A Spinal Tap Moment

Fragile by Yes was the first album I heard, back in 1971, that wasn't either by The Beatles of a Motown compilation. My mate Deek, who shared my eclectic musical tastes, was the third of five children and as such was the recipient of as many musical hand me downs as he was second hand clothes.

I remember sitting the front room of the cottage he lived in with his siblings and parents, on a seat next to piano which had the notes written on the keys in black felt tip, listening to something that sounded completely alien to anything I had heard before. Deek was the catalyst for many of my wanderings off the pop path, he introduced me to reggae, soul and obscure singer/songwriters in much the same way as my cousin Alan had shown me the Motown back catalogue, Rolling Stones EP's and Beatles albums.

I went to see Yes at Wembley in August 1977, bizarre timing really given the musical changes that had been occurring that summer, Sex Pistols being kept off the Number One spot for fear of upsetting her Maj during the year of her silver jubilee (as if she could care less) and the touring around the UK by various bands who were only known beyond the 01 dialling code by reputation rather than collective experience.

I'd given up listening to Yes after Close To The Edge some six years earlier and it was only really curiosity that made me take the first train after work, in the first week of my career as a fledgling accountant, and the last train out of Waterloo at just after 2 a.m - in those days it was both the newspaper and milk train. All the hassle was worth it just to hear Rick Wakeman live, forget the dancing on ice and the smoke effects the boy could play and it was certainly worth the hassle.

Some thirty four years on and over forty since their debut album Yes are back with a new album 'Fly From Here'. The album is less Close To The Edge and more the Buggles era Yes, but the Spinal Tap moment of the title is the fact that the singer in the band is  a guy called Benoit David who was once in a Yes tribute band. I mean how cool is that. You spend your life imitating art and then along comes art and says, "Tonight Matthew you are going to be Jon Anderson."