Esquire | |
---|---|
Origin | London, England |
Genres | Progressive rock, symphonic rock, art rock, psychedelic rock |
Years active | 1982–present |
Labels | Renaissance Records |
Associated acts | Yes |
Members | Nikki Squire Nigel McLaren Charles Olins Danny Isaacs [1] Tony Matteucci [1] |
Esquire are an English rock band, formed in 1982, noted for their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music.
Formed in 1982, Esquire released three studio albums: their self-titled debut album Esquire in 1987, a follow-up album Coming Home in 1997, [2] and almost twenty-years later, No Spare Planet, their last album to date.
Two tracks from Coming Home, "Zone of O" and "Tron Thomi", were included on the compilation album Yes, Friends and Relatives . [3] In 2000, two more tracks from Coming Home, "Coming Home" and "Big Girls Don't Cry", were included on the follow-up compilation album Yes, Friends and Relatives, Volume Two. [4]
The band is headed by Nikki Squire, who, when the band started, was married to Yes bassist Chris Squire. Squire, Yes drummer Alan White, Yes producer (and former singer 1979–80) Trevor Horn and Chris and Nikki's eldest daughter, Carmen Squire, all worked on the band's debut album.
The second album, Coming Home, was largely written by Nikki Squire and Nigel McLaren; it also included Danny Isaacs on guitar and vocals on three tracks ("Coming Home", "Keep On Dreaming", "Glass Houses") and Tony Matteucci on drums and vocals. [5]
Yes are an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by lead singer and frontman Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Peter Banks, keyboardist Tony Kaye and drummer Bill Bruford. The band has undergone numerous line-up changes throughout its history; 19 musicians have been full-time members. Since June 2015, it has consisted of guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Geoff Downes, singer Jon Davison, and bassist Billy Sherwood. Yes have explored several musical styles over the years and are most notably regarded as progressive rock pioneers.
Christopher Russell Edward Squire was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist, backing vocalist and a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. He was the longest-serving original member, having remained in the band until his death and appearing on every studio album released from 1969 to 2014. In 2017, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Yes.
Peter William Brockbanks, known professionally as Peter Banks, was a British guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer. He was the original guitarist in the rock band Yes, and also the Syn, Flash, and Empire. Former Sniffin' Glue and NME journalist Danny Baker described Banks as "the architect of progressive music".
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe were a progressive rock band active from 1988 to 1990 that comprised four past members of the English progressive rock band Yes. Singer Jon Anderson left Yes as he felt increasingly constrained by their commercial and pop-oriented direction in the 1980s. He began an album with other members from the band's 1970s era: guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and drummer Bill Bruford, plus bassist Tony Levin.
William Wyman Sherwood is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, record producer and mixing engineer. He is best known for his tenures in the English progressive rock band Yes as guitarist and keyboardist from 1997 to 2000 and as bassist since 2015, following the death of original bassist Chris Squire. He is known for working with former and current Yes members on other projects as well.
Time and a Word is the second studio album by English rock band Yes, released on 24 July 1970 by Atlantic Records. It was put together several months after the release of the band's 1969 eponymous debut, during which they continued to tour heavily and recorded Time and a Word during gaps between shows. Yes continued to follow their early musical direction of performing original material and cover versions of songs by pop, jazz, and folk artists. A small orchestra of brass and string session musicians was used on most of the album's songs.
Yes is the debut studio album by English rock band Yes, released on 25 July 1969 by Atlantic Records. After forming in the summer of 1968, the band toured extensively across the United Kingdom with sets comprising both original material and rearranged cover versions. They signed with Atlantic in March 1969, and entered Advision and Trident Studios in London to record their first album. Yes includes covers of "Every Little Thing" by the Beatles and "I See You" by the Byrds.
Classic Yes is the second compilation album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released in November 1981 by Atlantic Records. It was released after the group had disbanded in early 1981, following their 1980 tour in support of their tenth studio album, Drama (1980). The tracks were compiled by bassist Chris Squire and the cover was designed by Roger Dean.
The Syn are an English band that were active from 1965 to 1967, and then reunited as a progressive rock band in 2004. The band was founded by Steve Nardelli, Chris Squire, Andrew Pryce Jackman, Martyn Adelman and John Painter. Chris Welch, in his book, Close to the Edge: The Story of Yes wrote, "The Syn were very similar to Yes in fact. It was very much a precursor of Yes."
Talk is the fourteenth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes. It was released on 21 March 1994 by Victory Music, and is their last studio album to feature guitarist Trevor Rabin and keyboardist Tony Kaye.
Open Your Eyes is the seventeenth studio album by the English rock band Yes, released in November 1997 by Eagle Records in the UK and by Beyond Music in the US. Following the departure of keyboardist Rick Wakeman and the addition of guitarist, keyboardist, and producer Billy Sherwood in 1997, Sherwood and bassist Chris Squire started to develop songs for an album by their own band, Conspiracy. They caught the attention of their new management who suggested to use some of their material for a new Yes studio album. Jon Anderson and guitarist Steve Howe's late involvement caused their creative input to be limited.
Quaternary is an EP by the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. It was released in 1994 on Elektra. The EP, which was initially going to be titled Leftovers, was made available as a mail-in offer for purchasers of the self-titled album in a limited quantity of 20,000 copies.
Cinema were an English short-lived progressive rock band started in January 1982 by former Yes members Alan White and Chris Squire, with guitarist Trevor Rabin. The previous year, Squire and White had formed the abortive band XYZ with former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Cinema had plans to release their debut album in 1983, and were working on a number of songs, most of which had been written by Rabin.
Conspiracy was a progressive rock band founded by Chris Squire and Billy Sherwood. The band released two albums: Conspiracy (2000) and The Unknown (2003), and a live DVD (2006).
Keystudio is a compilation album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released in May 2001 by Castle Music in the United Kingdom and by Sanctuary Records in the United States. It is formed of the studio tracks previously released on live/studio albums Keys to Ascension (1996) and Keys to Ascension 2 (1997).
Something's Coming: The BBC Recordings 1969–1970 is a compilation of live recordings by the progressive rock band, Yes. They are the only live recordings to feature the band's original lineup. It is a compilation of the band's early performances on BBC Radio featuring tracks taken mainly from their first two albums. However, it did feature two rarities: the title track Something's Coming from the musical West Side Story had previously only been released as the "b" side to the 1969 single "Sweetness" and the track "For Everyone" which has not been released in any other version.
"Make It Easy" is a 1991 song by the progressive rock band Yes. An early version of this song from 1981 was written and sung by Trevor Rabin, originally as a demo titled "Don't Give In". It was later re-worked by Yes which included Chris Squire, Alan White and Tony Kaye after Jon Anderson made his departure from the band.
"Open Your Eyes" is a song by the progressive rock band Yes, from their 1997 album of the same name. It was a rock radio hit for the band, reaching number 33 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It would also be the only song from the Open Your Eyes album that would be performed live regularly during the subsequent tour.
Fly from Here is the twentieth studio album by the English rock band Yes, released on 22 June 2011 by Frontiers Records. After a four-year hiatus, Yes resumed touring in 2009 with a line-up of bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, and newcomers singer Benoît David and keyboardist Oliver Wakeman. During breaks in touring between late 2010 and early 2011, the group began to prepare material for Fly from Here, their first studio album in ten years. The album marked the return of Yes working with former lead vocalist and producer Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoff Downes replacing Wakeman. Horn and Downes had originally written what became the 24-minute title track prior to them joining Yes in 1980.
From a Page is a mini-album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released on 25 October 2019 by Yes Records. It contains four previously unreleased tracks originally recorded by the 2008–2011 line-up of the group and intended for release on an album, but ultimately weren't included on Fly from Here. During this time, the lineup included bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, singer Benoît David, and keyboardist Oliver Wakeman. Wakeman, who wrote most of the material on From a Page, was inspired to release it following Squire's death in 2015.