On this week’s Thursday Top 10 Countdown, we looked back at the top rock albums on January 25, 1984. We featured top albums by Billy Joel, The Police, and ZZ Top. We also looked back at how radical “changes” gave Yes their biggest album ever.
Yes Was A Very Different Band In 1980
By 1980, both Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman had left Yes. Taking their place were Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, formerly known as The Buggles. They had scored a huge worldwide hit the previous year with “Video Killed The Radio Star.” The Buggles and Yes shared the same manager, who had the idea to pair Horn and Downes with Yes’ remaining members. At the time, Yes was Chris Squire, Steve Howe, and Alan White. Chris Squire was impressed with what they had to offer and talked the others into adding the two to the band. Since a huge tour had been booked before Anderson and Wakeman left, this new version of Yes quickly wrote and recorded the album Drama, released In August, 1980. Fans were not impressed, and the album did not sell up to Yes standards. A world tour did well over here, but the Brits did not like the new lineup. On bootlegs from a few European shows, you can hear audience members booing between songs. Ouch!
Horn, Downes and Howe ended up leaving Yes right after the tour, with Downes and Howe forming Asia. This left Squire and White in search of new talent for the band. An executive at Atlantic Records received a demo tape of songs by South African singer Trevor Rabin, and put him in touch with Yes’ manager. A meeting was arranged, they jammed a bit, and Rabin was added as a member. The group also brought back Tony Kaye, who they’d canned in 1971, to serve as another keyboardist. The band didn’t fancy calling themselves Yes, so they decided on the name Cinema.
From Cinema Back To Yes
Recording sessions began, with several songs recorded and mixed. Sadly, Tony Kaye and Trevor Horn “didn’t get on,” and Kaye left several months into the recording sessions. Cinema almost brought Horn back in as a vocalist, but he ended up returning to simply co-produce the album. The band played their manager several songs they’d worked on, but were told the vocals were not strong enough. It was then decided to get back in touch with Jon Anderson to see if he’d be interested in returning. He was, after hearing the songs the band recorded, and he went to work tweaking some lyrics and adding his special touch. Unfortunately for Cinema, several other U.K. bands laid claim to that band name, and threatened legal action. To avoid this potential mess, the group reverted back to calling themselves Yes.
90125 And Success
Thankfully, Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegun gave Yes the necessary cash they needed to complete the album. The working title was The New Yes Album but, rather than make such a big deal about this lineup, they decided on a clever title. Every album release gets a catalog number and, in the case of this album, the worldwide catalog number was Atlantic 90125. It was the perfect title for the album! The lead single, “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” set the stage for what this new version of Yes would sound like. To many people’s surprise, the song was a huge hit, and became Yes’ first and only #1 single. The album became the band’s biggest, selling over three million copies. The tour to support the album was also huge, with Tony Kaye being asked to re-join the band for its duration.
I saw that tour at The Spectrum on September 9, 1984 and it was fantastic. For one thing, it was in the round, which gave everyone a great seat. The sound was excellent, too, not an easy task at The Spectrum.
Those radical “changes” gave Yes their biggest album, and 90125 tops our Rock Album chart this week.
