "I Hear You Now." When it reached the top 5 on the U.K. charts, however, they decided to record an entire album together, "Short Stories." Anderson was one of the founding members of Yes in 1968. Though the group's personnel changed several times over the years Anderson remained intact until just a few months ago when he bid the group farewell. Vangelis formed a group called Formynx in the early '60s, bringing pop music to his homeland of Greece. He eventually left the group, went to Paris and started Aphrodite's Child. They broke up over a difference between Vangelis and the group's record label over artistic values. He remained in Paris for three more years during which time he composed the music for the television movie Apocalypse des Animaux for French film director Frederic Rossif. Vangelis, who moved to London a few years ago, has recorded several albums for Polydor. Anderson and Vangelis met several years ago when Vangelis was asked to join Yes as keyboardist Rick Wakeman's replacement. He declined the offer. Vangelis is managed by Yanus in London at phone number 011-44-1-435-6692. Rolling Stone, Summer, 1980: ...WEA communications' boss Skid Weiss says the distribution giant's marketing staff has selected the Paul Simon's "One Trick Pony," Ashford and Simpson's "A Musical Affair," Jackson Browne's "Hold Out," Queen's "The Game," the new Robbie Dupree, Yes' "Drama," and AC/DC's "Back In Black" as spearhead product for the fall. Billboard, August 30, 1980: Denny Somach Producing 3 Hours Of Yes Pegged For NBC By DOUG HALL (Photo 1: Band members sit on leather sofa. Caption: Record Playback: The newly reorganized Yes listen to a track they've just recorded in London along with NBC Source personality Denny Somach, left. From left to right, Yes members Trevor Horn, Alan White, Steve Howe, Chris Squires, and Geoff Downs.) [Who's in charge of spelling?] (Photo 2: Caption: Denny Somach: Planning five music specials on NBC's Source this fall.) NEW YORK - Denny Somach, who produces the daily "Rock Report" on NBC's Source Network and handles the midday shift on WYSP-FM in Philadelphia, has returned from London where he interviewed the newly reorganized Yes for material for the first of a new music series from the Source beginning in August. The three-hour special on Yes will coincide with the release on Atlantic of its first new album since Rick Wakeman and John Anderson dropped out of the group and Buggles members Trevor Horn and Geoff Downs joined. Somach, who will host the show, expects to premiere two tracks from the album as well as two tracks from never-released live recordings that were to be part of a now-scrapped two-disk album once planned last year. The show will be followed by a tour by the group of the U.S. and Canada that is set for three weeks, but may be expanded. Somach says the special will "not be your typical interview and music special, but will follow a magazine format." In addition to interviews with Yes members, done between recording sessions for the new album, Somach interviewed Atlantic chairman Ahmet Ertegun, Yes manager Brian Len, Frank Barcelona of Premier Talent and promoter Harvey Goldsmith. Somach is scheduled to do five specials before the end of the year. All will not necessarily be three hours in length. He expects to travel abroad for some of these shows. In preparation for this show Somach listened to 30 hours of previously taped interviews including the group's first radio interview from 1971 on WMMR-FM Philadelphia. This interview was conducted by then WMMR staffer Ed Sciaky, who is now with WIOQ-FM in Philadelphia. Somach, who sat in on a number of the recording sessions, says the new album "is the best thing they have done in several years." He reports that the new Yes does not sound like the Buggles, even with Horn singing lead vocals. "Horn sounds more like John Anderson than John Anderson," he says. Horn and Downs contributed two songs to the new album: "I Am A Camera" and "Machine Messiah," Somach reports. Somach also says the new group has a sound that goes back to the "Close To The Edge" and "Fragile" albums of several years back. Billboard, (date uncertain), 1980 Pop Yes-Drama, Atlantic SD16019. Produced by Yes. This is the new Yes with former Buggles Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn replacing Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman. Oldtime Yes fanatics will be pleased to hear that the changeover has not substantially altered the Yes sound, image or presentation. The high vocals, symphonic arrangements, and quasi-mystical lyrics are still there. However, there seems to be a fresh new spirit to the playing. Some typical Yes-type musical cliches are set up, and then confounded, and sometimes a hint of humor seeps into the ponderous edifice. But the Buggles' "Video Killed The Radio Star," is more memorable than anything here. Yet Horn's vocals sound remarkably like Anderson's. Best cuts: "Machine Messiah," "Tempus Fugit," "Into The Lens." Billboard, ?, 1980: #18 Drama, YES / Atlantic SD 16019 Weeks on chart: 4 (Last Week: #19) Billboard, September 20, 1980: YES Madison Square Garden Tickets: $13, $11 Yes, the newly reorganized art-rock group, was a bit more straight-ahead rock 'n' roll and a little less art as it played three nights at the Garden, Sept. 4-6 to capacity crowds. Rumors about possible musical problems with the new members, Trevor Horn and Geoff Downet, [That's what it says!] proved unfounded as they meshed smoothly with the other three members. Horn's singing may not have been the outstanding feature of the performance, but it was more than adequate. And Downes was a sensation as a crowd pleaser and musician as he deftly played his multiple keyboards. Yet there was a certain grace missing from the unit. No longer present was Jon Anderson playing a solo on his lyre. But the group more than made up for this with thumping rock 'n' roll pushed hard by the only founding member still with the group; bassist Chris Squires. [That's what it says!] UCLA Daily Bruin, October 8, 1980: Yes: Drama. Atlantic. Here they are, back again, complete with a formula Roger Dean album cover, minus two traditional stalwarts (Anderson and Wakeman) and renewed with two Buggles. Buggles? Jon Anderson, thought to be the guiding force of Yes, and Rick Wakeman, their acclaimed keyboardist both abandoned Yes early this year leaving fans and observers certain of a long-lived, pompous and innovative rock group having met its final demise. The remaining members of Yes, guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, and drummer Alan White answered the rumors, with the addition of ex-Buggles Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes. Surprisingly, Drama imitates the previous sound of Yes almost to perfection. Horn and Downes replace Anderson and Wakeman with uncanny accuracy, but their talents are not the strength of the recording. The obvious reason that Drama succeeds is the sure-footed instrumental and creative dominance of Howe and Squire. Both "Tempus Fugit" and "Does It Really Happen," are two of the most energetic and accessible compositions since their early-seventies groundbreaker, Fragile. Drama contains some of the best instrumental offerings of Howe, Squire and White to date. Though Drama falls short of the inspiration and originality of past works like Tales From Topographic Oceans and Relayer, it resolves the artistic stagnancy evident on their previous album Tormato. There is still plenty of room to allow Horn and Downes some influence that does not fit into the established framework; Yes's future direction could hold much promise. --Chris Hoard [I lived in the dormitory with this guy!] Billboard, November 8, 1980: PROGRAM REVIEW NBC Source 'Yesspecial' Lives Up To Its Ballyhoo "Yesspecial," featuring Yes, NBC Source Network, Aug. 15-17. Three hours. Produced by Denny Somach. (Photo: Caption: GOOD SHOW - Yes guitar player Steven Howe receives congratulations from Atlantic chairman Ahmet Ertegun after a recent date at the L.A. Sports Arena. The Yes tour coincides with the release of the group's 12th album, "Drama.") NEW YORK - The long-heralded documentary on the newly reconstituted British rock group lives up to all the promotion it has received. Producer/host Denny Somach has done an excellent job putting together a smoothly flowing story of how Yes came into being, its triumphs and the various personnel changes that have taken place over the years. Of course, much attention is given to the newest members, lead vocalist Trevor Horn and keyboard player Geoff Downes. And in the final half-hour of the show listeners get a sneak preview of two cuts new album on Atlantic, "Drama." The members seem to agree that the new Yes organization is a bit more hard rocking than it has been in the past. And indeed it is. There's also a lot of historical information as the group is traced through its 11 years by interviews and biographical sketches on each member of the unit, plus Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman, who recently left the group. The bios are handled in a strong documentary style as various Source "reporters" are introduced to tell of each member's background. Along the way comments are heard from Scott Muni of WNEW-FM New York, Ed Sciakey of WIOQ-FM Philadelphia and Atlantic Records chairman Ahmet Ertegun. Of course, being Yes, the music is something special. There's a lot more than rock 'n' roll to this group and this is illustrated as it plays, among others, "Every Little Thing," "Roundabout," "Going For One" [That's what it says!] and "Don't Kill The Whale." Tracks played from the yet-to-be-released album are "Run To The Light" and "Tempus Fugit." DOUG HALL [I don't know how UCLA had a review of a so-called "yet-to-be-released" album a month before the L.A. Times (above). And why did it take Rolling Stone two months to review this concert? (below)] Rolling Stone, November 27, 1980: (Photo: Caption: Trevor Horn: pitifully alone at center stage) Ex-Buggles are no improvement The new Yes: still living in the past Yes Madison Square Garden New York City September 5th, 1980 By David Fricke HERE COMES THE new Yes, same as the old Yes. Original vocalist Jon Anderson and flamboyant keyboardist Rick Wakeman may be gone in body, but their spirits still hang like Damoclesian swords over the heads of their replacements, Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes of the electropop duo the Buggles. And judging by their performance on the second of three nights at the Garden, Horn and Downes are not holding up well under the pressure. Instead of adding a few New Wave wrinkles to the British supergroup's baroque art-rock song and dance, the ex-Buggles continued to belabor the old ones without improving on them. Visions of Jon Anderson in his silken sugarplum-fairy robes surely danced in the heads of the 20,000-plus faithful gathered here when Horn - looking pitifully alone on a raised platform in the center of the circular, revolving stage - hit several horribly flat notes during the old Yes song "Yours Is No Disgrace." In Wakeman, rock's answer to Liberace, Downes had an even tougher act to follow. But he didn't try very hard, playing familiar lines from such Yes hits as "And You And I" and "Roundabout" as if he were reading them from an exercise book. His only acknowledgement of the Buggles' success was a snippet of their hit "Video Killed The Radio Star" in his otherwise inconsequential solo keyboard spot. While the Buggles were busy entertaining the ghosts of Yes' past instead of exorcising them, the rest of the band - bassist and charter member Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe and drummer Alan White - tried to beat a little life into a new repertoire, which included four of the five songs on Drama (the group's first album with Horn and Downes), two as-yet-unrecorded songs and selected warhorses from the past. Howe's hot flashes of Indian modality and twenty-first-century Chuck Berry, and Squire's volcanic bass variations on "Amazing Grace" in the middle of Drama's "Tempus Fugit," came as welcome relief during a show that was remarkably only for the group's overreliance on the amateur mysticism and pseudo-orchestral maneuvers that made them famous. Yes are apparently more concerned with re-creating former than getting down to the business of being the new band they claim to be. The potential is certainly there. Of the songs on Drama, "Into The Lens" is the most engaging compromise between Horn and Downes' cloying commercialism and Yes' earnest, arty pretensions. But if this show was any indication, the new Yes still have a couple of Buggles that need to be worked out.