And now, a new section
This is where, rather obviously, we’ll note any other interesting, important or amusing events that took place in the world of prog during that year. And for 1970 the headlines are:
BANKS SAYS NO TO YES!
Not Tony, of Genesis fame, for never did he wander onto stage with Anderson and Wakeman, but yea, did he stay verily true, plighting his troth to his bandmates in Genesis. In other words, no it wasn’t the keyboard player and co-founder of one of the biggest prog rock bands in the world who missed out on being in another of the biggest prog rock bands in the world. This was Peter Banks, who had played guitar on Yes’s debut self-titled album, and his career is an interesting one.
And here it is.
Starting with a band called, rather ominously, The Devil’s Disciples, he would replace Ray Fenwick in The oddly-named Syndicats, Ray having replaced one Steve Howe. Hold that thought. Banks then teamed up with future Yes-man (sorry) Chris Squire in The Syn, who you may remember we featured all the way back at the beginning of this journal. The Syn had no releases but did kind of give birth to Yes, or some of them, which is why they were included. He followed Squire to his next band, Mabel Greer’s Toyshop, who were to rename themselves in the affirmative.
Banks’s claim to fame, or one of them at any rate, is that it was he who came up with the name for the band, after Jon Anderson had suggested Life and Chris Squire World, but Yes was settled on and adopted by the band. Under this name they recorded their first album, but for the second, Time and a Word, Anderson wanted to use an orchestra. Guitarists don’t like orchestras; they take over their guitar parts and leave them twiddling their thumbs and fuming in impotence. Or at least, this one had that effect on Peter Banks, who had been against the idea from the start. “Musical differences” emerged and he was asked to leave the band. He didn’t say no. Sorry. In one of those twists of fate that makes you think she must have a really warped sense of humour, he was replaced in Yes by none other than Steve Howe. Howe’s that for revenge? Sorry again.
Undeterred, Banks went on to form his own band, Flash, who did all right, but split in 1973 after three albums. His next band was Empire, who also recorded three albums, but oddly none were released. They broke up in 1979. Meanwhile Banks had made a friend of Jan Akkerman of Focus and had also played with both Phil Collins and Steve Hackett of Genesis. He tried his hand at recording a few solo albums, mostly instrumental, and in 1993 co-ordinated the release of a special Yes compilation album, and worked right up until his death at the age of 65 from heart failure. His body was found after he failed to show up for a recording session. Now that’s rock’n’roll, if not exactly prog.
Perhaps the greatest accolade paid him was to be named as “one of the ten great prog rock guitarists” in Gibson Guitar’s Lifestyle Magazine, and an epitaph could be a quote from that which remarked that “Before there was Steve Howe, there was Peter Banks.” Steve Howe was probably unavailable for comment.
NO TRESPASSING! ALL CHANGING AT GENESIS!
Indeed. One of the original founder members of Genesis, Anthony Phillips should have had a glittering career with the prog rock icons, but found he could not play onstage. He literally suffered from terrible stagefright, and the band, shocked at his departure, forced on medical grounds, considered breaking up, but instead hired a new guitarist, Steve Hackett. Phillips went on to record some solo albums, but after a disastrous foray into the world of pop retreated to his first love, classical music, and became a music teacher and composer. He still records, but is very specialised in what he does.
John Mayhew, who had played drums on their second album Trespass, was ditched too and replaced by Phil Collins, who would become both their mainstay drummer and, later, lead vocalist until he left in the 1990s to pursue his solo career.
BRAINBOX LOSE FOCUS!
Or to be more accurate (these Fleet Street hacks, huh? Always looking for a good headline while not being too worried about how appropriate to the story it is) Brainbox GAIN Focus. In other words, both Jan Akkerman and Pierre van der Linden left the one-shot crazy weird band whose only album we featured in 1969’s Over the Garden Wall, and joined Focus, where they would hit gold (probably not literally in terms of sales) with their second album. Akkerman left in 1976 but returned for a reunion in 1985, leaving again in 1990 for good this time while Van der Linden is still there, and Focus are still recording and releasing albums.
So that’s the bands who were formed, dissolved (not literally, of course!) and the headlines for the year 1970. As for the albums? Well, as I said we have about forty to choose from, so I tell ya what, I’ll get back to you on that, okay?