Chords for Steve Howe and Geoff Downes of YES on BBC Breakfast 23rd Feb 2018

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Let's see, [A] six minutes past nine is the time.
They may have had a few line-up changes through the years,
but five decades after the band ES first formed,
their music is still going strong.
Perhaps most famous for their 80s hit, Owner Of A Lonely Heart,
they've established themselves as one of the most successive
progressive rock groups ever.
In a moment, we're going to talk to a couple of today's members
about preparations for an anniversary talk.
Good morning, gentlemen.
Good morning.
Let's see you all in action.
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_ MUSIC PLAYS
So, _ _ _ [C] _
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[F] _ _ [C] _ [Bb] Steve and Geoff are both with us this morning.
Very good morning [N] to you both.
Morning.
Very rock and roll.
I always like to_
When we were chatting just before, we were talking about jam, weren't we?
Oh, yeah.
Very rock and roll.
Very rock and roll.
How things have changed, eh?
Would that be fair to say?
Tell us about that clip.
Where was that?
Did you say it was the Royal Albert Hall?
No, I think it was in Bristol.
We did a show about three years ago at the Bristol Colston Hall.
Mm-hm.
So, that's from there, yeah.
It was one of the last tours that Chris Squire did with us,
and it's nice to see him out there again.
Good old Chris.
50 years on since ES first formed.
What now is happening in terms of ES,
and is it a surprise that ES is still going?
It's a kind of evolutionary thing.
You know, I mean, ES just kept going and going
and taking short breaks, maybe a couple of years,
and then the line-up might change and we'd get back together
and then this person would leave.
And, you know, it's just been a completely hodgepodge story for 50 years.
Has it been a twisty, bitter story,
or has it been just one of gentle evolution?
Part of it has been_
That's what you usually hear.
Yeah, I mean, people leave sometimes
because they really do want to do different music, you know,
and Bill Bruford did that,
and several ES musicians have done that.
They said, like, I don't want to do this, I want to do something else.
But other times, yeah, there's a bit of intrigue,
there can be some problems,
somebody doesn't like a record we made or didn't like a tour.
But, I mean, it's all a mixed bag,
because in balance, it's got to go that way.
Yeah, and it's always been a musician's band.
I think that that's one of the key things about ES,
is that it's always sort of had musicianship to the fore.
And I think that, you know,
if you look at something like The Brits the other night,
it's a lot about the vocalists,
whereas I think a band like ES has always been about musicians,
and I think that's a great thing why the band is still going.
The Foo Fighters were recognised as well,
which was one of the things that a lot of people in Troy
seem proper bands, so to speak, recognise.
We come from that era where it started with maybe Floyd
and Genesis and ELP,
and there's a wealth of bands from the 70s
that really cared about their music.
And I saw that picture you were showing us
of Tony Kaye and Bill Ruffin in the early line-up.
So there's been a lot of line-ups,
but they've all had the same purpose, to make great music.
Things have come in full circle, haven't they?
Like, for the moment, vinyl, for example.
People are buying vinyl again.
Are people coming back to ES or kind of rediscovering the world?
Are new people sort of finding out about what you do?
Well, I think a lot of those albums were made with vinyl in mind,
because that was really the only medium
that was available at the time.
And if you look at some of ES's music, like Close To The Edge,
it was very much two sides of an album.
You know, it was very, very much_
That was the way that it was done.
But obviously things have changed quite a bit now.
_ It's great that people want vinyl.
They want something that's, like, you know,
you can hold in your [Abm] hand, it isn't just a stream,
[Ebm] it isn't just a download.
So, [Bb] you know, we're pleased that these formats come back.
I doubt whether [B] cassettes will come back.
[Bb] No, no, no, no, no, no.
But, actually, though, a lot of the [N] money made by bands these days
is through touring.
I mean, it has changed so much, hasn't it?
And you guys are back on tour.
Mm.
We are.
Yeah, we're back starting on the 13th of March.
We were in Bristol then, and we finish in London on the 25th of March.
And you're finishing with a fan convention.
Yeah, we've got a fan convention.
What's this about?
We're doing two nights at the London Palladium,
and the second day's got an afternoon event
with some different acts and some cover bands
and a whole load of fans.
I mean, it's been put together by the_
Is it the Scottish or the British?
The Scottish.
The Scottish fan club put this together,
and we just gave them carte blanche and said,
yeah, do this.
So, will you be there at this convention?
Well, we'll be showing up to rehearse just towards the end of it.
So, yeah, _ we'll say hello.
You were talking earlier about the style of Yes!
music
and looking at some of those old clips.
I'm always fascinated by a crossover between a younger or newer artist.
Are there people who you've met, I don't know, along the way,
or have you heard about, who are, dare I say,
kind of unlikely fans of Yes!
or some of that style of music?
Well, funny enough, you mentioned the Foo Fighters,
and I know that they were very much influenced by Yes!
More, I think, is the fact that,
as I mentioned earlier about being a musician,
I think that a lot of bands have_
Certainly, someone like Steve, for instance,
a guitarist might be very influenced by Steve.
So, I think a lot of the new generation of musicians
look to bands like Yes!
and ELP, these Genesis,
you know, the big bands from the 70s, the UK bands,
as the kind of iconic musicians.
Do you know, I've spoken to Mick Jagger, who said he was never going to stop.
Elton John has just said,
right, I've got three, I'm going to do a goodbye tour,
it's going to take three years.
Steve, I'm not going to say your age, but you're in peak condition.
I'm up there.
You're_
Well, but you look great,
but you need energy to be out on tour and do this.
What's the secret, then?
Well, I don't think it's a big secret.
I think it's a natural secret.
You know, I mean, my wife and I,
we went with a sort of natural lifestyle pretty early on,
you know, in the early 70s, in fact.
So, I think we've benefited from that,
with understanding the balance of food, you know,
and getting rid of some of the excesses.
You try to encourage the other members of the band to kind of_
Well, we did have a short period when_
You were laughing.
Yeah, there was a short period when all of you were vegetarian,
and that lasted only about six months.
And then I carried on, and a few other guys did,
but most of the band went back to having more regular food.
But that's their choice.
But, I mean, good food, I mean, you know, it's worth having good food.
That's all I can say.
Well, it's a good note to finish on.
Lovely to see you this morning.
Thank you very much.
It is, and enjoy the tour.
Thanks for coming on.
You can catch Yes!
on tour across the UK,
as Steve said, from the 13th of March.
That's it from us today.
Have a [D] lovely day.
The Winter Olympics follows us on BBC One.
Remember, that important curling semifinal with the women
just after 11 o'clock.
We'll keep our fingers crossed for them.
Have a lovely day.
Bye.
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