ABWH (group)

In 1988, John Anderson , who disagreed with the current musical style of the band “Yes”, created an alternative project, trying to revive the classic sound of the legendary band. At the same time, the group included other former members of “Yes” - Bill Bruford , Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe .

The musicians abandoned the name "Yes", including for commercial reasons. Initially, a proposal was made to name the group “No”, as opposed to “Yes,” but in the end they abandoned this idea and became the name of the initials of the names of the team members - ABWH (A - Anderson, B - Bruford, W - Wakeman, H - Howe).

The multi-instrumentalist Tony Levin, who had previously worked with Bruford at King Crimson, was invited as a bass player.

The only studio album was released in 1989. The song "Brother of Mine" achieved a "golden" status in the USA, and the video clip for the song became popular on MTV .

Mixing was performed personally by John Anderson , while the musicians recorded the parts for the album separately. Features of the recording process led to the dissatisfaction of guitarist Steve Howe, he did not like how his play was interpreted. Nevertheless, drummer Bill Bruford said that such a specific approach at that time was the only way to bring together all four of the former members of Yes.

After a world tour, ABWH released their live album, An Evening of Yes Music Plus, released in 1993 . The album's release sparked a lawsuit over copyright infringement by Atlantic Records . During the ensuing tour, members of the group, along with their songs, performed classical hits Yes. Each concert of the group began with solo numbers of all members of the group ^[1] .

Subsequently, the paths of ABWH and Yes intersected. The association was promoted by the record company Arista , which did not rule out the creation of a single project from former members of the groups. As a result, the joint Yes album - ABWH Union was released (it was originally planned to release two different albums, one on behalf of Yes, the other on ABWH) ^[1] . Despite the name, the only connecting link between the groups was John Anderson, who was the vocalist in two groups at the same time.

After the release of the album, the world tour “Union” followed, thanks to which the fans of the group were able to hear almost the entire classical repertoire of Yes. But despite the successful tour, “Union” did not live up to the hopes of the fans and the band members themselves.

• 1989 Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe

Together with Yes

• 1991 Union
• 1993 An Evening of Yes Music Plus (live album)
• 2012 Live at the NEC (live album)

• 1990 In The Big Dream

1988-89

• John Anderson - lead vocals
• Steve Howe - guitar, vocals
• Rick Wakeman - keyboards
• Bill Bruford - drums
• Tony Levin - bass

Session Musicians

• Matt Clifford - keyboards, programming, orchestration, backing vocals
• Milton McDonald - rhythm guitar
• Deborah Anderson - backing vocals
• Tessa Niles Backing Vocals
• Carol Kenyon backing vocals
• Frank Dunnery backing vocals
• Chris Kimsey Backing Vocals
• Emerald Community Singers , Montserrat - backing vocals

1990

• John Anderson - lead vocals
• Steve Howe - guitar, vocals
• Rick Wakeman - keyboards
• Bill Bruford - drums
• Jeff Berlin - bass

1991 (with Yes)

• John Anderson - lead vocals
• Steve Howe - guitar, vocals
• Rick Wakeman - keyboards
• Bill Bruford - drums
• Tony Levin - bass
• Chris Squire Chris Squire