2023 in review: Yes, solo projects and more

I wanted to look back on 2023, a surprisingly busy year for Yes, its current and past members. But I wanted to do something different, so I thought to review the Yes members/alumni on four dimensions: workload, nostalgia, commercial success, and quality.

Some rules first. I'm just looking at new releases. I'm not considering archival releases here. I'm only considering active Yes members and alumni. Bruford has retired from musical performance. He did play on one song at the John Wetton tribute show, but that's all, so I'm not covering him. Tony Kaye is semi-retired. He is reportedly working on a new Circa album, but he's released nothing this year and done no live shows, so I’ve omitted him. Igor Khoroshev, last we knew, remains active doing sessions, but I’ve not seen anything from him this year, so he’s also excluded.

This is just looking at 2023, a snapshot. A musician may surprise us with their 2024 output, or be resting on their laurels after a successful 2022.

WORKLOAD

For workload or productivity, I'm considering live shows and releases.

Album releases in a year aren’t the best indicator of productivity in a year given the lead times to release. For example, Downes released Celestial Songs this year, but recording was completed in April 2022, with the release delayed. Likewise, Rabin released Rio, but he had been working on that for some years. He did very little work on it in 2023. Others (e.g., Oliver Wakeman, Jon Anderson) have been working on recordings this year that won't be out until later. Nonetheless, releases are the easiest thing to count, so that's what I've counted!

NOSTALGIA

A recurrent discussion around older acts is the tension between playing the old songs and making new music. Thus, I suggest a nostalgia quotient. This is based on two factors. Firstly, did live set lists focus on old songs or new material. Secondly, did the artist release new material, or at least new versions of old material, or nothing at all. 

COMMERCIAL SUCCESS

We sometimes pay little attention to commercial success. It can even be seen as shameful, a distraction from true art! And if you like an album or show, why does it matter how many other people do? Except it does matter. At least, if not enough other people like something, there won't be another album or tour.

I would like to consider album and ticket sales, but those are rarely available. We don't get data on album sales, but we can look at chart statistics, if the album charted. Likewise, we don't see ticket sales data, but we can at least track the size of venues booked.

QUALITY

This is, of course, wholly subjective, but I'm going to give you my opinions. You may have your own, of course. 

OK, everyone clear what we're doing? Then let's start. 

WORKLOAD, approximately from least to most

Patrick Moraz: 1 show, no material released. Moraz played a solo show at ProgStock 2023.

Oliver Wakeman: 1 show, 3 songs released. Oliver organised and played at the Other Coronation Concert with his dad Rick. He appears on 2 tracks of Carrie Martin's Evergreen and the "Lost in the Wild Wood" single by Rodney Matthews and Friends. I don't think this reflects a lack of work ethic on Oliver's part. He has recorded a new album, out in the new year, and I expect his live schedule reflects a lack of opportunity! He is not as well established a musician as others on this list. I suspect he would have been happy to play dozens of shows this year, but he’s not getting those kinds of offers.

Jon Anderson: 24 shows, 2 songs released. Anderson had two tours this year, a US leg with the Band Geeks (12 dates) and a European tour with the Paul Green Rock Academy (11 dates). There was also the Chagall student show, making 24 dates in total, but three different set lists. He had no album releases, but he did share some songs on social media. I think there were two new in the year: "We Are We Are" and "Realization Morning Temple". It appears he has been working on new recordings, on 1000 Hands: Chapter Two earlier in the year and an album with the Geeks later in the year, but I'm not counting chickens that haven't hatched yet.

Rick Wakeman: ~28 shows, 3 songs released. I'm counting A Gallery of the Imagination as a late 2022 release as it was available on a limited scale in 2022, albeit general release only came this year. In terms of 2023 releases, he's just got a few guest appearances: one track each with Ann-Margret, on Meddle Reimagined, and with the Fusion Syndicate. In terms of live work, he played two nights with the English Rock Ensemble (with different sets). He had one-off shows in April, May, July and November, and two in December, and appeared at the John Wetton tribute show. He had a US solo tour with 17 dates + a cruise appearance.

Jay Schellen: 27 shows, 1 album released. Schellen played 26 dates on Yes's tour (excluding the two cancelled shows) and played on Yes's Mirror to the Sky. He also appeared at the John Wetton tribute show.

Trevor Rabin: no shows, ~2 albums and 1 additional song released. Rabin released Rio this year. There was also National Treasure: Edge of History (Original Series Soundtrack) released back in January. That contains 30 tracks: 15 are credited to Rabin and 1 to Rabin and Paul Linford. He also did the theme tune for "Digman" and some string arrangements for a Joe Bonamassa live show in August. You can debate how to weight releases versus live shows in this list. Rabin is top 3 in releases for the year, but at the bottom for live work. One can also account for musician's roles in a project, e.g. Rabin doing almost everything on Rio, versus Schellen just drumming on Mirror to the Sky.

Billy Sherwood: 27 shows, 1 album and an additional 6 songs released. Sherwood's tally tracks Schellen's but with the addition of some guest appearances: 3 tracks on Kurt Michaels' Stones from the Garden, two standalone tracks with Cameron Carpenter, and 1 track on Laughing Stock's Songs for the Future.

Steve Howe: 26 dates, 2 albums released (plus a remix album). As well as his work in Yes, Howe also released Motif, Volume 2. While I'm not including archival releases, Howe did also lead on the Tomorrow release, Permanent Dream, that involved substantial remixing.

Jon Davison: ~61 shows, 1 album and an additional 3 songs released. As well as work with Yes, Davison also toured (33 dates + cruise) and recorded (2 tracks on Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn) with father-in-law John Lodge. He also guested on 1 track of Anyone's Miracles in the Nothingness. So, over twice as many live dates as anyone else yet in our list. You can see why he wrote "Circles of Time" now.

Trevor Horn: ~68 shows, 1 album and a production collection of sounds released. [EDIT: In a Jan 2024 interview, Horn says he did 80 shows in 2023.] Surprisingly, the busiest live player among the Yes members is Trevor Horn, the guy who gave up live performance after being in Yes. He did 28 North American dates as The Buggles opening for Seal and then playing with Seal as musical director and bassist. That was followed by 13 European dates with Seal, but no Buggles. There were also 39 dates with Dire Straits Legacy scattered over the year, which I think were all with Horn, but I'm not 100% certain of that, as the line-up can vary from show to show. (Horn is not on 2024 DSL live shows.) Horn also had a live TV appearance in Sep in Italy. He released Echoes – Ancient & Modern and there was also the 45Gb+ Jupiter production collection from Spitfire Audio.

Geoff Downes: 27 shows, 3 albums + 2 additional songs released. Downes played with Yes and co-organised the John Wetton tribute show. He was on Mirror to the Sky, he had another Downes Braide Association album in Celestial Songs, and he produced The Cold Blooded Hearts' The Cold Light of Day, on which he also performed on all but 3 tracks. He also did a song with Aaron Emerson and 1 track on Meddle Reimagined. So he didn't play as many live shows as Davison or Horn, but given 3 album releases in a year, I am declaring him the busiest Yes member of the year.

In terms of do-we-count-them-as-former-members, a note also for Tom Brislin, who played 52 shows with Kansas this year, although he wasn’t on any releases.

Tony Levin played 22 dates with Peter Gabriel and performed on his new album i/o. He has 5 Levin Brothers shows in Dec. He had 23 dates with Stick Men over the year and they also released a new live album. He was on 1 track of MEMEmusic by Unquiet Music Ltd. There appears to have been session work with various others (Tina Arena, Tania Doko, Marco Machera), but I've not checked the details. So, that's 50 dates and 2+ albums.

NOSTALGIA, approximately from most to least

Patrick Moraz: very nostalgic. I haven't seen a full set list for his one show, but it seems to have been familiar material.

Trevor Horn: very nostalgic. His live work was all old material. His album consists of covers.

Jon Anderson: very nostalgic. His live sets consisted purely of old material, although a few of the Rock Academy arrangements were newer. The Chagall show was a premiere, albeit all of the material dates back a varying number of years.

Rick Wakeman: very nostalgic. His live work mostly consisted of old material, although the US tour included one piece from A Gallery of the Imagination. 2/3 of his recorded work were covers, but he co-wrote a new piece, "IO", for The Fusion Syndicate.

Jon Davison: fairly nostalgic. On the anti-nostalgia side, he's got Mirror to the Sky and a song with Anyone, but the live Yes sets were mostly old material, and his 2023 work with John Lodge, live and studio, was all old material, although there may be new Lodge material coming.

Steve Howe: fairly nostalgic. Yes released a new album, but on most nights only played 1 song from it. Motif, Volume 2 includes 4 new pieces, but the rest of it is re-interpreting older songs, while the Tomorrow release was all remixing old songs.

Jay Schellen: middling. Live Yes (nostalgic) versus new Yes album (anti-nostalgic).

Billy Sherwood: fairly anti-nostalgic. Same as Schellen, except with a few more recorded tracks of new material.

Oliver Wakeman: fairly anti-nostalgic. I haven't seen a full set list for his one show, but I believe it was mostly familiar material. However, he has also been on releases of new material.

Geoff Downes: fairly anti-nostalgic. While his live sets were nostalgic, being involved in three albums of new material puts him high on this list.

Trevor Rabin: very anti-nostalgic. Almost everything Rabin did this year was new material.

COMMERCIAL SUCCESS, approximately from least to most

Based on what chart data I could find, I think the albums go in a decreasing order of sales as follows: Mirror to the Sky > Echoes – Ancient & Modern > Rio > A Gallery of the Imagination > Celestial Songs, and then maybe Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn and Permanent Dream, with others not troubling any charts. In terms of touring, I think Horn's tours with Seal and DSL probably constitute the most ticket sales when combined, then Yes and John Lodge are maybe about equal, followed by Anderson, and then R Wakeman. So, overall, my ranking of commercial success, from lowest to highest, would be…

Moraz, O Wakeman: nothing of note.

Jon Anderson: Both tours were relatively short, which affects total ticket sales. Venues with the Geeks were of moderate size. Those with the kids seemed to have been bigger. But no releases for sale limits his commercial success.

Rick Wakeman: I think Wakeman was playing to smaller audiences than Anderson or Yes in the US. Gallery didn't make the main UK album chart when it received its general release in 2023, but it was #11 on the UK Progressive albums chart, #18 on the indie chart, #37 on the physical albums chart, #39 on the album sales chart, and #97 on the paid download chart. It made #35 on the UK iTunes chart.

Trevor Rabin: Rio made #52 in Switzerland and #90 in Germany. It didn't make the main chart in the UK, but was #7 on the UK Progressive albums chart, #19 on the physical albums chart, #16 on the album sales chart, #52 on the paid download chart, and #5 on the rock & metal chart. It was also on various iTunes charts: US #24, UK #30, Australia #51, Germany #52, Canada #53.

Trevor Horn: Horn was the musical director for a significant tour by Seal, with good audience sizes in Europe and North America. Dire Straits Legacy also play surprisingly big venues. Horn also got an Italian TV appearance. Echoes made #81 in UK. It also made #47 in Germany and #68 in Austria. It was also on various iTunes charts: Brazil #3, Italy #8, UK & Germany #11, Australia #12, US #85. In addition, "Relax" made #81 and "Steppin' Out" #65 on Spanish iTunes, while "Slave to the Rhythm" made #51 in Italy and #63 in Germany.

Billy Sherwood & Jay Schellen: Both Sherwood's and Schellen's notable sales were just from Yes. Mirror to the Sky charted around the world: Switzerland #9, Germany #12, Japan #24, UK #30, Hungary #31, Portugal #35, Austria #53, Wallonia (Belgium) #55, Italy #61, Poland #62, Netherlands #84, Flanders (Belgium) #93, France and Spain #99. It did not make the main US chart, but was #4 in rock & metal and #22 in sales. It was also on various iTunes charts: Spain #3, Brazil #7, UK #10, Canada #13, US #17, Germany #18, Italy #19, Australia #23, France #36. Yes played to good audience sizes in the US. 

Jon Davison: As well as his work in Yes, Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn made #42 on Italian iTunes.

Steve Howe: As well as Yes, Tomorrow's Permanent Dream made #16 in the UK independent album breakers chart (albums of the week by an artist who has not yet reached the Top 40). It was also at #55 on French iTunes.

Geoff Downes: As well as Yes, Celestial Songs made #27 on the UK indie chart, #60 on the physical albums chart, #63 on the album sales chart, and #7 on the rock & metal chart. It did not chart on iTunes.

Among not quite Yes alumni, Tony Levin stands out. Peter Gabriel's i/o went #1 in the UK and #99 in the US. It was also top ten in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Switzerland. The tour, meanwhile, was in very large venues. You would think that would win, but, no, former ABWH keyboardist Matt Clifford was the runaway success of the year as he played on The Rolling Stones' Hackney Diamonds, which made #1 in the UK, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Netherlands, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland. It made #3 in the US. It has gone Gold in the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Austria. It was the best-selling album of the year in Germany.

QUALITY

Of the various projects mentioned above, my favourite was Mirror to the Sky. Was it the best album? Was it consistently good? Maybe not, but it's the album that has stayed with me the most. My next favourite project, as I am always a Trevor Horn fanboy, was Echoes – Ancient & Modern. I'd put Rio third: I think it is a really strong album, possibly in some sense better than the previous two. Horn is 'cheating' because his album is built around a bunch of pre-existing great songs, whereas Rabin wrote his material. But if you asked me which album I'd rather listen to right now, Echoes or Rio, I would choose Echoes.

I am enjoying Celestial Songs: it's not clicked with me in the same way as Halcyon Hymns, but it's still a good one, so I'll put it fourth. Those are my standouts. Of the rest, National Treasure: Edge of History is not bad for a score album. The Cold Light of Day is a surprisingly good rock album, certainly the best album by a football player I've listened to. I like Motif, Volume 2, it does exactly what you would expect, no more, no less. I'll go with Cold Light fifth, Motif 2 sixth and National Treasure seventh.

In terms of the various guest appearances, Miracles in the Nothingness, Songs for the Future etc., nothing really jumped out at me, not that I have heard everything. Maybe "One of These Days" with Downes on Meddle Reimagined is the best of the lot.

I thought A Gallery of the Imagination was terrible, but if I'm counting it as a 2022 album, I can't blame Wakeman for it here! Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn was unimpressive.

In terms of live work, I loved the Jon Anderson + Paul Green Rock Academy show I saw. I was in the wrong country for the Geeks tour, but the recordings I heard were great. Likewise, Yes were playing the wrong continent for me this year, but I enjoyed the boot I heard and loved them last year. I saw the Seal show in the UK and had a great night, and I enjoyed listening to recordings of The Buggles set from the US. I also loved the stream for the John Wetton tribute show.

Put that all together and I think my personal ranking would be: Anderson (best live work), Horn (me = fanboy), Howe (for leading on Mirror to the Sky and Motif 2 is solid), Rabin (great work in Rio and not bad score output), Downes (3 albums and they are all good), Schellen, Sherwood, Davison, R Wakeman. (Insufficient data for Moraz and O Wakeman.)

In all, a great year for Yes-related music. I'm loving this late flowering of Trevor Horn's career. I hope he can get back to new music and not just nostalgia, but it appears he is constrained by record label interest and they want the nostalgia. Jon Anderson's recorded output was disappointing, hopefully 2024 will rectify that, but he has been performing fantastically. I am full of praise for Trevor Rabin's 2023. My highlight is a very enjoyable Yes album, but Downes and Howe deserve praise for so much work beyond that as well.

Rick Wakeman works hard, but it's been a while since he's done much of interest to me. Patrick Moraz does little and it's been a while since he's done much of interest to me. I hope we hear more from Oliver Wakeman and from Khoroshev in 2024.

Possible highlights for 2024? It is both exciting and somewhat worrying that Anderson has several projects that could be released next year: an album with the Geeks, 1000 Hands: Chapter Two, Zamran (or part one, at least). Maybe a bit more focus on finishing projects wouldn't go amiss? I look forward to seeing Yes live. I wonder how work on a new album is getting on? A new Circa album could be interesting. Might we get the new John Lodge project with Davison and Downes? Could the hinted-at Dave Kerzner/Jon Davison project come to fruition? Horn is touring with his band, but also, it appears, with a reunited Producers. Horn has said he's got another solo album recorded. Braide says another DBA album is already written.

Poll: What was the best Yes-related album of the first half of 2019?

58 votes are in and the results were:

1. Jon Anderson: 1000 Hands: Chapter One (w/ Howe, Squire, White): 26 votes, 45%
2. Trevor Horn: Reimagines the Eighties: 11 votes, 19%
3. King Crimson: Live in Newcastle, December 8, 1972 (w/ Bruford): 10 votes, 17%
4. Billy Sherwood: Citizen In the Next Life: 8 votes, 14%
5. In Continuum: Acceleration Theory Part One: AlienA (w/ Davison, writing by Anderson): 2 votes, 3%
6. Trevor Horn: Reimagines the Eighties Instrumentals: 1 vote, 2%
7= Kilty Town: Kilty Town (w/ Wakeman): 0 votes, 0%
7= Deckchair Poets: A Bit of Pottery (w/ Downes): 0 votes, 0%
7= United Progressive Fraternity: Planetary Overload Part 1: Loss (w/ Davison): 0 votes, 0%

I am not surprised that 1000 Hands, Jon Anderson's mix of '90s and recent sessions, won, and with nearly half of the votes. It's a great album and Yes fans have been thrilled to hear Chris Squire and Alan White playing, but mostly by the reunion of Anderson and Howe on the final track, with hopes that this might presage a reunion. (I don't think it will!)

Second, by just one vote, is Reimagines the Eighties, the most high profile release of the period, making #11 in the UK album chart.

There are, at least to my ears, some gems at the bottom end of the chart too. The In Continuum album is the latest project from Dave Kerzner, and his best yet. "Scavengers" is the stand-out track for me. Kilty Town, which had a small release back at the beginning of the year, is worth tracking down: world folk from Nic Cacciapo and friends, including Rick Wakeman guesting on two pieces.

REV: Trevor Horn, Royal Festival Hall, London, 28 Jul 2019

Trevor Horn Live in Concert
Sun 28/07/2019 7:30 PM
Royal Festival Hall

On the second date of their tour, this expanded Trevor Horn Band with string section are fluid and comfortable in themselves, all more polished than their one-off show at the South Bank Centre a year before. More of the Reimagines album was played, some other arrangements tweaked, interesting guests: a great show, but marred by a terrible mix in the first half.

• Trevor Horn: bass (not “Owner of a Lonely Heart”), vocals on “Video Killed the Radio Star”, “Living in the Plastic Age”, “Owner of a Lonely Heart”, backing vocals
• Alan Clark: keys
• Steve Ferrone: drums
• Roberto Angrisani (a.k.a. Kalon Rae): vocals on “Cry” , “Rhythm of My Heart”, backing vocals (not “Dancing in the Dark”, “Blue Monday”)
• Katie Holmes-Smith: vocals on “All the Things She Said”, “Dancing in the Dark”, “Girls on Film”, backing vocals (not “Blue Monday”)
• Izzy Chase: vocals on “All the Things She Said”, “Slave to the Rhythm”, “Girls on Film”, backing vocals (not “Blue Monday”), cowbell on “Since You’ve Been Gone”
• Phil Palmer: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals on “Money for Nothing”
• Lol Creme: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals on “Rubber Bullets”, backing vocals, keys on “I’m Not in Love”, bass on “Owner of a Lonely Heart”
• Simon Bloor: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keys
• Julian Hinton: conducting, keys
• Callum ?: tambourine, shaker, cowbell
• Sam ?: computers, shaker, tambourine
• string section: 4 violins (inc. Jamie Hutchinson, John Dickinson), 2 violas, 2 celli (inc. Miriam Wakeling)
• Tim Weidner: front of house engineer

with

• Matt Cardle: vocals on “Two Tribes”, “Slave to the Rhythm”, “The Power of Love”, “I’m Not in Love”, “Relax”
• Steve Hogarth: vocals on “Different for Girls”, “Ashes to Ashes”, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, “Kiss from a Rose”, “Blue Monday”
• Danny Cummings: vocals on “Brothers in Arms”, “Money for Nothing”
• Mick MacNeil: accordion on “Brothers in Arms”, “Rhythm of My Heart”
• Russ Ballard: vocals and electric guitar on “Since You’ve Been Gone”, “God Gave Rock and Roll to You”

1. "Two Tribes", with Cardle on lead vocals
2. "Video Killed the Radio Star", with Horn on lead vocals
3. "Cry", with Angrisani on lead vocals
4. "Rubber Bullets", with Creme on lead vocals
5. "Different for Girls", with Hogarth on lead vocals
6. "Ashes to Ashes", with Hogarth on lead vocals
7. "All the Things She Said", with Holmes and Chase on lead vocals
8. "Slave to the Rhythm", with Chase on lead vocals for the first half, and Cardle and Chase on lead vocals for the second half
9. "The Power of Love", with Cardle on lead vocals
10. "Living in the Plastic Age", with Horn on lead vocals
11. "I'm Not in Love", with Cardle on lead vocals and Creme on keys
12. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", with Hogarth on lead vocals
  Intermission
13. "Owner of a Lonely Heart" (including string intro), with Horn on lead vocals, Creme on bass
14. "Brothers in Arms", with Cummings on lead vocals, MacNeil on accordion
15. "Rhythm of My Heart", with Angrisani on lead vocals, MacNeil on accordion
  "Born to Run" bossa nova version demonstration, with just Horn/Clark/Ferrone
16. "Dancing in the Dark", with Holmes on lead vocals, just Chase on backing vocals
17. Scottish reel (electric guitar solo by Ballard)/"Since You've Been Gone", with Ballard on lead vocals and electric guitar, Chase on cowbell
18. "God Gave Rock and Roll to You", with Ballard on lead vocals and electric guitar
19. "Girls on Film", with Holmes and Chase on lead vocals
20. "Kiss from a Rose", with Hogarth on lead vocals
21. "Blue Monday", with Hogarth on lead vocals, without Angrisani/Holmes/Chase
  Horn introduces the band
22. "Relax", with Cardle on lead vocals
23. "Money for Nothing", with Cummings on lead vocals


The Trevor Horn Band has been playing dates for some years now, most recently with a line-up including several members of Dire Straits Legacy (Clark, Palmer, Ferrone, Cummings), with whom Horn also plays. This 5-date UK tour is in support of Trevor Horn Reimagines the Eighties, which saw Horn working with an orchestra, with arrangements and conducting by Julian Hinton. Studio magic and orchestra are hard to replicate on stage, but the Band are augmented by an 8-piece string section and the set mixes Reimagines tracks with their older standards like "Rubber Bullets" and "All the Things She Said".

Picture the scene. The show opens with the instrumentalists walking on stage and "Two Tribes" starts. Then the three backing vocalists (Katie Holmes-Smith, Izzy Chase and Roberto Angrisani) jump out. The music's pumping, the trio are jiving. Matt Cardle, the big name guest vocalist for tonight, begins to sing. It's all very exciting, but... I'm fourth row, centre stage and we can't hear what he's singing. The big problem through the whole first half was the difficulty hearing many of the vocals, certainly when the band were in full flow. I don't know what happened, or whether the mix was better elsewhere in the auditorium, but it was a disappointment. That aside, the band were grooving.

Song number two was preceded by Horn telling an anecdote about his daughter going to the same school as Boris Johnson's kids, and Johnson asking whether he was going to sell his kids drugs. And then into "Video Killed the Radio Star". Horn's vocals were a bit louder in the mix. As in recent years, the end of the song incorporates an extract from "Check It Out", the will.i.am and Nicki Minaj song that sampled "Video", and we got a rocked up ending after that too. New guy Angrisani stepped forward for the Godley & Creme song "Cry" that Horn co-produced, with another extended outro, this time for a Palmer guitar solo.

"Rubber Bullets" had Creme on lead vocals, but again they were far too low in the mix. But let's talk about happier things. As with previous shows, the trio of vocalists provided the glamour, contrasting with Trevor, Lol, Phil etc. in T-shirts and jeans. Izzy and Kate had glittery eye make-up and Angrisani had more eye make-up than both of them put together, and he was dressed like a glitter ball. Kate had full torso jewellery and shimmied it hard. We got some choreography, the three miming loading their guns with rubber bullets... it just would've been nice if we'd also been able to hear that Lol was singing about rubber bullets.

The three backing vocalists, Trevor Horn, Alan Clark and Phil Palmer

And so the first half went on. Replicating the album, we had Steve Hogarth singing "It's Different for Girls", but he was drowned out too. Then "Ashes to Ashes", which Hogarth originally recorded for the album, but was then replaced by Seal. Horn said it was Hogarth's idea to do the song on the album; Hogarth said Horn was drunk and can't remember that it was actually Horn's idea. Lovely to see the camaraderie between them. Hogarth was camping it up, gesticulating and striding around the stage, a great performance of "Ashes to Ashes"... in so far as I could hear him.

Chase and Holmes-Smith did "All the Things She Said", thankfully with somewhat more audible vocals. Then a performance of "Slave to the Rhythm" that Horn explained mixed a first half like the album ("without rhythm"), sung by Chase, and a second half more like the original, with Chase and Cardle duetting. Cardle stayed for "The Power of Love", a song that's all about it's dramatic vocal, which we could barely hear.

Then Horn was back on lead vocals for "Living in the Plastic Age", Cardle returned for "I'm Not in Love" and Hogarth closed the first set with "Everybody Wants to Rule the World".

A wave of complaints in the intermission hit the mixing desk, and thankfully something was fixed, making the second half much more enjoyable. We began with "Owner of a Lonely Heart", with Horn coming out in a kilt (the MacNeil family tartan)... although this time it's Alan Clark's solo that's inaudible. After that, the sound was fine!

"Brothers in Arms" is the weakest song on the Reimagines album to my ears, but it worked rather well here, with Cummings delivering an appropriately overwrought vocal. Roberto handled "Rhythm of My Heart". Horn, with Clark and Ferrone's help, then demonstrated his idea to do Springsteen's "Born to Run" to a bossa nova rhythm, before Holmes-Smith sang a very good "Dancing in the Dark".

Then a slightly odd section. As at their Cropredy Convention show in 2017, Argent's Russ Ballard joined them for "Since You've Been Gone" and "God Gave Rock and Roll to You". Ballard is an energetic frontman, these are classic anthems, Lol and Trevor seemed really happy to have Ballard as a guest, but the whole thing didn't really fit the '80s theme.

Back to the album for "Girls on Film", with Izzy and Katie on lead vocals. Then Hogarth, with costume change, was back for "Kiss from a Rose" (with the string arrangement, we were told, having been written by Hinton on the coach down from their previous show in Glasgow). Followed by, with another costume change, Hogarth doing "Blue Monday". It was lovely to now be able to hear Hogarth singing and I still long for a full-on Horn/Hogarth collaboration. As with some other songs, we got a tweaked version compared to the album, with Clark then Palmer having solos at the end.

Then the climax, if that's the right word, of the show with "Relax" with Cardle singing, Roberto/Izzy/Katie bouncing around the stage, and then everyone rocking out for "Money for Nothing", with Cummings back on lead vocals. The audience were on their feet and having as much fun as the band.

A stitched together panorama of the whole band

REV: Trevor Horn Reimagines the Eighties Feat. The Sarm Orchestra, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 2 Nov 2018

Trevor Horn, a potted career summary: fronts The Buggles, fronts Yes, is so traumatised by the latter experience he sticks to producing from then on, produces everyone who is anyone... and that's where many people think the story ends. But in recent years, Horn the performer, the live performer, has re-emerged. The Producers begin small and build, release an album, morph into the Trevor Horn Band, play bigger shows, Horn does his first album under his own name (The Reflection Wave One—Original Soundtrack). And now in 2018, we've had Fly from Here—Return Trip, a tour with Dire Straits Legacy, and this new project...

Go back a bit... The Producers played covers, the group picking songs they like, like “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, as well as from their own careers. They soon began writing their own material (released as Made in Basing Street), but perhaps that element of covering songs they liked never went away and now sees fruition of its own, because a new album Trevor Horn Reimagines the Eighties sees Horn interpret a set of songs, more of which he didn't work on than he did (nine to three). The album is released February 2019; the debut single “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, is out digitally; and we have this sold out show at the Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall (capacity 916).

The set was a mix of the standard Trevor Horn Band (and Producers before that) repertoire and new album material, heavy on the string arrangements, with a bit of the Dire Straits Legacy set at the end (I believe four of the band members were off for a Dire Straits Legacy date in Finland the next day).

The band:
Backline from stage right to left:
Alan Clark: Hammond, keys
Steve Ferrone: drums
Cameron Gower Poole: samples, percussion
8-piece string section (which I think was with Q Strings, Paloma Deike, Jess Cox, Amy Stanford, Laura Stanford, Miriam Wakeling)

Frontline from stage right to left:
Kate Holmes: vocals
Izzy Chase: vocals
Phil Palmer: lead guitar
Lol Crème: guitar, vocals, keys, bass
Trevor Horn: bass, vocals
Simon Bloor: lead guitar, keys
Julian Hinton: keys, conductor

Front of house sound: Tim Weidner
Organisation: Joel Peters

Set:
“Owner of a Lonely Heart” intro, string section only
“Two Tribes”, Ryan Molloy lead vocals
“Video Killed the Radio Star”with “Check It Out” insert, Horn lead vocals
“Dancing in the Dark”, Kate Holmes lead vocals
“Different for Girls”, Steve Hogarth lead vocals
“Ashes to Ashes”, Steve Hogarth lead vocals
“Rubber Bullets”, Lol Crème lead vocals, no strings
“All the Things She Said”, Izzy Chase/Holmes lead vocals, Crème second bass, no strings
“Slave to the Rhythm”, Chase/Matt Cardle lead vocals
“The Power of Love”, Cardle lead vocals
“Living in the Plastic Age”, Horn lead vocals
“What's Love Got to Do With It?”, Molloy lead vocals
“Take on Me”, Horn/Molloy/Cardle lead vocals
“Cry”, Molloy lead vocals, no strings
“Blue Monday”, Jimmie Wood lead vocals, harmonica
“Brothers in Arms”, Horn lead vocals, Mick MacNeil accordion
“Girls on Film”, Chase/Holmes lead vocals
“I'm Not in Love”, Cardle lead vocals, Crème keys
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, Molloy lead vocals
“Owner of a Lonely Heart”, Horn lead vocals, Crème bass, Cardle additional backing vocals
“Relax”, Molloy lead vocals
“Money for Nothing”, Molloy lead vocals, Wood harmonica

Perhaps under-rehearsed in places, as Horn acknowledged at one point, it was an eclectic set, with a range of singers, some more dominant in their temporary role as front man – like Hogarth gesticulating through “Ashes to Ashes” or Molloy bouncing all over the stage – while others, like Chase and Holmes, were more restrained. Those different styles, of the original songs and of the performers, meant there were different highs and lows for different people in the audience. Chatting afterwards, opinions varied on Molloy, songs were recognised or not.

For me, highlights were a heartfelt “The Power of Love”, Hogarth channelling Bowie for “Ashes to Ashes”, a weird “Blue Monday”, and a rousing “Relax”. On the other hand, “Brothers in Arms” were the strings-based, ballad arrangement failed for me, and “Take on Me” was a nice idea, but hard to pull off (and with some technical problems with feedback at the start). I've heard them tighter as Producers, with 5 rather than 18-20 on stage. At times, Clark and Poole had little to do; at others, it was Crème who seemed not to be doing much strumming his guitar. But Horn likes playing live in a big group. It was an audacious set list. They covered all of the new album, with the live integration of strings and rock band, often challenging, largely going well. And they re-arranged some of the older Trevor Horn Band material too.

The string section were excellent throughout. The surprise vocal star for me was Holmes, great in both lead and backing roles. Palmer is always solid on the guitar. I miss Ash Soan on drums, however, with Ferrone too aggressive in his playing in places.

To go through the evening in more detail... Support came in the form of a 6-song set by singer-songwriter Nathan Ball, accompanied by a second guitarist. Ball explained how he had gotten the call asking him to play only the night before. All a bit samey for me, with “Just Say Something” the best number.

After an intriguing opening string arrangement, the headliners kicked off with a Trevor Horn Band favourite in “Two Tribes”. It took a few songs to get the mix right, at least where I was sitting to the edge of the auditorium. Molloy's vocals were nearly inaudible at first. It also took a few songs for the band to settle,with a somewhat stilted “Video Killed the Radio Star” following.

The first full piece from the new album was “Dancing in the Dark”, which exemplifies the album's approach. The song has been re-arranged as a ballad, mainly performed on strings and bass guitar, with a gender swap for the lead vocals. Then into a second and third album track with Marillion's Steve Hogarth doing “Different for Girls”. He'd done this before at the band's July show and, while Hogarth is an engaging performer, the arrangement does little for me. But the show really took off for Hogarth's second song, “Ashes to Ashes” (done by Seal on the album).

Horn introducing a song

Leaving the eighties and without the string section were “Rubber Bullets” and “All the Things She Said”, two Trevor Horn Band standards, both polished, with good vocals from Holmes and Chase.

“Slave to the Rhythm” is also a Trevor Horn Band regular. Horn explained that they had tried the new album version in rehearsals (it's sung by Rumer on the album), but that it didn't completely work live, so they came up with a mix of the new and usual arrangements. In practice, this meant a strings-heavy first half sung by Chase, seguing into the usual funky version, but with vocals shared between Chase and Matt Cardle.

Former X-Factor winner Cardle sings regularly with the Trevor Horn Band. One of the highlights of the show for me was his “The Power of Love”. This was a new arrangement compared to past shows, using the string section, presumably matching the new album's version. Next up we got a solid performance of “Plastic Age”, again with added strings. Molloy was back for “What's Love Got to Do With It?”. He wasn't always as strong a frontman as Cardle or Hogarth, and I felt his performance too theatrical here. Writing that, it seems an odd thing to say given how Tina Turner does the original, but Molloy had better songs in the evening.

Horn introduced the next number, explaining how it “seemed like a good idea after a couple of joints and a few pints of beer”. He imagined Il Divo doing “Take on Me”, but they weren't available, so it was Horn, Molloy and Cardle 'doing' Il Divo doing “Take on Me”, with additional vocals form Holmes and Chase, Hinton on piano, and the string section.

Horn announced the next track, saying, “If I go up to Manchester, I'll be lynched.” Yes, it was a version of “Blue Monday”, all driving strings and techno rhythms, with Jimmie Wood growling through the vocal (after missing a cue).

There was a false start for “I'm Not in Love” as Crème's keyboard didn't work, but once they had re-started, this was a familiar performance for a song long in their set.

Horn having teased that the band would play an excerpt from “Gates of Delirium” next, it was of course time for “Owner”. Horn had a jacket brought out that he claimed he hadn't worn since being in Yes, and he explained that, as he'd written a verse of the song, he had the right to sing it! In the past, Chris Braide or Cardle has sung “Owner”, but I believe Horn first sung it himself at the band's private gig in July. He was fine on the song, but he was better on his own Buggles material. Clark then Palmer took the solo.

Back for a third Frankie Goes to Hollywood song and Molloy prowled all over the stage during an energetic performance of “Relax”. Horn then explained that there were too many of them to leave the stage and come back for an encore, so we would have to pretend that had happened. The night then ended with “Money for Nothing”, another high energy performance, Palmer enjoying playing the classic riff.

From L-R: Cardle, Holmes, ?, Chase, Clark, Palmer, Ferrone, Horn, Crème, Wood, Molloy, Gower Poole, Bloor, string section with Hinton behind

Merchandise was just T-shirts and mugs. The show was being filmed, with multiple cameras, although I don't know for what purpose.

2017 in review

2017 was a bumper year for Yes-related releases. The complete list is, I think, in a rough chronological order:

• Rick Wakeman: Phantom of the Opera (archival, some previously released)
• Rick Wakeman: Piano Portraits
• Mogador: Chaptersend (w/ Davison on 1 track)
• Light Freedom Revival: Eterniverse Deja Vu (w/ Sherwood, O Wakeman)
• Chrysta Bell: We Dissolve (w/ Downes on 2 tracks)
• World Trade: Unify (w/ Sherwood)
• Asia: Symfonia - Live in Bulgaria 2013 (w/ Downes)
• Artists for Grenfell: 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' (single) (w/ Horn)
• Steve Howe: Anthology 2: Groups & Collaborations (w/ Yes, ABWH, Downes, O Wakeman, archival, some previously released)
• Alpha Lighting System: 836 (w/ Sherwood)
• Trevor Horn: The Reflection Wave One—Original Soundtrack
• Rupam Sarmah: A Musical Journey: Together in Peace (w/ White)
• Glass Hammer: Untold Tales (w/ Davison on 2 tracks, archival)
• Dave Kerzner: Static (w/ Sherwood)
• Bruford: Seems Like a Lifetime Ago (box set) (archival, some previously released)
• Legacy: 3 Chord Trick (w/ Horn)
• Carrie Martin: Seductive Sky (w/ O Wakeman)
• Virgil & Steve Howe: Nexus
• Downes Braide Association: Skyscraper Souls (w/ Downes)
• Empire: The Complete Recordings (w/ Banks, all previously released)
• Yes: Topographic Drama
• Mabel Greer's Toyshop: The Secret (w/ Banks on 1 track)
• The Fizz: 'Home for My Heart' (single) (w/ R Wakeman)
• Alfie Boe & Michael Ball with the Rays of Sunshine Children's Choir & Friends: 'Bring Me Sunshine' (single) (w/ R Wakeman)

The biggest seller of all those was probably "Bridge Over Troubled Water", a charity single for the survivors of the Grenfell fire disaster, co-produced by Horn. It made #1 in the UK for one week (replacing and being replaced by "Despacito") and the top 40 in Austria, Finland, Flanders, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand and Switzerland. The biggest selling album was Wakeman's Piano Portraits, which made #6 in the UK, hung around in the Progressive Albums chart for ages, and achieved a Silver certification (60,000 sales). In terms of audience, the other contender would be Horn's soundtrack for The Reflection Wave One given it was broadcast on Japanese TV.

Lots of good releases, depending on what you like. I'd probably recommend Anthology 2 and Empire's The Complete Recordings first, particularly to Yes fans, but I also very much enjoyed Chaptersend, We Dissolve, The Reflection Wave One—Original Soundtrack, Seems Like a Lifetime Ago, Skyscraper Souls and Topographic Drama, of the 15 that I heard. Nexus was another good release, sadly cast in a memorial role following the unexpected death of Virgil Howe.

What did you enjoy last year?

REV: The Reflection Wave One—Original Soundtrack, by Trevor Horn

For someone who has been so successful and working in the industry for so many years, it is perhaps odd that Trevor Horn has never released a solo album before. As he says in one of the video interviews for the special edition of The Reflection Wave One—Original Soundtrack, he wouldn't pick himself as someone to produce. Yet here we are, Trevor Horn's first solo album... of sorts. Following on from Producers/The Trevor Horn Band, Horn steps out from behind the recording desk, although a soundtrack album still keeps him one step removed from your usual solo debut.

What then has coaxed Horn out of his shell? The surprising answer is a Japanese anime series entitled The Reflection, co-created by famed comics writer Stan Lee (co-creator of Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the X-Men, Thor etc. etc.) and director Hiroshi Nagahama (directed Mushishi, The Flowers of Evil, Detroit Metal City). An initial season of 12 episodes premiered 22 July 2017 on NHK. The show has had middling reviews. I'm enjoying it (subtitled), but I wouldn't make any grand claims for it. The story entails a cataclysmic event some years previously, the Reflection of the title, that has left select individuals as superheroes or supervillains. We follow the protagonists along as they team up to fight the bad guys. The anime itself has a blocky visual style, a reference, I take it, to old comic books. And, indeed, the whole story is a paean to a style of comic storytelling that Lee pioneered. There are, perhaps, only so many superpowers to dream up, so some of the characters are familiar: a key villain is a female Magneto, for example. Others, like Lisa Livingstone, are more imaginative. We're still partway through the series, so no comment yet on how it all fits together.

Within all this is Horn's music, but the music is also part of the fiction. The lead single, “Sky Show”, exists within the story as a 1980s one-hit wonder by a character called Ian Izette, who has now donned a super-suit to fight crime. Trevor Horn 'appears' in episode 4 (voiced by someone else, in Japanese) as the producer of "Sky Show". (On the soundtrack album, "Loneliness and Solitude" begins by replicating this scene in English, with Horn doing his own voice, and his daughter doing her voice.) Another four characters in the show are meant to map on 9nine, the Japanese girl group who sing the end title song.

Along with the anime and a forthcoming DVD release, we have The Reflection Wave One—Original Soundtrack (U/M/A/A Inc.). This is available in a regular form on CD in Japan, released 16 August, but only digitally in the US and UK (it's available on iTunes, but not Amazon). The US and UK also get a digital single of "Sky Show" with three additional songs, which are also available on a limited edition expanded CD release in Japan, that also comes with a bonus DVD with various interviews and 5.1 mixes. Thus, you can get all the music on the expanded Japanese CD in the US and UK by getting the album plus single.

 Let's start with the two songs. "Sky Show", befitting its role in the fiction, is kind of like a less dystopian The Buggles. It has that '80s Horn production sound, distinctly Trevor Horn, with a pulsing rhythm and soaring vocals. But, more so, it wouldn't sound out of place on Producers' Made in Basing Street, a companion piece to Freeway, with maybe a few '80s-isms thrown in. (And the extended version would fit on the extended edition of Made in Basing Street, with added instrumental arrangements/solos.) The similarity to Producers is not too surprising with the return of Chris Braide as a co-writer and on backing vocals. (Indeed, there's a version with Braide on vocals on YouTube.) The song was inspired by the great sunsets, a literal sky show, visible from one of Horn's SARM studios.

The third version of the song on the expanded Japanese CD, or a b-side on the US/UK single, is "unplugged" and, I think, is the same version used within the fiction as the supposed original demo of the song.

 The other song, my favourite piece on the album, is "Future Boyfriends", a more modern style, perhaps representative of the 2017 Trevor Horn Band rather than the earlier Producers. It's a co-write with Simon Bloor and Cameron Gower Poole, two mainstays of the recent band. It's a classic of the Japanese anime end credits theme genre. Up there with "Lithium Flower" from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. The lyrics are cute and reference the show. It's a good melody, a clever arrangement: a great pop tune. Great vocals by Paget Shand, a little known US singer-songwriter who has her own band as WŸNN.

 "Future Boyfriends" is only the English-language version of the song. The Japanese version that is used in the show is called "SunSunSunrise" and is sung by a Japanese idol group currently consisting of Uki Satake, Sayaka Nishiwaki, Kanae Yoshii, and Hirona Murata. Signed to Sony, they've had a number of top ten singles in Japan and recently sampled Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax" (produced by Horn) for their single "Why don't you RELAX?". 9nine recorded their vocals in Japan, without Horn's involvement.

The Horn soundtrack album just gets you the 89 second version of "SunSunSunrise", as used on the show. For the full song in Japanese, you need 9nine's single release, which comes in multiple variants, although if you've heard the full English version "Future Boyfriends" and the short Japanese edit, then there is not much new on the full Japanese version. Both language versions use an identical backing track. The long version gets you a club break and instrumental section, including keyboard solo.

Although in places the Japanese version is described as a translation of the English, it isn't. There's no relationship between Horn's English lyrics and Kohei Tsunami's Japanese lyrics. This is slightly confusing because Horn's lyrics refer to the series in several ways, whereas the Japanese lyrics don't. Was there a plan to translate Horn's lyrics or just to use English lyrics (as anime sometimes does)? Did 9nine want a single that wasn't so obviously tied to a show? The bigger question is whether we'll see an English-language version of The Reflection and, if so, which version they'll use.

If you get 9nine's single, you get – at least in some versions – two b-sides, "ゆるとぴあ" ["Yurutopia"] and "ケセラセラヴ" ["Que sera, se love"], the latter with music by Kohei Tsunami, the "SunSunSunshine" lyricist. The b-sides are very J-poppy. "ゆるとぴあ" is almost chiptune, with staccato rhyming. "ケセラセラヴ" has a gloriously odd mix of English and Japanese words. My Japanese isn't good enough to fully appreciate either.

To return the soundtrack album, that makes two good Trevor Horn songs, recommended for fans of his work. There's a whole album here though. The score is a score, which means short instrumental cues. Score music is not to everyone's tastes: just get the single if you want the songs.

The track labelled "Main Theme" is the music to the opening credits, kind of a mini-overture for the whole score. This is big, superhero action music, with a scary undertone. In one interview, Horn explains how the good guys get more orchestral cues (mostly written with regular collaborator Julian Hinton) while the bad guys get electronic cues (mostly written with another regular collaborator Jamie Muhoberac), which he thinks might be better. I concur: there's more interest in the electronic cues, like the foreboding "Hear Them Come" (or the more percussive arrangement, "Here Them Come (Again)") or the evil prance of "Reflected". The heroic cues seen more familiar: big, rousing pieces. "From on High", "From Battle to Flight" or "Greater Expectations", for example, could have come from half a dozen other film composers or projects. Which is fine: they serve their purpose in the show.

The pieces were written to clear mood descriptions, which Horn describes in one of the interviews as being very useful. For example, "In a Work of Unreason" is made to be background music. Nice to have, but I'm not rushing to listen to again. Other pieces have a bit more character, like "Loneliness and Solitude" or "The Transition". "I am Alone with Sadness" evokes Jean-Michel Jarre. "Left in a Bleak and Desolate Land" (co-written with Lol Crème) could be on a James Bond score. Some pieces remind me of the Art of Noise, like "In Chaos and Confusion" and "Peace in Blue". "My Daily Life" perhaps get closest to a song structure: you could imagine this with vocals as a Buggles song.

 TL;DR: There are two classic Trevor Horn pop songs here and the cheapest way to get them in the West is the digital single "Sky Show". Hardcore fans will want the whole album.

Poll: What are you most looking forward to in the rest of 2015?

I asked what you were most looking forward to in the rest of 2015 and 105 of you obligingly replied:

1. Panegyric/Steven Wilson remix of Fragile: 25
2. Anderson Ponty Band tour: 23
3. Billy Sherwood's Citizen: 18
4. Downes Braide Association's Suburban Ghosts: 12
5. New Steve Howe Trio album: 11
6. King Crimson's THRAK BOX: 8
7. Cruise to the Edge: 6
8. Other: 2
9. Seal's 7 (prod. by Horn): 0

Most of these have now happened (1, 3, 4, 6, 9) or are currently happening (2, 7, 8), so let me know in the comments what you think of them. Opinion was fairly equally divided, although no-one picked Seal's latest album, 7. Well, you're all wrong about that because it's a great album.

Both using the write-in option chose Yes getting into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. That is, of course, up to the Hall's voting panel once nominations have been chosen. But you can still vote on the nominations here: Yes are in second place, but only just ahead of The Cars, so keep voting. The system allows you to vote several times per day (per device). The nominations are not solely determined by this public vote, but it appears to carry some weight in the process.

Trevor Horn Band, 5 March 2015: initial thoughts

I'm just back from the Shepherd's Bush Empire and the Trevor Horn Band show. Some initial thoughts...

Support was from Will Heard, a young man on vocals and electric guitar. Clearly rather nervous, he played 4 or so songs. Good voice, OK material, including an interesting if not entirely successful electric/punk version of The Carpenters' "Close to You".

The main set began with an exhilarating "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (originally by Frankie Goes to Hollywood), appropriate as the band would go on to play twice as many numbers from the album of the same name as any other. Then they were straight into The Buggles' "Living in the Plastic Age".

A fine beginning... and then Seal walked on stage and the audience cheered, but sadly Seal was only there to explain that, for only the second time in a 26-year career, he has had to withdraw from the performance due to a recent bout of flu. After effusive praise for Horn, he was off and it was on with the show. Kate Westall came to the front of the stage for a sultry "Slave to the Rhythm" (originally by Grace Jones). Then with Lol Crème joking about tartan skirts, Westall and Kirsten Joy did a rousing "All the Things She Said" (originally by t.A.T.u.), followed by Crème singing 10cc's "Rubber Bullets".

Horn then introduced Gabrielle Aplin, who did her version of Frankie's "The Power of Love". This arrangement was mostly just Aplin on vocals and (synth) piano, with the band joining in later on to boost the power of the song. Aplin stayed to sing Annie Lennox's "Why", originally produced by Stephen Lipson. A great vocal performance from Aplin.

More Frankie with the band's instrumental version of "Two Tribes". Horn then announced a Yes song would be next, but that he wouldn't be singing it. He jokingly explained that we needed to summon the spirit of Jon Anderson, which led to a few bars of "Soon", sung by Westall, as an intro to "Owner of a Lonely Heart", sung by Jamie Squire (no relation). As in the band's Japanese TV performance, the guitar solo was replaced by a keyboard solo, although Downes was mixed too low, at least where I was standing, to hear this well.

Horn next explained how his partner, Mel, had played him this song and he had fallen in love with it. Mr Probz, the song's performer, was, if I heard right, now working on Seal's album and had come over from the Netherlands to sing "Waves". Then we had another guest, an uptempo, bravura performance by Ella Eyre of "Gravity" (originally by DJ Fresh feat. Eyre).

With jokes about his piano playing, Crème came forward to play keys for "I'm Not in Love", with Squire on lead vocals. Horn explained that they had then planned to perform a set of Seal songs, but without Seal, they just did "Prayer for the Dying", with Squire again on lead vocals.

The main set finished with a great performance of "Video Killed the Radio Star" (including a short insert using the rap from will.i.am and Nicki Minaj's "Check It Out", which sample "Video..."), complete with big finale, then into "Relax", again with Squire singing.

The band encored with "Leave Right Now" (originally by Will Young and produced by Lipson) with Squire on lead vocals.

The band were... from stage right at the back: Kirsten Joy (lead & backing vocals), Kate Westall (lead & backing vocals), Jamie Squire (lead & backing vocals, percussion), Ash Soan (drums) and Luis Jardim (percussion), with 18-year old Simon Bloor (keys, guitar) behind Jardim. At the front, from stage right, was Geoff Downes (keys), Lol Crème (guitar, backing vocals, keys), Trevor Horn (bass), Stephen Lipson (guitar), Julian Hinton (keys) and Phil Palmer (electric & acoustic guitar).

I'm blessed, I saw a lot of the early Producers shows in Camden, so some of this set is becoming very familiar. I'd like to hear some different 10cc songs and I could lose "Two Tribes", but the other Welcome to the Pleasuredome songs were great. The band suffered the late loss of Seal, but Squire did a good job. Aplin and Eyre shone as guests. Soan was fantastic on drums, particularly good on "Owner of a Lonely Heart". The band was quite large, with four guitar players at times. I've no idea what Bloor was doing and Palmer seemed superfluous.

This was basically the same band with much the same set as when they were called Producers. Is the name change just about increasing sales? Despite Horn's name being out front, the other principals were still well represented: we had 5 songs associated with Horn (2 Buggles, 1 t.A.T.u., 1 Seal; although we would have had more Seal), 5 associated with Horn and Lipson (4 Frankie, 1 Grace Jones), 2 associated with Lipson, 2 10cc numbers for Crème, and 2 covers.

Highlights: "Welcome to the Pleasuredome", "All the Things She Said", "The Power of Love", "Gravity", "Video Killed the Radio Star"
Disappointing: "Waves", "Prayer for the Dying", "Rubber Bullets"

2013 charts and awards

Yes's 2013 touring was the 180th highest grossing in North America (on the Pollstar chart), with a total gross of $4.4 million, average ticket sales of 1,431 and an average gross of $84,615. They were just below Hall & Oates on $4.5 million, who beat them to Hall of Fame induction, and just ahead of Ed Sheeran ($4.4 million), who's had great success in the UK, but is taking longer to break America.

It's hard to say who Yes's competition should be considered to be, but I note Sigur Rós were 163rd ($5.2 million, 2,815 average tickets), Rush were 64th ($14.9 million, 8,338 average tickets), Muse were 30th ($31.2 million, 12,968 average tickets) and Trans-Siberian Orchestra were 14th ($47.9 million, 13,161 average tickets), but of course 99% of all prog rock bands didn't come anywhere near this list. Black Sabbath, with whom Adam Wakeman is still touring, were 56th with $19.7 million grossed and 13,990 average ticket sales. 1st on the list? Taylor Swift ($112.7 million, 28,411 average tickets).


Let's switch to a different perspective on the year and Prog magazine's Readers Poll. With few high-profile Yes or related releases in 2013, Yes or Yesmen did not appear in most categories. Rick Wakeman was #4 in the Keyboards category, won by Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess, a professed Yes fan. Tony Levin made #9 in the Bassist category, won by Nick Beggs (currently playing with Steven Wilson; worked with Steve Howe some years ago). Yes did win the Reissue category with the Panegyric Close to the Edge, while King Crimson's The Road to Red (with Bruford) was #4. Remixes on Close to the Edge were by Steven Wilson, of course, who had a very strong showing in the poll for his own work. His album The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) won Album of the Year. His band's tour won the Event category and they came #3 in Band of the Year, while Wilson himself topped the Icon category and was also #5 in Male Singer.

A third perspective... what was the best selling Yes-related album of 2013? Hard to tell, but I presume it was Renato Zero's Amo - Capitolo 1, with 4 tracks produced by Horn (and also involving Luis Jardim, percussion on Fly from Here, and Tim Weidner, worked on Fly from Here and Magnification). The album made #1 in Italy and was certified Platinum (60,000 sales). Horn also produced 2 tracks on Spector's debut album, Enjoy It While It Lasts, which made #12 in the UK and, I guess, would be the second best-selling Yes-related album of the year. That is, unless we include David Bowie's The Next Day, with Levin on 5 tracks, because The Next Day made #1 in the UK (94,048 first week sales) and many other countries, and #2 in the US (85,000 first week sales).